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| Sean Sullivan at Rockwood Music Hall 2/28/15 8:30 pm Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and southern-born native New Yorker Sean Sullivan's style is derived from a wide swath of the musical landscape, including jazz, standards, blues, soul, bossa nova, and americana. According to Sullivan, "the intellect is only a tool to serve the higher intelligence of the human spirit", and it is this philosophy that propels his latest soulful release, HEREAFTER, a more contemporary outing than 2010's SQUARE ONE, whose straight-ahead mix of standards and originals featured tenor sax great David "Fathead" Newman. Helmed by veteran producer Matt Pierson and supported by a host of consummate musicians, HEREAFTER contains eight originals and four covers infused with a bluesy, earthy vibe that alternately soothes and sermonizes. Cover‐wise, inventive ballad versions of Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" and Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back To Me" are standouts, as well as knowing nods to Michael Franks' "Jive" and mentor Jon Hendricks' comic ode to oenophiles "Gimme That Wine". Favorable reviews and features for HEREAFTER in print, radio and television thus far have included an interview/performance on NPR's Song Travels with Michael Feinstein, CBS' Last.FM, JazzTimes, Jazziz, USATODAY, Yahoo!Music, Relix, BloombergTV, Utne Reader, Guitar World, Elmore Magazine etc. and media comparisons with artists like Boz Scaggs, Al Jarreau, Jon Hendricks, James Taylor, Gregory Porter, Eric Clapton, Amos Lee, Ray Lamontagne, Cassandra Wilson, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and one song, amusingly, like "a subdued James Brown". "Amid all the well-deserved hoopla for Gregory Porter and Cecile Mclorin Salvant, there's another new(ish) vocalist, equally deserving of huzzahs, who remains too far under the radar. He is Sean Sullivan…with a dynamic sound that suggests James Taylor meets Boz Scaggs by way of Al Jarreau." … "There's a lot of Porter in Sullivan too, not stylistically but with regard to attitude: that same mesmerizing sense of soul-deep sincerity and guileless charm"…"expansive palette" … "demonstrating poetic flair worthy of Taylor or Porter"…."The most persistent theme, befitting so devout an up-and-comer is music as spiritual quest, addressed in both the title track with its jazz-filled heaven and more earthily in the blistering "God is in the Blues"." -CHRISTOPHER LOUDON- JAZZTIMES "HEREAFTER is the sweet spot between jazz, soul, rock, and Americana, and recalls the recordings of Boz Scaggs and Al Jarreau." -BRIAN MANSFIELD- USATODAY "Dig Boz Scaggs' jazzy, soulful vocal sound and Jon Hendricks' smooth hip tone? Push them together and you get vocalist Sean Sullivan…. Sullivan has plenty of earthiness in his background and fine jazz phrasing. His voice can ache like a soprano sax, but Sullivan also knows how to swing a tune." -MARC MYERS- JAZZWAX.COM "Eight excellent originals...four interesting covers….just as stylists like Cassandra Wilson or Gregory Porter have done well in this fluid jazz-blues-R&B-pop vein, Sullivan has the warm voice and music skill to excel in it now, and he's got a bright future ahead of him. -TAD HENDRICKSON- ITUNES Sean Sullivan's soulful, sensuous voice shine's on HEREAFTER, a playful genre-hopping romp… the singer and songwriter variously invokes the slow-burning blues-rock of Eric Clapton; the folk-soul of Amos Lee or Ray Lamontagne; and the strutting jazz swagger of his hero, Jon Hendricks." - JONATHAN WIDRAN- JAZZIZ write your comments about the article :: © 2015 Jazz News :: home page |