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| Sweet Megg's Dazzling "BLUER THAN BLUE," Melding Classic Jazz and Country When Sweet Megg was growing up in New York City, country music was dominated by artists like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. Not feeling any connection to that genre, Megg studied to be a singer/songwriter with an emphasis on jazz harmony. She studied jazz in Paris as a college exchange student and later returned to the US to become a professional jazz singer. She had many diverse influences, including Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Bonnie Raitt, and (notably) Patsy Cline. She had never associated Cline's music with the country genre, but when she made that connection, it was the first step toward the creation of a unique fusion of traditional jazz from the 1920s and classic country music from the 1950s. SWEET MEGG relocated to Nashville in 2021, where she collaborated with legendary studio musicians like fiddler BILLY CONTRERAS, bassist DENNIS CROUCH, drummer CHRIS GELB, and lap steel guitarist CHRIS SCRUGGS (grandson of bluegrass legend, Earl Scruggs). Megg's new album BLUER THAN BLUE continues the ideas of her previous Turtle Bay release, My Window Faces the South, by combining the Nashville musicians with early jazz players from the Turtle Bay artist roster, including trumpeter MIKE DAVIS, trombonist SAM CHESS, reedman RICKY ALEXANDER, pianist DALTON RIDENHOUR, and guitarist JUSTIN POINDEXTER. Rather than piecing the sound together through layered individual tracks, the instrumentalists gathered in a studio in Nashville. They recorded together in the same room, where they discovered common ground in their approaches to swing and the beat. The band's style is relaxed and convivial, using elements of both styles, and the solos flow together without any stylistic conflict. The repertoire was pulled equally from jazz and country standards, with one new song co-composed by Megg and Justin Poindexter. While the general mood of the album is joyous and upbeat, most of the lyrics are about heartaches, which explains the album's title. The album opens with the buoyantly swinging title track effortlessly swung by Sweet Megg. As he does several times on the album, Davis supports Megg's vocal with a sensitive obbligato. Megg drops her vocal choruses between solos by Contreras, Poindexter, and Scruggs. The fiddle solo sounds like two instruments, and there is great musical chemistry between the two guitarists. "Once More with Feeling" finds Megg singing the Shel Silverstein lyric with great passion. The band arrangement builds and builds to an overwhelming climax. Johnny Bond's lament "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" opens with an understated duet for voice and guitar. Contreras sneaks in a countermelody before the rest of the band takes up a relaxed groove in the second chorus. Scruggs, one of the few lap guitarists on the scene, adds a poignant solo before Alexander and Megg engage in delicate counterpoint over the band's sustained chords. Davis adds a fine coda to the arrangement. Sweet Megg is not the first artist to combine the sounds of country music and swing. She acknowledges the pioneering work of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys with a delightful performance of their signature hit, "San Antonio Rose." Megg glides through the familiar melody over the band's bouncy two-beat swing. Chess' arrangement is filled with great moments, and the solos by Contreras, Poindexter, Scruggs, Ridenhour, Chess, Alexander, and Davis are fun-filled and inspiring. The momentum continues with Alexander's pulsating setting of the jazz standard "Someday, Sweetheart." Davis' sobbing trumpet is consoled by Contreras' lyric fiddle, Ridenhour's saloon piano, and Scruggs' smooth guitar lines. Guest vocalist TIMBO joins Megg on the ballad "Please Help Me I'm Falling." The parallel vocal harmony lines and twangy guitar chords recall some of the classic country duet recordings from the Fifties and Sixties. "Little Bit" is the sole original on this album, but it also evokes the echo-rich sounds of those vintage country recordings. WILD BILL doubles as Megg's vocal partner on this track. Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" receives an atmospheric arrangement with Megg's supremely expressive vocal over Hammond organ chords. The Webb Pierce/Wayne Walker song "Leaving on Your Mind" shares a similar upward opening phrase to the Ellington standard, but the country tune soon goes in a different direction. Michael Sailors' fine arrangement includes elements of big band and country ballads, and Megg's rendition is guaranteed to tug at your heart. ASHLEY CAMPBELL, the daughter of Glenn Campbell, provides vocal harmony to Megg's lead on "It's All Over Now." The instrumentalists go to town on this one, displaying great ensemble work and sassy improvisations. "Lonesome Hearted Blues" swings from beginning to end, with an arrangement modeled on the 1942 Ellington classic "Main Stem." Megg shows off her jazz chops here, with great support from the band. The two factions reunite on the stomping finale "(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You." Sweet Megg gathered a group of musicians who rarely worked together and, as a unit, they created a fusion of styles that is united in approach and direction. With the release of BLUER THAN BLUE, in her own quiet way, Sweet Megg is pointing the way to a harmonic future. # # # BLUER THAN BLUE was released on May 24, 2024, on Turtle Bay Records and is available at Turtlebayrecords.com and on all platforms. write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |