The Tierney Sutton Band - American Road (2011)

In a feature on jazz vocalists in the October issue of DownBeat, journalist John Murph writes that Tierney Sutton is among a group of artists who “may have come to epitomize what many think of as true jazz singers during the previous decade because of their brilliance in interpreting the classics.” With American Road, Sutton applies her deliberate, exquisitely controlled vocals to three songs from West Side Story and three songs from Porgy And Bess, as well as such traditional tunes as “Amazing Grace” and “The Water Is Wide.” On the latter song, she gracefully holds a note for 12 seconds. On her quintet’s arrangement of “On Broadway,” she toys with vowels as though they were taffy. But Sutton doesn’t grandstand. She climbs inside a melody and explores new territory. The pleasure of hearing standards involves the internal dialogue that occurs in the listener’s mind, where a previously known arrangement often is mingling with the new rendition. The Tierney Sutton Band, which has been around for 18 years, is capable of creating innovative interpretations of even the most well-known warhorses. Pianist Christian Jacob offers consistently tasteful accompaniment, and the band’s arrangements often include textures crafted by an acoustic bass and an electric one (courtesy of the quintet’s two bassists, Kevin Axt and Trey Henry).