Search - Tierney Sutton :: Blue in Green

Top of the bunch

Roberto Ballati | Moscow, Russian Federation | 01/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

Almost too good.

David E. Hartman | Highland Park, ILLINOIS USA | 01/09/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Smart and Sweet

JayMusic | NJ, United States | 07/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!

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