Sunday's concert by singer Helen Merrill, the last in the current ESB/Note Productions season at Vicar Street, proved to be a disappointment. It's always sad to note the decline of a fine artist - and Ms Merrill is a considerable figure in the history of jazz singing, even if her fame has never quite matched her talent - but time has taken its toll on her vocal equipment, as was distressingly evident during the concert.

Her range has never been great, nor does she have a big voice, but anno domini has made inroads on her pitching and overall control of her instrument. Even her phrasing, which can relate acutely to the words, was affected by the vocal frailties, and only occasionally was she able to turn that fragility to expressive effect.

The uncertainty, which made for decidedly uneasy listening, was rendered all the more marked by the accomplished support provided by pianist Ted Rosenthal and one of jazz's finest bassists, George Mraz. However, despite the thought behind the arrangements - Summertime and an unusually fast Am I Blue, for example - there was little to excite until the surprise appearance of trumpeter Lew Soloff for the second set.