THE TIERNEY SUTTON BAND — On The Other Side (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Few jazz vocalists set out to deconstruct a standard as thoroughly as Tierney Sutton does. Her past albums have hovered around a theme but none as devotedly as On the Other Side, which takes the simple concept of happiness and turns it on its ear. Sutton could have approached classics like "Happy Talk," "Make Someone Happy," "Happy Days Are Here Again," and "Get Happy" as most singers would, finding their sweet spots and putting on a big smile as she sang them with ebullience. But these are some of the saddest renditions of happy tunes you'll ever hear, and Sutton's reinventions are such a success because she is so believably bummed. Often turning to minor keys to shift the mood downward, she takes the giddy and makes it melancholy. Rodgers & Hart's "Glad to Be Unhappy," despite its title, is quite often sung as if that's a welcomed state; when Sutton delivers a line such as "It's a pleasure to be sad," she makes certain that she's not appearing ironic. In Jimmie Davis' "You Are My Sunshine," the listener is right to ask whether the singer really means "You'll never know how much I love you," because the loneliness in her voice is so palpable. As always, Sutton's band is entirely sympathetic, their unfussy arrangements providing Sutton with the tonal foundation her unorthodox interpretations require. Her use of two bassists on some tracks doesn't weigh the music down but instead reinforces the darkness Sutton so convincingly conveys. And pianist Christian Jacob, especially, is a major presence -- Sutton's sole accompanist on the album-closing "Smile" (the Charlie Chaplin fave) is bluesy and mournful, the perfect complement to Sutton's unsmiling take. What's most interesting about On the Other Side, though, is that ultimately it doesn't feel like a downer. Sutton's voice is such a flexible, captivating instrument that it's a joy to follow, even as she's doing everything in her power to spread a frown. This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Jeff Tamarkin
Tracklist :
1    Get Happy (Version 1) 4:48
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
2    Happy Days Are Here Again (Version 1) 3:40
Written-By – Jack Yellen, Milton Ager
3    You Are My Sunshine 5:32
Written-By – Jimmie Davis
4    Glad To Be Unhappy 3:17
Written-By – Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers
5    Sometimes I'm Happy 4:46
Written-By – Clifford Grey, Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans
6    Happy Talk 3:27
Written-By – Oscar Hammerstein II/Richard Rodgers
7    Haunted Heart 6:18
Written-By – Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz
8    I Want To Be Happy 4:16
Written-By – Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans
9    Make Someone Happy 3:58
Written-By – Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Jule Styne
10    Great Day! 3:58
Written-By – Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu, Vincent Youmans
11    Happy Days Are Here Again (Version 2)    5:14
12    Get Happy (Version 2)    5:06
13    Smile 5:09
Written-By – Charlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner
Credits :
Arranged By – The Tierney Sutton Band
Bass – Kevin Axt, Trey Henry
Drums – Ray Brinker
Piano – Christian Jacob
Trumpet, Guest – Jack Sheldon (tracks: 4, 8)
Vocals – Jack Sheldon (tracks: 8)
Vocals, Liner Notes – Tierney Sutton

TIERNEY SUTTON — I'm with the Band (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Since popping into our collective jazz consciousness as a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition in 1998 and signing with Telarc Jazz a few years later, the versatile stylist Sutton Tierney has carved a unique career around theme-centered recordings -- most notably with Unsung Heroes (featuring sung renditions of songs normally done as instrumentals) and Blue in Green (a tribute record to Bill Evans). Her creativity with tempo, song selection, and witty modulations is at full-throttle on her fifth disc for the label, I'm with the Band, an hour-long set recorded live at Birdland in March 2005. Though she's clearly the star and her ensemble is always in her service, the album title and cover photo beautifully illustrate the mutual love she and her brilliant bandmates have shared for ten years. Each tune has space for Tierney to shine and improvise over simple harmonic and rhythmic support before she lets them break free. On the opening track, "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," she swings via words and scat over pianist Christian Jacob's alternately dark and light chordings, and drummer Ray Brinker's brisk brushes; then Jacob rolls with a feisty solo as Brinker and bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry groove behind him. "Let's Face the Music and Dance" features their very gentle support behind her restrained and thoughtful reflections, while Tierney and her rhythm section render "'S Wonderful" with a wistful wink. Tierney has her moments of gentle and poignant romance ("If I Loved You"), but is clearly having the most fun when she's moving at a faster tempo, alternating words and scat so effortlessly and seamlessly that you don't realize she's shifting back and forth. This disc is live jazz at its best and is destined to be a classic. Jonathan Widran
Tracklist :
1. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise    4:55
 Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg
2    Let's Face The Music And Dance    4:47
 Irving Berlin
3    'S Wonderful    2:33
 George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
4    Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea    4:18
 Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
5    Two For The Road    2:55
 Leslie Bricusse / Henry Mancini
6    East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)    2:23
 Brooks Bowman
7    People Will Say We're In Love    2:56
 Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers
8    If I Loved You    4:43
 Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers
9    Surrey With The Fringe On Top    2:14
 Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers
10    Cheek To Cheek    3:06
 Irving Berlin
11    Blue Skies    4:38
 Irving Berlin
12    I Get A Kick Out Of You    3:21
 Cole Porter
13    The Lady Is A Tramp    4:28
 Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
14    What A Little Moonlight Will Do    3:06
15    On My Way To You    4:06
 Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Michel Legrand
16    Devil May Care    4:27
 Harry Warren
Credits
Bass – Kevin Axt, Trey Henry
Drums – Ray Brinker
Piano – Christian Jacob
Vocals – Tierney Sutton

TIERNEY SUTTON - Something Cool (2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Tierney Sutton warms the soul with Something Cool. This offering, her third as a leader for the Telarc label, finds the vocalist using an array of vocal techniques, jazz styles, and formats on 14 great songs by several Great American Songbook composers, Bobby Troup, and the masterful Duke Ellington. Sutton is accompanied by her longtime trio of Christian Jacob on piano, Trey Henry on bass, and Ray Brinker on drums. The lovely vocalist/educator charms her listeners with elongated phrasings, a strong rhythmic sense, and amazing improvisational abilities on three Lerner & Loewe themes from the Broadway musical My Fair Lady. In addition to the outstanding vocal treatments she offers her listeners on these classic songs, Sutton scats and swings through an amazing "Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead." This song not only shows her versatility with tempo changes and range, but also displays her unique talent for selecting songs commonly associated with another musical style and improvising them in a jazz context. She garnered international critical acclaim for this technique on her 1999 release titled Unsung Heroes. Additional highlights include Howard Dietz's "Alone Together," on which she duets with bassist Trey Henry, and her exceptional rendition of "The Best Is Yet to Come," which features her cool jazz vocal skills. Tierney Sutton is at her finest on this program and offers an impeccable selection of songs that showcase her distinct musical personality and quality sound. by Paula Edelstein  
Tracklist :
1     Route 66 5:41
Bobby Troup
2     Something Cool 4:29
Billy Barnes
3     Wouldn't It Be Loverly? 3:35
Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
4     I've Grown Accustomed to His Face 6:25
Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
5     Show Me 3:07
Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
6     Comes Love 5:51
Lew Brown / Sam H. Stept / Charles Tobias
7     Reflections 5:37
Duke Ellington / Milt Raskin
8     Alone Together 4:13
Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz
9     Out of This World 6:05
Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
10     All or Nothing at All 5:30
Arthur Altman / Jack Lawrence
11     Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead 3:03
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
12     Walkin' After Midnight 3:00
Alan Block / Don Hecht
13     Crazy 3:40
Willie Nelson
14     The Best Is Yet to Come 4:34
Cy Coleman / Carolyn Leigh
Credits :
Bass – Trey Henry
Drums – Ray Brinker
Piano – Christian Jacob
Vocals – Tierney Sutton

TIERNEY SUTTON - Dancing in the Dark (2004) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This isn't Sutton's tribute to Sinatra, although all the material here was recorded and made famous by him. Instead, it's her working through the nooks and crannies of his songbook, and bringing things out and putting her own particular polish on them. It could be something with strings, such as "What'll I Do?" or the intimacy of "I'll Be Around," which is as much a plea as a reassurance and resignation. Her version of "I Think of You," whose melody comes originally from Rachmaninov, is gloriously subtle, the emotion as softly drawn out as the syllables. "I Could Have Told You" offers comfort and a shoulder to cry on, a gentle embrace that's almost a whisper in Sutton's hands. The music here is at its best when the orchestra keeps away -- they simply become overkill, the too-sweet icing on an already-delicious cake. Perhaps her biggest test, though, comes at the end of the album, tackling "Fly Me to the Moon," followed by a medley of "Last Dance" and "Dancing in the Dark," taking on some of Sinatra's most famous pieces. While on the former Sutton doesn't always dig to the absolute heart of the song, the arrangement is stunning, with some outstanding piano from Christian Jacob that frees the songs from its '50s shackles. Sutton does sparkle on the other piece, however, especially "Dancing in the Dark," where the orchestral contributions are kept to a minimum, and the tracks swings in a minimalist fashion, Sutton's voice imbued with the magic of the night. The album might have been inspired by Sinatra, but in her own way, Sutton has gone beyond her inspiration. by Chris Nickson  
Tracklist :
1    What'll I Do 5:37
Written-By – Irving Berlin
2    Only The Lonely 2:45
Lyrics By – Jimmy Van Heusen
Music By – Sammy Cahn
3    I'll Be Around 3:21
Written-By – Alec Wilder
4    All The Way 5:45
Lyrics By – Jimmy Van Heusen
Music By – Sammy Cahn
5    I Think Of You 5:00
Lyrics By – Don Marcotte
Music By – Jack Elliott
6    Where Or When 3:10
Lyrics By – Richard Rodgers
Music By – Lorenz Hart
7    Without A Song 5:10
Lyrics By – Edward Eliscu, Vincent Youmans
Music By – Billy Rose
8    I Could Have Told You 4:52
Lyrics By – Jimmy Van Heusen
Music By – Carl Sigman
9    Emily 5:50
Lyrics By – Johnny Mandel
Music By – Johnny Mercer
10    Last Night When We Were Young 3:20
Lyrics By – Harold Arlen
Music By – E.Y. Harburg
11    Fly Me To The Moon 4:12
Written-By – Bart Howard
12    Last Dance/ Dancing In The Dark 5:25
Lyrics By – Arthur Schwartz
Music By – Howard Dietz
Credits :
Arranged By – The Tierney Sutton Band
Bass – Trey Henry
Cello – Armin Ksakajikian, Audy Stein, Larry Corbett
Contractor – Alan Kaplan
Drums – Ray Brinker
Flute – Gary Foster
Horn – Brad Kintscher
Orchestra, Conductor – Christian Jacob (faixas: 1, 4, 5, 7, 12)
Piano – Christian Jacob
Viola – Harry Shirinian, Jorge Moraga, Lynn Grants, Margot Aldcroft
Violin – Barbra Porter, Cameron Patrick, Edmund Stein, Erika Walczak, Gina Kronstadt, Juliann French, Kathleen Robertson, Kirsten Fife, Sharon Jackson, Susan Chatman, Vladimir Polimatidi
Violin, Concertmaster – Peter Kent
Vocals – Tierney Sutton

TIERNEY SUTTON BAND - Desire (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tierney Sutton has evolved into one of the most striking jazz singers of the early 21st century, simply because of her gift for finding new approaches to familiar songs without abandoning their essence. With her longtime band (pianist Christian Jacob, drummer Ray Brinker, and either Trey Henry or Kevin Axt on bass), Sutton has crafted unusual arrangements of nine standards that many vocalists seem to perform on autopilot without giving them much thought. She turns "It's Only a Paper Moon" into a mystical work by interweaving an excerpt of a Bahá'í prayer in a tense arrangement with Jacob's adventurous altered chords and Brinker's brushwork complementing her enchanting vocal. The uptempo backing to her explosive interpretation of "My Heart Belongs" gives it a decidedly new twist. Likewise, Sutton puts her own touch on perennial vamp favorites like "Whatever Lola Wants" and "Fever" that make a substantial departure from well-known recordings. She's at her best with a pair of songs by Dave Frishberg, including the bittersweet "Long Daddy Green" (co-written by Blossom Dearie) and the touching ballad "Heart's Desire" by Ken Dryden  
Tracklist :
1     It's Only a Paper Moon 7:15
Lyrics By – E.Y. Harburg
Music By – Billy Rose    
2     My Heart Belongs to Daddy 4:52
Cole Porter
3     Long Daddy Green 5:45
Lyrics By – Blossom Dearie
Music By – Dave Frishberg
4     Fever 4:58
Lyrics By – Eddie Cooley
Music By – John Davenport    
5     It's All Right with Me 4:37
Cole Porter
6     Then I'll Be Tired of You 4:23
Lyrics By – Arthur Schwartz
Music By – E.Y. Harburg
7     Cry Me a River 5:22
Arthur Hamilton
8     Love Me or Leave Me 4:54
Lyrics By – Walter Donaldson
Music By – Gus Kahn
9     Heart's Desire 3:54
Lyrics By – Alan Broadbent
Music By – Dave Frishberg
10     Whatever Lola Wants 5:38
Lyrics By – Jerry Ross
Music By – Richard Adler    
11     Skylark 5:50
Lyrics By – Hoagy Carmichael
Music By – Johnny Mercer
Credits :
Arranged By – The Tierney Sutton Band
Bass – Kevin Axt (faixas: 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11), Trey Henry (faixas: 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11)
Drums – Ray Brinker
Piano – Christian Jacob
Vocals – Tierney Sutton

TIERNEY SUTTON - After Blue (2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tierney Sutton claims she had never really encountered Joni Mitchell until she heard the songwriter's 2000 album Both Sides Now, a collection mainly comprised of standards. (An album she holds in the same regard as Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours and Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin.) In 2011 she performed four of Mitchell's songs during a performance with the Turtle Island String Quartet; that gig set this project in motion. After Blue is Sutton's first offering that doesn’t include her regular band -- its members were involved with other projects at the time. Instead, her collaborators are a collection of jazz luminaries who include Peter Erskine, Larry Goldings, Ralph Humphrey, Hubert Laws, the TISQ, and Al Jarreau, who duets on "Be Cool" (the only track to feature one of Sutton's own musicians, bassist Kevin Axt). Sutton reads Mitchell by moving through the songwriter's various creative periods, embracing the singer/songwriter's jazz leanings in her phrasing, improvisation, and syncopation, and their shared love of the Great American Songbook. This last notion is evidenced by Sutton's version of "Don’t Go to Strangers" and "Answer Me My Love," both of which Mitchell poignantly delivered on Both Sides Now. She also seamlessly melds closer "Freeman in Paris" with "April in Paris." Other standouts include "Blue" and "Little Green" with TISQ, the fingerpopping "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" with Laws, Erskine, and Goldings, and the swinging, thoroughly re-envisioned "Big Yellow Taxi." On "Both Sides Now," she is accompanied only by Mark Summer's cello. For those accustomed to hearing Sutton re-interpreting standards from the golden era, After Blue retains her trademark gifts of phrasing, restraint, and emotional honesty. But as an album, it is just as remarkable as Herbie Hancock's The Joni Letters in its creative rapprochement of Mitchell's music with the jazz tradition, and reveals Sutton at a vocal and interpretive peak. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist :
1     Blue 4:11
Joni Mitchell
2     All I Want 3:28
Joni Mitchell
3     Court and Spark 4:57
Joni Mitchell
4     Don't Go to Strangers 5:56
Redd Evans / Arthur Kent / Dave Mann
5     The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines 5:15
Charles Mingus / Joni Mitchell
6     Big Yellow Taxi 3:06
Joni Mitchell
7     Woodstock 6:08
Joni Mitchell
8     Little Green 4:53
Joni Mitchell
9     Be Cool 5:50
Joni Mitchell
10     Answer Me My Love 3:45
Fred Rauch / Carl Sigman / Gerhard Winkler
11     Both Sides Now 5:11
Joni Mitchell
12     April in Paris/Free Man in Paris 5:36
Vernon Duke / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg / Joni Mitchell
Credits :
Acoustic Bass – Kevin Axt (faixas: 4)
Arranged By – David Balakrishnan (faixas: 1), Julie Bernstein (faixas: 8), Kevin Axt (faixas: 9), Mark Summer (faixas: 2, 11), Serge Merlaud (faixas: 10), Tierney Sutton (faixas: 9, 12)
Cello – Mark Summer (faixas: 1, 8)
Drums – Peter Erskine (faixas: 5, 9), Ralph Humphrey (faixas: 6)
Flute – Hubert Laws (faixas: 5, 9)
Guest – Al Jarreau (faixas: 9)
Guitar – Serge Merlaud (faixas: 4, 10)
Organ [Hammond] – Larry Goldings (faixas: 3, 5, 7, 9, 12)
Piano – Larry Goldings (faixas: 3, 5, 7, 9, 12)
Viola – Benjamin von Gutzeit (faixas: 1, 8)
Violin – David Balakrishnan (faixas: 1, 8), Mateusz Smoczyński (faixas: 1, 8)
Vocals – Tierney Sutton

TIERNEY SUTTON - Introducing Tierney Sutton (1997) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Tierney Sutton has the kind of voice that you can take for granted. After just a couple of tunes, you know you can relax -- she's not going to flub a note, she's not going to screech trying to reach beyond her range, she's not going to show off. That frees you up to sit back, close your eyes, and alternate between wonder at her pure technique and rapt enjoyment of her artistry. Sutton's debut album is a program of standards (not to say potboilers): "The Song Is You," "My Heart Stood Still," "It Never Entered My Mind," like that. But even if you've heard all these songs a hundred times before, you'll still love this album. Not because she brings anything particularly surprising or revelatory to this repertoire, but because she sheds such a warm, sweet light on the songs that it's a pleasure to hear them again. Sometimes she surprises, as on the voice/bass duet arrangements of "In Love in Vain" and "My Heart Stood Still," which are two of this album's many highlights, or with startling scat excursions where you don't necessarily expect them. Other times she evokes Ella Fitzgerald at her peak, as on her rendition of "Caravan." But she never disappoints. by Rick Anderson  
Tracklist:
1 Old Country 3:24
Curtis Lewis
2 You're Nearer 3:44
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
3 The Song Is You 4:38
Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern
4 In Love in Vain 3:50
Jerome Kern / Leo Robin
5 It Never Entered My Mind 5:44
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
6 Caravan 6:35
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
7 I've Never Been in Love Before 3:44
Frank Loesser
8 Morning Sun 3:19
Scott Hitzik
9 My Heart Stood Still 1:22
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
10 High Wire 4:36
Chick Corea
11 I'm a Fool to Want You 3:07
Joel Herron / Frank Sinatra / Jack Wolf
12 Footprints/My Favorite Things 5:10
Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers / Wayne Shorter
13 If I Were a Bell 4:10
Frank Loesser
14 In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning 4:26
Bob Hilliard / David Mann
Credits:
Bass – Trey Henry
Drums – Ray Brinker
Flugelhorn – Buddy Childers (tracks: 1)
Piano – Christian Jacob (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12), Michael Lang (tracks: 2, 5, 8, 11, 13, 14)
Recorded By – Gordon Suffield, Jim Latham
Vocals, Producer – Tierney Sutton