The photo on her debut CD “So Sure” shows Meryl Romer with a knowing, come hither look, deep cleavage, saying she’s got the goods. As a vocalist, she’s new but her sound rooted in jazz traditions makes you think, where has she been? But that is the story of her music. In three original songs, by writer/producer Casey Collins and composer Eric Moon, “I’ve Waited Long Enough,” “Right on Time,” and her signature “So Sure,” Romer recounts a personal saga that explains the right turn she took somewhere in her ripe ‘50’s to pursue the passion for music that was lurking within her since childhood. Covering Sinatra-famed standards like “Big Spender” or “Lady is a Tramp,” or Cassandra Wilson’s “Solomon Sang” and Toots Thielemans’ “Bluesette,” Romer suggests her jazzy influences. With “You’re a Big Boy Now” from Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks,” she spills into rock with a new arrangement. Backed by a first-rate band: Erik Deutsch on piano, Bill Kopper on guitar, Jonti Siman on bass, Marc Dallo on drums and Mike McGuinness on tenor sax, Romer knows how to put on a great show. As the packed room at Iridium could hear last week, any time might have been “right on time,” and this time is more than good.

Regina Weinreich