Customer Reviews

Blue in Green

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love vocal jazz and I have a remarkable collection of cd, including female vocal jazz. Besides the classic Billie, Sarah, Ella, Dinah, Carmen,Betty, the new classic Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Diane Schuur,Dee Dee Bridgewater, which I all hugely love for different reasons I am constantly looking ahead and checking for the new ladies coming on the scene. I know that trying to find the best of the bunch it's a hard and extremely task and definitely a question of subjective taste. But when it comes to Tierney Sutton, I just cannot stay quiet and I have to point out her superiority.
I think Karrin Allyson is a shining diamond in terms of style and taste, Diana Krall (although overrated) is a great piano player and an intriguing singer, I'm perfectly aware of the emotion that comes from Rene Marie's phrasing, I recognize that Carla Cook has a superb soul and a great technique, just as Laverne Butler's.
All this said, Mrs Sutton is above all them, on my opinion: her pitch, her aim a a note are simply flawless, although her great technical skills don't affect at all the emotional side of her singing. She's always there, she knows what she's doing, she's full of surprises and at he same time is so reassuring: you know that no matter the key she has picked for a particular song she'll deliver it with force, grace, taste. In other words, I'm in love with Tierney's art. This particular album inspired by Bill Evans music (but just pick one of the three she has released, they're all great) is full of poetry: my personal fav is her short, deep rendition of "Turn off the stars". "Just squeeze me" is brilliantly performed and sung with a natural approach that makes you sway with pleasure, "Detour ahead" is a widely-won challenge (so many great singers have covered this beautiful song, but Tierney manages surprisingly to make it fresh again); the worth conclusion of this beautiful cd is a fabolous cover of the immortal "Old Devil Moon" : a tour de force of perfect singing, a "tourbillon" of passion, love, happiness....
Do yourself a favour: don't miss this great artist: Billie, Ella, Sarah and others would definitely nod in approvation from above!

There are so many treats in this album, it's hard to know where to start. Vocalist Tierney Sutton has navigated some challenging material here, all of it associated with or composed by Bill Evans, and though it's a bona fide vocal success, it is as much a small-group arranging triumph as anything else. The ensemble on "Blue in Green" is the emphasis, and the interaction between Tierney and her trio works beautifully. Ms. Sutton doesn't just lay down the melody and then disappear for solos; she often weaves in and out, often taking a half-chorus here and there, inventing melodies herself, while always seeming cognizant of the group sound. She possesses a rich, sensual alto sweetness, yet is never coy or cute. Her genuine musicianship is evident throughout. As she explains to writer Bob Blumenthal in the liner notes: "Bill Evans was huge in my development. The thing that Bill gave me was the idea that jazz didn't have to be loud; it could be swinging, sensual an beautiful without overblown drama. He let me know that there a place for me in jazz, that I could use my voice in this manner. He had introduced something new and fresh -- that bittersweet, harmonic sense of his, never too sweet, with that undercurrent of tragedy."

I especially loved hearing "Very Early" introduced very slow with just piano -- we hear clearly the structure, and that beautiful lilting Evans melody. Christian Jacob then takes the solo in four, instead of the original 3/4 time, and we're treated to a rich tapestry of colors and a stellar understanding of the complex chord movement of one of Bill's compositions.

His tune "Turn Out The Stars" is a challenging task indeed to sing, due to its extreme changes of key centers, and its wide leaps in melody -- and it gets a similar reading. Doing it just once through was a brilliant choice -- as a composition it is so full of its own inherent inventiveness and its stands alone. And Ms. Sutton makes it all sounds so easy, which it's not. She gets deep enough inside it, but doesn't resort to any overwrought interpretation.

"We Will Meet Again" is reverently and poignantly done -- and what a profound added lyric! Piano and bass weave a nice counterpoint through the opening of the melancholy melody (which Bill wrote for his brother Harry, after the latter's passing). Teirney may have made the definitive vocal version of this lovely piece. Surely any future performance will have to be compared to this one. It's sincere and heartfelt and bears repeated listenings. The uplifting ending adds a genuine moment of hopefulness, and a fitting one to this otherwise sad and wistful tune.

Trey Brinker on bass and Ray Brinker on drums deserve mention as well. They are tight together and provide great support, and their presence is always felt. They worked with Mr. Jacobs a while, (in Jack Sheldon's big band out in California) and it shows. They light up the proceedings in unexpected ways and the interplay is simply refreshing and never obtrusive. Their musical comraderie is a treat all by itself.

Tierney Sutton has made an outstanding CD of material that, due to its musical intricacies and its any choices of presentation could have easily fallen flat. That it shines in such graceful and clever ways and with such moving lyricism, and this trio's innate musicality behind her sweet voice is a true tribute to all that Bill Evans' music exemplified. VERY highly recommended!

The context of this review is that I have all of Tierney Sutton's CD's and I think that hands down, she's the best of the new female Jazz interpreters. She has the range, dead-on pitch even on a rollercoaster of scat, and intelligence behind every lyric. Her first two CD's are so good that they'll just grab your ears away from whatever you're doing and force your amazed attention.

"Blue in Green" is a little different. It's more subtle, more polished, but maybe with a little less adrenalin. You are lulled into listening to that smooth surface, but aren't pulled in as deep. It's very good, but in a different way.

In a way it's a little too good. I think I liked Tierney when she sounded like she had to try a little harder and push the edge just a little farther. If you buy all her CD's (and you should), you'll see what I mean. Stay hungry, Tierney.

Attention, Amazon! I think that when there are only about 12 reviews, to print 3 similar ones by the same person is irresponsible, because whether they are 5-star or 1-star (or as here, 3 separate 3-star reviews by the same person saying basically the same thing), they can seriously skew the overall ratings.

I love Tierney's voice. She is certainly one of the best of today's jazz singers. I took away one star because the bass playing on this CD often overwelms Tierney and the piano, especially the piano. Hopefully on the next CD they'll take the bass down a notch or two and bring up the piano.

My admiration for this lady grows album by album (or disc by disc if you will). As she states in the notes, it is NOT simply a singler plus a band but an integration of musicians, each excelling at what he or she does best. In fact, playing as individuals lends a better, deeper, more satisfying sound.

And that sound is pure professionalism - no slurred words, chaotic drums, random bass chords or meandering searching over the keys. The arrangements themselves are matched only by the voice which can only be described as magnificent. I really liked the choice of songs.

Ms. Sutton's artistic niche is reinterpreting the works of others - whether it is once wordless melodies ("Unsung Heroes"), Frank Sinatra ("Dancing in the Dark") or Bill Evans (this work). Each and every venture is a work of genius and by that I mean true genius. OK, what stands out on this one? "Turn Out the Lights" is pure emotion, dripping with sensuality. The version of "Autumn Leaves" with its sonata-like movements was just sensational. "Just You Just Me" is a duet with drummer Ray Brinker - a tour de force. He is a major player in "Old Devil Moon." "You the Night and Music" is a mysterious, captivating work that totally succeeds. I could go on about each and every selection but suffice it is to say that this is one recording I almost order you to purchase...Now...As Soon as Possible.

Tierney is INCREDIBLE - and this is a remarkably wonderful CD! The band is great, but the spotlight is rightfully on Tierney, one of the most MUSICAL singers and fluid vocal improvisers around. NEVER LET ME GO is hypnotic, VERY EARLY is a tour de force, JUST YOU, JUST ME is a daring vocal/drums duet. Tierney's influences (early Nancy Wilson, Coltrane and Bill Evans) are evident, but tempered by her unique musicality and talent. As terrific as her other recordings were, this CD is evidence of the full-flowering of a consummate artist - listen and enjoy - it rarely gets as good as this!!

This CD was somewhat of a surprise for me. I first heard a cut on Jazz radio from Berlin, then found the title and went to Amazon.com. Tierney is in my opinion the best jazz vocalist I've ever heard. Another surprise is the trio she has backing her up -- they are individually all capable of a CD on their own! Although many compositions were previously recorded by other artists, Tierney and her trio add refreshing perspectives and experience that improves them all. Jazz doesn't get any better than this. This CD is a pearl!

Like Karrin Allyson's tribute album to John Coltrane, Tierney Sutton's tribute to Bill Evans places extra demands on the listener. Both albums offer ample testimony that the state of jazz singing in the post-Ella-Sarah-Carmen age is indeed well. But both recordings also force the listener to try to forego comparisons with their respective muses.

With the exception of several of Bill's original compositions, I hear nothing on this album that would in itself remind me of his music ("Just Squeeze Me"?!). Coltrane's was a vatic and Bill's an aesthetic muse, but both artists had in common a search for rapture that produced music of unrelenting urgency and passion, of tensions and energies that act as a vortex pulling the listener into a world of profound and frightening beauty. Compare the '61 Vanguard Sessions with the '80 Vanguard Sessions (or anything from Evans' remarkable final year), and you become aware of impressionistic colors ultimately giving place to a dark and tragic dimension in Bill's utterly unique, unprecedented, even "threatening" hold on the listener's psyche.

I'm not sure why Tierney would want to summon up this world because her own offers sufficient rewards of its own. I suspect her pianist doesn't appreciate the comparison, because nowhere does he capture Bill's complex musical energy and ineffable touch. Disassociate this music from the precursor's (it took me a while to be able to do so), and it no longer pales in comparison. The languour and glibness are lifted, and the music takes on a serene life of its own. Moreover, there isn't a bad tune let alone a rough moment on the session (Bill, on the other hand, had a few). Like some of the previous reviewers, I notice the recurrent hints of nasality in Tierney's voice but find it personal, a bit sexy and, more importantly, musical (it enables her to close off vowels more quickly and speed up articulations).

All told, this is of the same high order as Tierney's other recordings, so let repertory be your guide. (I'm still partial to "Dancing in the Dark.")

Tierney is brilliant--I really love her artistry.
I am an afficianoda of classic female jazz singers--I've seen them all--Ella, Carmen, Anita, Sarah--and she's is carrying on the tradition beautifully. I love her voice, her phrasing, her vocalese, her song selection and her band.