Often, the only new name heard in the local music scene is actually just the new name for Conor Oberst’s latest project, but now there really is a new name in Omaha music and she’s bringing a different style as well.

Natalie Thomas, a 2007 graduate from the Creighton School of Nursing, self-released her debut album Songstress. The jazz pop album features Thomas’s voice over the soft piano melodies provided by producer Tim Tyler.

Thomas sings during her free time when she isn’t working as a nurse at Children’s Hospital.

“It had always been a dream of mine to have my own CD, but I never really pushed,” Thomas said. “My parents and my grandpa wanted me to have a good job and a good degree that I could fall back on.”

Although Thomas’s family wanted her to get another job, they still supported her music. Her grandfather performed in local operas and her aunt also sings. “It was just kind of in my blood,” Thomas said of singing.

Thomas didn’t take any music classes when she was at Creighton, although she was actively involved in music as a student leader for the Candlelight Choir and as a frequent singer of the national anthem at sporting events.

“I think I did almost every sport, while I was there, at some point,” Thomas said.

“Songstress” is an all-covers album showcasing songs like “Imagine,” “Without a Song,” “At Last” and “What a Wonderful World.” While she does write her own songs and plans to release an original album, she wanted to introduce herself to the world by adding her flair on these songs.

“It’s not all jazz,” Thomas said. “But there’s a jazz tambor on the songs.”

She decided to add a “jazz tambor” because she felt Omaha was lacking in that area in its music scene. “I wouldn’t say I’m fully a jazz singer. I like doing pop and I can do country,” Thomas said. “I kind of pushed that [jazz] side of the album to bring that out in the Omaha area.”

Selecting songs was a collaborative process between herself and her producers. Thomas said she didn’t even know a lot of the songs before and that. “Sometimes it was a little tedious, but the outcome was more than I had ever expected.”

“Songstress” came out Sept. 3 and can be purchased on Thomas’s cdbaby.com page or at her shows. Currently, Thomas is staying busy performing at weddings and with the Sacred Heart Freedom Choir. She also performs at local venues like Prestige.

You can listen to Thomas at www.myspace.com/nataliethomase, and cdbaby.com/cd/nataliethomas