[Dixielandjazz] Tierney Sutton interviewed - Newark Star-Ledger

[Robert Ringwald]

Tierney Sutton: Don't Call Her a Solo Artist
by Tad Hendrickson
Newark Star-Ledger, December 9, 2011
Singer Tierney Sutton's songs are often heard on DJ Jonathan Schwartz's shows for
WNYC (93.9 FM) and SiriusXM satellite radio, and she's even been known to join the
popular radio host on air to chat about their mutual love of classic American popular
music.
The tables will be turned when Schwartz makes a guest appearance at the Tierney Sutton
Band's two sets at New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Chase Room on Saturday. This
will be the first NJPAC visit for Schwartz but a return engagement for the quartet,
which last appeared there in 2009 on a co-bill with John Pizzarelli's group.
While the last one was a more typical concert, Schwartz's presence brings an interesting
wrinkle to the evening.
"I'll talk to Jonathan a lot about what he has in mind," says Sutton, 48. "He'll
be onstage for quite a bit of the show, talking in between songs about the music,
telling stories as only he can, and he may bring some music to play. We've done this
once before and it was really fun."
While Schwartz is a New York institution who has been on air for more than 40 years,
the Los Angeles-based Tierney Sutton Band has been around for nearly 20, featuring
pianist Christian Jacob, bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Ray Brinker. It has released
nine albums and received four Grammy nominations; its most recent one came last week,
when it was announced that "American Road," released in September, will be one of
five nominees in the jazz vocal album category in the Feb. 12 award show.
Whereas many jazz and cabaret singers wear fancy outfits and keep the band on a tight
leash, the stylish but casual Sutton sits on a stool when she sings, generally leaving
the prom dresses to singers that travel with a stylist. Sutton is an engaging leader
and front person, but she is truly part of a band (it's Tierney Sutton Band, not
Tierney Sutton) where all the members arrange the tunes and can even improvise, because
the singer has the chops to keep up.
"My aesthetic has developed over time and to a large degree from working with my
band," she says. "Above all I need to listen to the band. The best way for me to
be comfortable and to hear is to sit and have my head level and ear level pretty
close to all the other members. So I sit in a cocoon of sound and that creates a
different dynamic."
Sutton is recognized as one of today's best singers working in the jazz and standards
idiom. Her skill as a scat and vocalese singer is virtuosic, her tone is crystal
clear and her lyrical phrasing is top notch. This allows her to mine new emotions
out of lyrics heard by listeners hundreds of times before.
While the band is still Sutton's primary outlet, fellow notable musicians now seek
her out for collaborations: Imaginative new projects include one with a trio featuring
Sutton, iconic flutist Hubert Laws and guitarist Larry Koonse, and another finds
her with classical music's Turtle Island String Quartet. She is also excited to share
her hard-won knowledge with young new talent, teaching on the road and at the Los
Angeles Music Academy, helping students to find their sound just like she has found
hers.
"At this point in my career I get to watch these ex-students of mine go out there
and kick butt," she says. "I have these great young singers that I've worked with
over the years, and the thing that makes me the proudest is how much of their own
thing they do."


--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
530/ 642-9551 Office
916/ 806-9551 Cell
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