You might say that Tessa Souter chooses her collaborators wisely. We’re talking guys like Beethoven, Fauré, and Chopin. Her new album, “Beyond The Blue,” features her lyrics set to some of the greatest
melodies ever written, and she sang a lot of them Friday night during her first
set at Montage Grill. Even though they were not familiar to the audience the
way jazz standards would have been, she got strong responses.
My favorite song of the night was “Prelude To The
Sun,” based on the second (slow) movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The
arrangement (by Rochester’s Joe
Locke, who plays on the album but was not at the show) beautifully accents the
tune’s wonderful counterpoint.
Souter’s voice was gorgeous on the classical/jazz
fusion pieces and on the few standards she performed. The audience seemed
absolutely entranced by her rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “The
Look Of Love,” which featured a mesmerizing guitar
solo by Tom Guarna.
Get The Blessing couldn’t have
been more of a contrast over at ChristChurch. The four members of the
group (including a substitute drummer; theirs is on tour with Radiohead) wore suits without ties but played it anything
but straight. The group members used the stage visually in a dramatic way with
the two horn players (saxophone and trumpet) on the far right and far left, and
the drummer and bassist in the middle.
Conceptually, Get The Blessing is fascinating. In
every tune band members went right to the edge and sometimes over. But, in
every tune they came back and suddenly there was a theme so catchy, it was
tough to shake. Few groups can pull off this sort of balancing act, not to
mention raise questions about the yin yang of dissonance and harmony.
I was hoping to end the night with the great bassist Christian McBride’s
Inside Straight at Kilbourn Hall. The four
other musicians in his band were in Rochester
and at the afternoon sound check. But McBride himself was stuck at NewarkAirport with storms preventing his
plane from taking off. He went all the way across New
York to LaGuardiaAirport to try to get a flight from
there but they couldn’t get him here before 10:45
p.m. So, for the first time I can ever recall in XRIJF history, two
shows had to be cancelled.
Instead, I decided to hear singer/pianist Karrin Allyson at Max at
Eastman Place. On my favorite of her albums, “From Paris to Rio,”
Allyson demonstrates her ability to sing beautifully in French and Portuguese.
Even thought the album came out in 1999, she still often ventures to both
places in concert.
She sang a beautiful version of “Sous le Ciel de Paris” (“Under the Sky of Paris”) and a wonderful
“O Pato” (“The Duck”). And, when she interpreted
Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Double Rainbow,” she sang in
English and Portuguese. Allyson had a natural rapport with the audience
throughout the show. Her guitarist, who she said was playing only his second
show with her, was especially strong.
Saturday night I can’t wait to hear Tom Harrell’s Debussy & Ravel
Project at Kilbourn Hall. I love Debussy but I love Ravel even more. And I
can’t think of a more sensitive trumpet player to
explore their music than Harrell. I’ll also check out the excellent
pianist Bill Cunliffe at Hatch Hall and see how
ethereal it can get with Yggdrasil & Eivor at the LutheranChurch.
Looking for more of City’s Jazz Fest coverage? Click
here for City’s 2012 Jazz Fest Guide, click here for
our Jazz Blog landing page, or Like City on
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