Suede

Jonathan’s Ogunquit, Ogunquit, ME, October 12, 2024

Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards

Suede has been compared to Diana Krall and Bette Midler, but she burns as her own unique star. Her vocal placement is low and sultry, and her sound is big, but make no mistake; her lyric interpretations demonstrate delicacy and range. She also has courage; who starts their set with “Defying Gravity?”   Suede brought along Fred Boyle, as fine an accompanist and arranger as I have encountered covering  cabaret. She followed up the Stephen Schwartz tour-de-force number from Wicked with “No Goin’ Back,” which was written for her by long-time collaborator David Pearl. She not only sang but played a mean jazz trumpet that got the audience singing and clapping. “You can’t hear the trumpet sound when you’re six feet underground.” Her patter was spontaneous and very funny as she looked up after the song and said “I’m in a mood!”

I bought her CD Barely Blue back in the 1990s when she came to the Scottsdale Center for the Arts with The Flirtations. “Miss Celie’s Blues” (Quincy Jones/Lionel Richie) was one of my favorites of the evening. Next was her personal take on John Lennon’s “Imagine” as arranged by her and Boyle. Suede wears her politics on her sleeve, which is one of the many reasons her fans adore her. She sang each phrase of “Imagine” as though the words were new and our democracy depended on what happens in this year’s election.

Another favorite, “The Secret O’ Life” (James Taylor) got the audience in the mood for a little self-reflection as she made several references to her familiarity with therapy. Then she jazzed it up with “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me” (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell).  She had fun vocally imitating her trumpet and then launched into superb scat (I love the way she uses a Z) on another brilliant Boyle arrangement.

By the time “Caressing Me” (written for her by Marta Lewis) came at the half-way mark she was in full rich voice and ready to open up to us emotionally. Suede and Boyle’s arrangement of the Etta James classic “At Last” blew the roof off the charming room at Jonathan’s. She was having fun going between mezzo gutsy notes and high slides and earned a spontaneous standing ovation from her fans. Boyle gave us a somber dramatic accompaniment on “If I Love Again” (Ben Oakland/Jack Murphy arranged by Pearl) as Suede called upon some sensory memory for this song of heartbreak. She made a joke afterwards about co-dependent relationships but there was something real going on. “Remember Who You Are” (Roxanna Ward/L. DeFino) had the best lyric: “you are both the singer and the song.” Suede embraced it with grace and authenticity.

In addition to the trumpet Suede also played the guitar, and she joked that since she brought it along it must be time to pick it up. She also looked at her stool and wondered why she thought she might use it. She tuned her guitar as she entertained us with stories of cruise gigs and then grabbed our hearts with “Emily Remembers.” She had asked Shirley Eikhard (composer for Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About”) to write the song based on the story of a couple she met on one of the cruises. It is an anthem about aging and love, and it’s so relatable for anyone over 60.  She finished her set with “Never Never Land” (Betty Comden & Adolph Green /Jule Styne) that made the audience beg for an encore. She thanked Jonathan West for his support of cabaret and for creating the room for artists to perform in, Max the manager, and her personal sound engineer Darby. Unbelievably, she saved the best song for last with “Built for Comfort” (Willie Dixon, arranged by Boyle and Suede) that showed her gift for scat and the blues, her range, and her brilliance at connecting with her audience. She is a working singer, but she tours primarily on the East coast.  Let’s hope we get her back to Arizona; the MIM Theatre would be a perfect venue for her.