The very best music comes in small and simple packages. Pianist/vocalist Paul West has been a fixture on the Seattle jazz and lounge scene since the late 1960s. Being Alone is a collection of Tin Pan Alley and Jazz Standards performed with a direct and straight-ahead piano/vocal style. This is certainly nightclub music honed to perfection by a master of the craft. Mr. West plumbs the Canon from Fats Waller ("Truckin'") to Sonny Rollins ("Sonnymoon for Two"). Absolutely cabaret to the core, Mr. West has a sure voice, great delivery, and will remind listeners of a Left Coast Mose Allison. "Miss You, Mr. Mercer," "Angel Eyes," and the discs two medleys ("Round Midnight/Yesterdays" and "How Deep is the Ocean/Sonnymoon for Two") are all highlights as is West's instrumental take on Gershwin's "Someone the Watch Over Me" (could a solo piano disc be far behind?).