Desire

Album Review

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" (with music by Alan Broadbent), two gems that have been infrequently recorded.