Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman
Piedmont Piano Company, Oakland, CA, August 12, 2023
Reviewed by Steve Murray
Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman
Photo: Steve Murray
Those of us fortunate enough to catch Tierney Sutton’s very intimate whistle-stop show at Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland were rewarded with her constant, high standard evening of jazz, ballads, and swing in her inimitable style enhanced by the accompaniment of piano virtuoso Tamir Hendelman. The seamless exchanges between these two created a symbiosis that lifted each number to sublime levels.
From last year’s Paris Sessions 2 CD came a smartly swung interpretation of Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” which complimented his “Too Darn Hot.” Two rainbow songs included “Make Me Rainbows” from the film Fitzwilly (music by John Williams with lyrics by longtime Sutton friends Alan and the late Marilyn Bergman) and a lovely Antônio Carlos Jobim tune “Double Rainbow.”
Sutton dedicated her last CD to Marilyn Bergman and has a great attachment to their songs saying, “Working closely with the Bergmans over the years has made me extra sensitive to a great lyric when it falls in my lap.” Three beautiful Bergman numbers illustrated what Tierney can do with her interpretations, using her voice as a second instrument blending with Hendelman’s inspired instrumental breaks. “Make the World Your Own’ (music by Michel Legrand) may be a future lullaby project by Sutton.
The sweet romanticism of “Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams” (music by Johnny Mandel) and the poignant “The Trouble with Hello is Goodbye” (music by Dave Grusin) were dreamy and heartfelt.
“Lazy Afternoon,” Sutton’s favorite summer song (written by Jerome Moross and John Latouche for the 1954 musical The Golden Apple), was ethereal and wispy with Hendelman’s lyrical runs. The synergy of this pairing illustrated the rule that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and made for some beautiful music.
