LIVE: Tierney Sutton Band @ A Place for Jazz, 10/9/09

Smart, imaginative and simply sublime, jazz vocalist superb Tierney Sutton and her trio rolled into Schenectady last Friday for a stunning performance at the First Unitarian Society’s Whisperdome, as the latest performer in A Place For Jazz’s concert series.

Waiting for her to take the stage was the largest crowd in the 20-plus-year history of A Place for Jazz, including a number of Nippertown’s own top jazz singers: Jeanne O’Connor, Nancy Donnelly and Jody Shayne among them.

Amidst thunderous applause, Sutton launched two magnificent sets filled with jazz standards, Broadway show tunes, cabaret numbers and numerous selections from the Great American Songbook.

From Gershwin to Cole Porter by way of David Frishberg – and with a little Johnny Mercer thrown in, just for good measure – Sutton quickly charmed the room with her effortless, captivating singing.

Her impassioned delivery was aided by her top-notch trio headed by Christian Jacob (formerly with the late Maynard Ferguson), bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Ray Brinker.

Delighting the crowd, Tierney Sutton sang the entire spectrum from sensual ballads to high-energy scat jazz, as she sped off into an encore that left the audience hungry for more.

Review and photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk