THE TIERNEY SUTTON BAND
On the Other Side

Telarc

Read the Jazzitude review of Tierney Sutton/Dancing In the Dark

Vocalist Tierney Sutton has turned in one well-crafted, beautiful, entertaining CD after another. 2004’s Dancing In the Dark was a major breakthrough, an incredibly inspired and sensitive reading of tunes from Sinatra’s earlier years. On that album, Sutton’s long-time band, comprised of pianist/arranger Christian Jacobs, bassist Trey Henry, and drummer Ray Brinker, shared the spotlight equally with the singer. That was borne out on the following release, the live I’m With the Band (2005), where Sutton demonstrated how well she does what truly great singers have always done: become a part of the band rather than merely the frontperson. That doesn’t mean aping musical instruments, but rather taking cues about phrasing, breathing, dynamics, and overall performance from the other musicians, who in turn react to her. Now Sutton returns with another sublime album, On the Other Side, and this time out the credit on the sleeve reads ‘The Tirney Sutton Band.’

There’s a passage near the end of Homer’s Iliad that postulates that there are two urns from which the gods bestow good and ill fortune onto mankind. Some receive only ill fortune, and some receive good and ill fortune in various measure, but no one is dealt only from the urn of good fortune. That is what gives happiness its elusive quality and ultimately, its meaning. Call it the yin and yang, the good and evil, black and white, whatever; the concept has been essential to man’s view of his world and life since time began. So this album, ostensibly centered around songs that address, in some manner, the subject of happiness, is full of melancholy, reverie, uneasiness, uncertainty, and, yes, happiness.

The songs are so well chosen and sumptuously performed that the program notes don’t really matter—it’s simply a fantastic one hour set that shows, for anyone that had any doubts, that Tierney Sutton is a major modern jazz vocalist. But the album is well conceived and constructed. The performance is bookended by two different performances of two different standards placed side by side: “Get Happy” by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler and “Happy Days Are Here Again,” a song that has significant political and social history in the United States. Associated with the 1932 campaign of Franklin Roosevelt, it was also performed by Barbara Streisand in the wake of the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Sutton is aware of the history of these songs and the way they were entertwined memorably by Streisand and Judy Garland on the latter’s television show. That adds resonance, but she does not look to either performer for overt cues. On the opening performances “Get Happy” has a funereal drum beat and a slow, somber bass line from pianist Jacob that is echoed by Henry’s bass. It is a somber march to the gallows—‘get happy ‘cause it won’t matter soon.’ By contrast, the first version of “Happy Days Are Here Again” cooks immediately with a simmering jazz rhythm that slowly bubbles over into a funkier area. It allows Sutton to show off her best features as a vocalist, including a killer sense of rhythm. As soon as Jacobs veers into his solo, you understand why this is billed as the Tierney Sutton Band.

On the way out, “Happy Days Are Here Again” comes first in the track listing, and this time it’s a very wistful version that does convey some of the melancholy of the Streisand version, but again Sutton comes across as an original, and the bass work that supports Tierney’s voice, forming a harmonic latticework over which she floats, elevates the performance another notch. As you may have guessed, the final version of “Get Happy” is a barnburner, chugging along from the get go, with Sutton scatting (very tastefully) and growling through the song with lots of energy. After this there’s a coda—a performance of “Smile” that, while a fine performance, may be a tad over the top conceptually. But maybe not.

In between, Sutton simply performs some great songs really well, with smart arrangements that highlight both her vocal abilities and her ear as a musician. “You Are My Sunshine” is a wonderfully freeform arrangement that spins away with Jacobs’ solo before coming back into orbit for Sutton’s final chorus. Other tracks include “Glad to Be Unhappy,” “Sometimes I’m Happy” and “Happy Talk.” The Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz composition “Haunted Heart” is the kind of thing Sutton can hit over the fence every time, recalling her work on the Sinatra album. West Coast trumpet player Jack Sheldon contributes both his trumpet and vocal work to a joyous version of “I Want to Be Happy.” Sutton demonstrates her ability to swing, but she refuses to be a prisoner to one aesthetic.

Everyone who loves jazz vocals, cabaret vocals, really good vocal work in general, solid piano trio arrangements, Great American Songbook, whatever. You can find a piece of happiness with Tierney Sutton’s On the Other Side. Grab it while you can.