Tessa Souter - Listen Love (2004)

In this, her debut album, Tessa Souter brings our attention to the lyrics by holding back on the timing and using the least amount of accompaniment necessary to bring out the flavor of the song. There is no drum set, only slight percussive accents to some of the songs, and often with only one instrument joining in. And with slight shifts in emphasis and tonality, Souter explores a nuance of meaning or tells a more extended story. For instance, in "The Peacocks," a Jimmy Rowles tune with Norma Winstone lyrics, she offers a laid back, reflective version of a ballad with only piano accompaniment, illustrating her minimalist approach. Then, in a way which pleasantly surprises the listener, she takes a classic tune by guitarist Pat Martino, "Willow," sets to it her own lyrics that have more to do with "blue" than with "willow," adds some nice guitar work by Freddie Bryant and the lucid bass lines of Essiet Essiet, and simply reminds us of the gentle side of the legendary Martino—who usually functions in hard drive, but is also capable of sensitivity and tenderness. In John Lucien's "Listen Love," Chambo Corniel provides a pianissimo percussion backdrop, and the music intensifies with the only instance of scat choruses on the album and a breathless ending.

The mood changes with Sting's "Fragile"; a tragic song about anger, pain and suffering and their resolution: "The blood will flow...," "How fragile we are." We have here a musical version of the biblical Ecclesiastes, showing how Souter is capable of taking on some difficult subjects. In "You Don't Have to Believe," a Souter original, the singer starts out with a middle eastern chant and develops an erotic dance with a bitter lyric: "Even though you're not mine, the stars shine." By contrast, "Daydream" and "Insensitez" offer mild Brazilian flavorings. Then Souter renders a Mal Waldron/Billie Holiday song, "Left Alone," placing her own brand on it, enhanced by Freddie Bryant's beautiful guitar accompaniment.

Finally, Souter again surprises us with a spiritual chant: "The Creator Has A Master Plan" by Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas, in which the theme from John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" serves as a mantra.