Tessa Souter
“Picture in Black and White”
NOA Records
Concept albums are common in rock, but rare in the jazz
realm. Tessa Souter’s “Picture in Black and White” — set for release on October
5 — breaks that mold. Souter, a Rochester favorite after multiple jazz festival
appearances, has created an exquisite musical exploration of her identity. At
the age 28, she discovered that her birth father was black and her roots
reached from Africa to the Caribbean, from Celtic Britain to Andalusian Spain.
Musical strains from all of these places permeate the album.
Among the many highlights: on
the opener, “Kothbiro,” Souter harmonizes with
herself beautifully in the Kenyan language of Dholuo; her composition “Dancing Girl” segues so perfectly
into U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name,” you’d think the two songs had
always been together. Additionally, Souter wrote poignant lyrics to Wayne
Shorter’s “Ana Maria” with Shorter’s blessing. Souter eventually met her biological
father, and the title tune reflects her feelings about him.
With gorgeous tone and
impeccable phrasing, Souter’s voice is thrilling throughout. Arrangements are
nicely sparse, with all of the players — guitarist and oud player Yotam Silberstein, Adam Platt on piano, cellist Dana Leong,
Yasushi Nakamura on bass; drummer
Billy Drummond, and Keita Ogawa on percussion — providing the perfect
lift for this journey.
This article appears in Sep 26 – Oct 2, 2018.
