|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Tierney Sutton Band brings West Coast jazz to ODU The Los Angeles-based Tierney Sutton Band pays a visit to the region Monday, Nov. 8. The Grammy-nominated jazz band will play Old Dominion University's F. Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. Tierney Sutton isn't a giant of jazz on the scale of Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday, but she's beloved singer all the same. She's taught vocal performance at University of Southern California and she's guested with the Les Brown Orchestra. Sutton and her group - which features instrumentalists Christian Jacob, Trey Henry, Kevin Axt and Ray Brinker - has played Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Sutton's 2009 album "Desire" fascinated critics with its mix of Cole Porter tunes and songs that explored deep religious ideas. "Jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton doesn't just interpret standards, " wrote Andrew Gilbert in the Boston Globe. "Like a Talmudic scholar, she takes apart the American Songbook line by line, revealing hidden meanings, alternative narratives, and symbolically loaded imagery ... In the decade since releasing her first album, she's earned a sterling reputation as an artist who combines incisive intelligence with a cool crystalline sound. With 'Desire, ' her seventh release for Telarc, Sutton unveils the rigorous, spiritually inspired practice that informs her music." Sutton is an adherent of the Bahá'í faith and her beliefs were reflected in the music captured in "Desire." The Grammy Award-nominated Tierney Sutton Band will perform for Old Dominion University's F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series at 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, in Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center. Hailed by Variety and The New York Times, the band has received two Grammy nominations for Best Vocal Jazz Album, consecutive Jazz Journalist Association awards and a JazzWeek Award for Vocalist of the Year. The group, which includes vocalist Sutton and instrumental virtuosos Christian Jacob, Trey Henry, Kevin Axt and Ray Brinker, has recently headlined at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has appeared at the Monterey, Marciac and Umbria jazz festivals. The Tierney Sutton Band has recorded seven albums. BusinessWeek hailed the release "On the Other Side" as "a masterpiece ... eloquent, honest and magnificently sung and played." The band's greatest accomplishment, however, is its continuing commitment to unity, excellence and creative collaboration. All musical arrangements, as well as business decisions, are made by the band members as full partners. According to veteran music journalist Jonathan Widran, "Part of Sutton's brilliance is her ability to blend seamlessly with her band mates." Sutton's career started in 1998 at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition, where she made it to the semifinals. Her album "Dancing in the Dark" made the Billboard Jazz top 10 in 2004. A year later, Sutton performed at Carnegie Hall and released her first live album, "I'm with the Band, " which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In addition to her work with the band, Sutton currently teaches at the University of Southern California. The F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series is supported by a grant from the Diehn Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |