Tierney Sutton Interview for The Song Break
John Bommarito: 89.1 WEMU. You are listening to The Song Break.That is “Spring, Spring, Spring” a new song from the album, simply titled Spring from Tierney Sutton and Tamir Handelman and this Saturday night at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, you can find both of those fine artists at the club. And this afternoon, I happen to be joined by Tierney herself. Hello, Tierney. Nice to meet you.
Tierney Sutton: Hey, how are you, John?
John Bommarito: I'm doing great. It's so good to talk to you. I've been playing your music on this show for the last couple of years when I started discovering this kind of jazz. And I was alerted of your voice and your music by coworkers who have worked here longer, like Jessica Webster, who I believe, you know, from staff.
Tierney Sutton: Of course, yes, of course.
John Bommarito: Folks like that were steering me in your direction and I'm so glad. So, let's talk about a couple of things. First of all, new album - Spring. Things to brag about, I think is always good if people don't know these things about you, nine Grammy nominations. Congratulations. Good track record for the last decade, I'd say. I have zero of them, so you're doing better than me.
Tierney Sutton: Yeah, I joke that you can either call it nine nominations or nine losses.
John Bommarito: Oh, no, no.
Tierney Sutton: Whichever way you want it, however you want to frame it.
John Bommarito: Yeah, nine nominations is great. Well, it's obvious by the choices of the artists that you choose to pay tribute to on your previous records like Sting, Joni Mitchell, Sinatra, that you and I could hang out and talk music for a while because I have a love of those artists as well. And it's also pretty obvious that your favorite season is probably spring because this is not the first time you've sung songs about spring on your records.
Tierney Sutton: That is true. I mean, I've really had a penchant for the Great American Songbook and songs about spring for a long time. But actually, this CD is going to be the first of a four CD set that I'm going to do with Tamir. We're going to all the seasons, because on tour we've been doing that anyway. Spring definitely has some special ones, like the one that you just played. I mean, Spring, Spring Spring is one that almost nobody's ever recorded and of course it's all about Johnny Mercer's brilliant lyric. Musically there's not much going on in that, but the lyric and the craft of Johnny Mercer's lyric is it's just at the height of his game so i really wanted to do it.I was introduced to that song by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and I wasn't familiar with it before, so I really wanted to do that one.
John Bommarito: I wasn't until I heard your version either, so thank you for introducing me and giving me something new to play on the show and something else to like. Is this album number 15? Am I counting right on that?
Tierney Sutton: It's actually 17, because I've done some others that weren't with my band and yeah, so I've been doing it for a while, that's for sure.
John Bommarito: Is stepping away from the band just because it's easier to tour as a duo or is this another, or is there another reason for that?
Tierney Sutton: I think I've always done other things besides playing with my band and it is easy and flexible to tour that way, but over the years, Tamir and I have really formed our own kind of musical statement and relationship. The last two records I did, one was with the French Jazz duo Charlier / Sourisse. Andre Charlier and Ben Sourisse you should check out. They're not so known here, but they are brilliant composers and musicians, and I did it an album with them that came out last year. Then before that, I did an album where I wrote all the lyrics with a group called the San Gabriel Seven. So I've just…. you know there's just always a lot of other things that I've been doing over the years
John Bommarito: Where'd you put your keys by the way? Have you found them yet?
Tierney Sutton: That's a good question! I have to say in all fairness the great Lorraine Feather wrote the best song about losing your keys before I did. Check out that one.
John Bommarito: That's a fun one. I like playing that one, that's a fun one.
Tierney Sutton: Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, that's true.
John Bommarito: How did you come to work with Tamir? What a pretty impressive resume. McCartney, Natalie Cole, Barbara Streisand, Houston Person, Clayton Hamilton Orchestra, you.
Tierney Sutton: Oh yeah. I first met him when I first moved to LA 30 years ago and he was just a young guy around town. I had an occasion to play some gigs with him when I was first in LA. And then in the early 2000s, my band was invited to go to Europe on a five-week tour. Like an “Emerging Artists” tour. Christian Jacob, the regular pianist in my band, could not do it, and Tamir did it. We were friends and occasionally worked together after that, but then we ended up doing a duo tour of Japan, went to Italy. During the pandemic we really started to do stuff together a lot because he was doing streaming concerts from his house and we just really started to establish a really fruitful working relationship. I got to record a bunch of stuff with him and create things with him that I'd wanted to do for many, many years.
John Bommarito: Well, two pros working together, I bet you didn't have to do too many takes for the recordings or am I guessing wrong there?
Tierney Sutton: No, we went into the studio after a series of live shows and just did a couple of takes each on these songs. Definitely, that was how this went down, for sure.
John Bommarito: The new album is called Spring, Tierney Sutton, and Tamir Handelman, a new record that you can find at the shows, including the one possibly at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, bluellamaclub.com for more information. Let's talk a little bit more, but for just a bit, let me take a break musically and play something from the record. This is “Things Are Swingin’ “ on The Song Break.
John Bommarito: A little bit of “Things Are Swingin’“ on The Song Break. Tierney Sutton and Tamir Handelman. I'm joined by…Tierney. I’m sorry. I was going to say I'm joined by Tamir. Could have been, but I don't know how to put two phone callers on at the same time here at 89.1. Tierney, where did you grow up? Where are you from?
Tierney Sutton: I'm originally from Milwaukee, so not too far from you guys, and I'll be working in Wisconsin the week after we're at the Blue LLama. I'll be in Milwaukee, I'll in Green Bay, I will be in Fond du Lac, in Waupaca, I'm going to be all over Wisconsin and Minneapolis too. In my old Midwestern haunts this time.
John Bommarito: Very good. Well, when you first started singing jazz, what kind of aspirations did you have? Was it listening rooms like the Blue Lama? Or was it Grammys? Where were you thinking when you were younger?
Tierney Sutton: I wasn't thinking about anything except making music with musicians that I loved. That's really what I was thinking about and I got to do it and continue to get to do it. So. I don't think I ever thought anything about Grammys, I didn't even really know what that was. I just wanted to play with musicians I admired and sing songs that I thought were great and fun and wonderful to sing and I've had about 25 years of doing that. 30 years, so that's pretty nice.
John Bommarito: As the song says, nice work if you can get it, right?
Tierney Sutton: Right!
John Bommarito: Who are some of the favorite folks besides, obviously, Tamira, that you've worked with over the years, ones that you have been most honored that they accepted your invitation to work with them?
Tierney Sutton: Well one thing when I did the Joni Mitchell album a few years ago, Al Jarreau was a guest on that record and that came about because he invited me to be a guest on an album he was preparing. I said I absolutely would love to do that, but what I want is for you to be a guest on my Joni Mitchell record. Then he ended up not doing the record he asked me to be on and he was on my Joni Mitchell record for free. And it's cute because he is from Milwaukee and I'm from Milwaukee and on the track that we did which is called Keep it Cool. I think it's just called Cool. It's a Joni Mitchell song that isn't very well known and he does a little vocalese thing about how I'm from Milwaukee and it's adorable. So, people should check out that track sometime.
John Bommarito: For sure. Well, besides your touring and singing songs of the Great American Songbook and Beyond, you're an educator as well in L.A. Is that true?
Tierney Sutton: I am, I mean, I have private students, Actually, the only place I'm teaching somewhat regularly these days is the Center Musique Didier Lockwood which is outside of Paris because my husband lives in Paris and so I spend some of my time in L.A., some of my time is Paris. And, so I was just in Paris in March and taught some wonderful singers at the Didier Lockwood School. And I do workshops here and there. I taught at USC for 11 years, but it's been a while since I've been on faculty. I was also on the faculty of the Jacob’s School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana at IU for one year. But my touring schedule usually makes it difficult to be somewhere full-time. But I love to teach and love to produce records and do workshops and such.
John Bommarito: Well, it's good to take your talents and share it with others. And I really appreciate you taking time out to talk to us. The show is this coming Saturday night at the Blue LLama, Tierney Sutton and Tamir Handelman. We've got two sets. One at seven and one at nine p.m. Info at bluellamaclub.com. You can find information about the shows. I just want to publicly thank you for back in 2024 we were doing something special for Public Radio Music Day. And you took out a just a little bit of time out of your schedule and recorded a little message that I played that day as I was representing artists from different states. So, thank you for that. And thank you taking time out today. I really appreciate it.
Tierney Sutton: Oh, thank you for taking time out today, and yeah, I hope to see people at the show. Playing with Tamir is very exciting, and the music is something special, I think.
John Bommarito: For sure. Well, we're going to play one more track from the record and the lead into that set with Waters of March and I wish you well and hope to run into you soon.
Tierney Sutton: Thanks so much.
John Bommarito: Take care.
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