Laura Izibor live at Crawdaddy

There may have been a great buzz all over Dublin last night, with The Flaws and Vampire Weekend in town for gigs – but there can't have been anywhere to quite match the palpable sense of excitement at Crawdaddy.

Laura Izibor has been making waves for some time. So high did her stock fly in her mere teens that it must have seemed at times, over the past two or three years, that success was somehow destined to elude her. Her initial record deal with Jive produced nothing, a victim of the musical chairs in the record business that can wreck the careers of artists accidentally caught in the slipstream. But, on occasion, adversity can turn out to be a good thing. In Laura's case, there's a gut feeling that, with her now debut album in the can, and the power brokers in Atlantic Records in both the US and the UK getting ready for the big push when it hits the streets in the new year, like Usain Bolt before the Olympics, she's now fitter and sharper than ever before – thoroughly primed and ready to explode onto the world stage.

This was an important gig for Laura. People from Warner Music and Atlantic in London had come to Dublin to see her in action in her home-town. With them came a near twenty-strong crew of UK journalists, media players and influencers. How would she fare under the intense spotlight of media and music biz scrutiny?

It was important too, in that she had her new band with her: this is the sound Laura will be taking on the road over the coming months, the sound with which she will attempt to woo fans across the States and Europe. Anyone who has seen Laura in action solo in recent times will be aware of just how commanding a presence she has become, how apparently effortlessly she meshes fine piano playing with thrilling virtuoso vocal flourishes; how she digs deep into the soul while also entertaining with chutzpah and charisma. But even the hottest combo, given the wrong musical direction, can derail a core of greatness. In Laura's case, the crucial imperative is to ensure that the music stays in service to the songs, that the essence of sweet soul music remains at the heart of what she does and that the emotions are allowed to bleed through.

Have no fear. Straight outta New York, the band may be hot, but they know how to keep things rare. With just drums, bass, keyboard, trumpet and backing vocals to augment Laura's piano, the musical palate is tight. The key is to lay down a funky groove, let the songs speak for themselves and give Laura's gorgeously rich voice the space to shine.

No fanfare. They slip onto the stage, Laura the last to take her place, settling behind the piano centre-front. Low key as the entrance might be, the power of the music, combined with Laura's beautifully unaffected stage presence and between-song conversation, immediately copper-fastens the sense of occasion. "I guess I better introduce myself," she says. "I'm Laura Izibor." There's not a hint of showbiz, but Laura is inherently glamorous and seductive, with a luxurious, natural sex appeal so potent that she doesn't need to trade on it.

Early on, the gorgeous 'From My Heart To Yours' sets pulses racing. Laura is in fine vocal fettle, the band are clearly enjoying themselves and we're high already, shades of Aretha Franklin filtering through, in the rich soulful delivery.

There is as an honesty that comes through in the sheer Dub-ness of the way she talks that emphasises the commitment to keeping it street. She does 'Can't Be Love' and the delicious 'Mmm', where she has the audience take the vocal part and, like sharing a fine wine, the glow is mutual. 'Shine' is magnificent, an uplifting soulful song of empowerment and self-belief that has hit written all over it.

No matter what the song, the arrangements remain rooted: the boys in charge of keeping things simmering stab and syncopate to deftly up the hip-shaking, body swaying appeal of the sound and bursts of fine, jazz-inflected quintessentially NY trumpet playing add spice, but all that musical cooking and dressing never distracts from the wonderful quality of the raw ingredients, and the sweet vocal sauces that Laura conjures when she's in charge of the gas.

She unveils a new song that she wrote two days ago, and that the band have rehearsed for the first time little more than 24 hours previously. Entitled 'Skyline' it's a thing of beauty that has even the musicians in raptures as the chorus lifts everyone up onto what Ireland's greatest soul singer Van Morrison calls the higher ground.

That's where Laura Izibor belongs. She is a rare and brilliant talent, an icon of the best aspects of the new Ireland, a wonderfully talented musician who yet knows that hard work and commitment are as important to greatness. Who'd have imagined a black, soul singer and songwriter from Tallaght capable of trading on equal terms with the leading lights of soul, r'n'b and urban music from Aretha through Candi Staton to Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys?

Actually, where the contemporary school of divas are concerned, make that outshining. There is something truly special about Laura. It isn't just that she writes great pop-soul songs and sings them with irresistible heart and emotion. Nor is it just the undeniable fact that she has sex appeal to burn. It is, too, that she brings an honesty and integrity to what she does as well, that the light shining from within is more powerful than any spotlight she steps in front of.

Everyone around her needs to play it right. In particular, Atlantic Records are carrying a fine burden of responsibility. They'd better not miss a beat. The time for shadow-play is over.

In the immortal words of Curtis Mayfield: "There's a train a coming/ You don't need no baggage/ You just get on board..."

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