TIERNEY SUTTON
Dancing In the Dark
Telarc
Read
the Jazzitude review of Tierney Sutton/On the Other
Side
Tierney Sutton’s latest CD, Dancing
In the Dark, is “inspired by the music of Frank
Sinatra”, and there is no accident in the use of the
word ‘inspired.’ Sutton does not seek to slavishly
imitate Sinatra’s versions of these songs. Instead,
she offers strongly individualistic renditions that are
based on a deep reading of the lyrics and a treatment of
the melodic structure of the songs as living, breathing
organisms. That’s an approach that she shares with
Sinatra, and the results here are similarly gratifying for
the listener.
To those who grew up with Sinatra the icon
(an icon which Sutton says she has no interest in) in the
1970s and beyond, the songs here may seem foreign, coming
as they do from earlier periods in his career. A great many
of these tunes are culled from such classic Capitol Sinatra
albums as In the Wee Small Hours (“I’ll
Be Around”), Sings for Only the Lonely (“Only
the Lonely” and “Where or When”), and
Come Dance With Me (“Dancing In the Dark,”
“The Last Dance”). These are meaty songs written
by master songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn,
Jimmy Van Heusen, Alec Wilder, Rogers & Hart, Johnny
Mandel, and Johnny Mercer. In short, it is material that
cries out for a sensitive, mature singer, which is an accurate
and precise description of Tierney Sutton.
Working with her longstanding backing trio
and, for the first time, a string section (beautifully arranged
and conducted by pianist Christian Jacob), Ms. Sutton renders
each song a perfect jewel. There are certainly more dramatic
singers, but Sutton does not have to resort to artificial
drama because the material is superb and her voice and range
of emotion are perfectly matched. Rather than overwhelm
with vocal pyrotechnics she insinuates the darker nuances
of these songs into the listener’s consciousness almost
without their being aware of it. When she intones, on the
opening track, “What’ll I do/With just a photograph/to
tell my troubles to?” one feels melancholic despair,
but never does it cross the line to maudlin self-pity.
Dancing In the Dark may well prove
one of the best vocal albums released this year. It casts
a spell and maintains its mood over its dozen tracks in
the same way that classic vocal albums like June Christy’s
Something Cool or Sinatra’s In the Wee
Small Hours did. That’s very high praise for
a vocalist, but Sutton demonstrates clearly that she deserves
it on this CD.
