I’m with the Band (Telarc Jazz)
Tierney Sutton
Released August 23, 2005
Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album 2006
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nT6rE2kgcTKTlaMKOW2qmWCA3DM6qYoCY
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1qEQYNITd7ibe7t1IW3dNc?si=xL6fL-ayRimRimAEWNl7jw
About:
Recorded over two days at the famed Birdland club in New York City, I’m with the Band was performed in front of an invited audience. The album highlights the group’s strength and skill in performance, which Daily Variety described as an “uncanny display of spirit and unity.” The Washington Post praised a recent performance by the band for its “breadth of material [that] revealed not only Sutton’s interpretive gifts, but her harmonic and rhythmic agility.” The album features arrangements from all-time favorites like Rodgers & Hammerstein, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter.
Over the past decade, the Tierney Sutton Band has continually gained critical acclaim for their stylistic charm and cohesive music including their 2004 album Dancing in the Dark, which debuted in the top ten on Billboard’s Jazz Charts, and their 2002 release Something Cool, which rose to #1 on the JazzWeek radio charts. In June 2005, Sutton won JazzWeek’s Vocalist of the Year Award. In addition, Sutton’s other credits include vocals on Lion’s Gate Films’ The Cooler starring William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin, and Paramount’s Twisted starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. She also teaches at the University of Southern California and conducts master classes and workshops worldwide.
Track Listing:
1. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise (Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg) 4:58
2. Let’s Face the Music and Dance (Irving Berlin) 4:49
3. ‘S Wonderful (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin) 2:48
4. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler) 4:17
5. Two for the Road (Leslie Bricusse / Henry Mancini) 3:07
6. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) (Brooks Bowman) 2:36
7. People Will Say We’re in Love (Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers) 2:56
8. If I Loved You (Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers) 4:42
9. Surrey with the Fringe on Top (Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers) 2:28
10. Cheek to Cheek (Irving Berlin) 3:16
11. Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) 4:54
12. I Get a Kick Out of You (Cole Porter) 3:31
13. The Lady Is a Tramp (Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers) 4:49
14. What a Little Moonlight Will Do 3:19
15. On My Way to You (Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Michel Legrand) 4:12
16. Devil May Care (Harry Warren) 4:27
Personnel:
Tierney Sutton: vocals
Christian Jacob: piano
Trey Henry and Kevin Axt: bass
Ray Brinker: drums
Recorded live March 29 – 30, 2005, at Birdland, New York City
Produced by Elaine Martone
Review:
Jazz siren Tierney Sutton has produced her masterpiece. Following five well-received recordings, Sutton has done two things that ensure the superb quality of her new recording: one, she and her band perform live; and two, she fully integrates herself into the band, where all members exist as equals.
Tierney Sutton has made a dent in the jazz market by releasing smartly conceived concept recordings, usually focusing on a single artist. Introducing Tierney Sutton (Challenge, 1998) was an initial affair that honored Frank Sinatra. Unsung Heroes (Telarc, 2000) offered a program consisting of jazz standards most commonly considered instrumentals (thus its ironic title). Blue in Green (Telarc, 2001) paid homage to Bill Evans, while Something Cool (Telarc, 2002) showed Sutton stretching her repertoire to include Patsy Cline and Nat King Cole. Dancing in the Dark (Telarc, 2004) was Sutton’s overt tribute to the Chairman of the Board.
I’m With the Band takes everything Tierney Sutton has been doing on these discs, throws it in the air, and allows the results to fall where they may—live. A vocal gymnast, Sutton carries the lyrically elastic torch of Betty Carter. Her control and technique make her voice (through vocalese) an instrument in her band, not in the cliched singing sort of way, but in the real scat sense. This becomes apparent right out of the chute with her lengthy introduction and scat solo on the wonderfully upbeat and off-kilter “Softly in The Morning Sunrise.” On “S’Wonderful,” Sutton performs in a trio with bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Ray Brinker (also on “Shat A Little Moonlight can Do”), all of whom free-form their way through the Gershwin brothers’ classic. “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” is serpentine and creamy. “Two for the Road” is lazily balladic. When not displaying her considerable vocal abilities, Sutton celebrates the talents of her longtime bandmates, effectively elevating them to equals on this recording. Christian Jacob plays splendid piano throughout, harmonically anchoring the group. Bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Ray Brinker comprise a crack rhythm section which maintains a hard swing throughout. While the program may be heavy on the Sinatra, it’s great to hear this repertoire performed in such a fresh and inventive way.
C. Michael Bailey (AllAboutJazz)
