The Art of the Song Captured by Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman on "SPRING"

 

Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman-Spring-BFM Music

The deservedly acclaimed vocalist Tierney Sutton and the virtuosic pianist Tamir Hendelman join forces in an intimate duo creating a beautiful album, Spring. Self-produced by Sutton and released in February 2026, this album finds these two superb musicians telepathically complimenting each other’s ideas with thoughtfulness and finesse. Take an unrushed hour of your time to listen to how well the art of the song can be realized in the hands of two masters. Spring should please even the most discerning listeners.

I first caught Sutton and her husband/guitarist Serge Merhaud when they performed in a quartet with vocalist Kate McGarry and guitarist Keith Ganz at the Velvet Note in Alpharetta, GA back in July of 2016.  You can check out my review of that performance here. Unfortunately, Ms. Sutton was suffering from laryngitis on that date, and while she bravely soldiered through the performance, she was clearly struggling to deliver her best.

Sutton has been nominated for a Grammy nine times, and while she has been denied the prize so far, her repeated nominations speak volumes to this woman’s popularity and talent. Tamir Hendelman is a formidable pianist who has been the preferred accompaniest to the likes of Natalie Cole, Barbara Streisand and Roberta Gambarini, not to mention serving as the pianist with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. These two create magic.

If Spring is received as well as this fine work deserves, this album should receive another Grammy nomination and may finally garner Sutton a well-deserved Grammy win. Only time will tell.

Tamir Hendelman and Tierney Sutton (Photo credit unknown)

Spring is a season that speaks to rebirth, growth and promise. Spring, the album, takes that concept and invigorates the art of the song by reinvention, thoughtful interplay and a patient approach that allows Sutton to breathe new life and meaning into the lyrics of these beautiful songs. The music features compositions by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Paul Simon, George Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael, Peggy Lee and Michel Legrand. The title cut by the Brazilian guitarist/composer Dorival Caymmi was introduced to Sutton by Hendelman for this album. The wordsmith magic of Johnny Mercer and the legendary team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman (Alan served as a mentor to Sutton prior to his death in 2025) make this collection the perfect vehicle for these two to create an intimate, sensitive, musical conversation. Sutton is a consummate storyteller, and it’s never more apparent when the astutely chosen material gives her the framework on which to build her own imaginative interpretations.

“Double Rainbow” is a Jobim composition that opens the album. The pianist’s intro is glorious, and Sutton’s vocalese is transcendent, modulating effortlessly. Her voice is a supple instrument that leaps and dances with splendor and joy. Hendelman’s pianistic excursions are rich and lush.

“Waters of March,” another Jobim composition, was popularized in the original Portuguese on the release of the Brazilian chanteuse Elis Regina in 1973. The song is about the cyclical nature of life. Sutton’s voice and Hendelman’s tinkling piano introduce a rain-like shower of sound before she navigates the quick, pointillistic lines with precision and flexible accuracy. Playful, hopeful and fun.

Paul Simon is perhaps one of the most respected composers of the last fifty years. His folk ballad “April, Come She Will” is transformed by Sutton, a dusky metaphorical story of the seasonal markers of the coming and going of a lover. Hendelman’s intro glistens. The two bring a eloquence to this story, a realization that the relationship inevitably changes with seasons and time, never to be possessed, just to be remembered.

Song genie George Gershwin is represented on his “S Wonderful,” a show tune from the musical Funny Face from 1927. The song was written for a dance scene that featured Fred and his sister Adele Sinatra. In the film version from 1957, it united Fred Astaire, this time with Audrey Hepburn. This song is cheerful and high-spirited and while it doesn’t seem to link back to the spring theme of the album, Sutton opens it with her own unique intro. She scats in unison with the pianist's lines and he offers some of his most dynamic solo playing of the album. The two quicken the pace as Sutton instrumentalizes her voice effectively and with speed. A daring arrangement that is joyous and impressive.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote “I Get Along Without You Very Well” with the lyrics inspired by a poem. It was handed to Carmichael anonymously and was later found to be written by Jane Brown Thompson. The poignant lyrics are sung so earnestly by Sutton and brilliantly accompanied by Hendelman. The pianist is impressionistic, layering his ideas and interweaving with Sutton’s marvelously emotive voice.

The popular vocalist Peggy Lee is credited with composing “Thing’s Are Swinging.” Sutton and Hendelman raise the temperature by taking this to full throttle swing mode.

Brazilian composer Dorival Caymmi’s “Spring” offers a sensitive ballad, and it becomes the title of the album. With lines like “Spring holds in her arms a bunch of daffodils, the possibility, a warmer day will arrive” this song erupts with hope and renewal. Sutton’s voice expresses the sentiment honestly. Her own personal experiences are knitted into fabric of the music, enlivening the message in these lyrics. Hendelman’s piano never fails to be complimentary.

Tierney Sutton (photo credit unknown)

My personal favorite on Spring is a song that has been recorded by multiple chanteuses  including Ella, Sarah, Cassandra, Carmen, Betty, Sinne, Bette and Norah, to jazzers like Phil Woods, Stanley Turrentine, George Garzone, and Stan Getz. This popularity tells you the song offers a lot to work with for a creative musician. No matter what version you have loved this one should touch you. “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is written by Tommy Wolf with lyrics by Fran Landesman. The song is a quiet gem and Sutton and Hendleman make this one their own. The story is a classic barstool lament, a cry in your beer ballad. Sutton’s interpretation is evocative with pathos and resignation, and Hendelman’s piano allows her the space. Sutton has a sixth sense of how to play this one and she captures the essence of the emotional reality that is so perfectly portrayed by this classic.  The reality that a lost love can have long lingering feelings of regret.

The remaining album offers additional surprises with Frank Loesser’s waltz- like “Spring Will Be A Little Late this Year,” featuring some beautiful piano work by Hendelman. Johnny Mercer’s swinging “Spring, Spring, Spring” which finds Sutton exercising some of her acrobatic vocalese to great effect and skillfully navigating the quick-worded lyrics to this playful tune. Hendelman features some fine stride-like, ragtime inspired piano work in accompaniment.

Michel Legrand was a master of composing for films. His “You Must Believe in Spring” was written for the French film “Le Demoiselle de Rochefort” and has been a source for several interpretations, probably the most famous was a collaboration by Bill Evans and Tony Bennett from their album Together Again from 1976. Sutton and Hendelman do a touching take on this lovely ballad. It’s important to revive some of the canon's  great film scores and LeGrand's work certainly fits that bill. Film scores often add to people’s experience and connect viewers with the films, and they are an important part of our artistic heritage. Hendelman’s solo was sublime. Sutton offers a gorgeous vocal interpretation that would certainly put a smile on Legrand's face. 

The closing composition, “L.O.V.E.” was written by the German  composer/bandleader Bert Kaempfert specifically for Nat Cole King. This one is full of rambunctiousness and requires swift, skilled virtuosity by both Hendelman and Sutton. The two don't disappoint and the song is a pure romp of joy.

              

John Pizzarelli Brings Sinatra, Cole, Jobim and Troupe to Decatur's Eddie's Attic

Mike Karn and John Pizzarelli

Like many an artist who follow a career that was trailblazed by their fathers, the guitarist John Pizzarelli will always be compared to his father, the now ninety-two-year-old and still swinging jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. The challenge-to be accepted for one’s own value- was even implied in John’s 1983 debut album titled I’m Hip (Please Don’t Tell My Father).

The now fifty-eight-year-old John Jr. has carved his own place in the world of jazz and contemporary popular music. He is in fact a very accomplished guitarist in his own right, with artful phrasing, a deft sense of time and a fluid facility on the fretboard. John’s true talent is in his vocal acumen and relaxed stage presence which was on bountiful display on Monday night at Decatur’s Eddie’s Attic.

This was the last set of the last night, of a two night gig. The previous night presumably were both sold out shows. On this Monday evening the venue was half-filled with an older crowd of fans that came to see Pizzarelli tell his stories, sing his songs and play his guitar. John was accompanied by bassist Mike Karn.

Pizzarelli was dressed in a grey pin-stripe suit and tie and projected a warm, friendly demeanor throughout the evening. He started with the tongue-in-cheek Bobby Troupe song “I’m Just a Hungry Man,” which set the tone of the evening as light and entertaining. From there he jumped into another quirky tune, written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz and made famous by the chanteuse Blossom Dearie “Rhode Island is Famous for You.”  Another Bobby Troupe composition Rte. 66 came next. Here the jazz historian and entertainer in Pizzarelli came out. He talked about his conversations with Troupe and how Bobby told him the story of pitching the song to Nat King Cole who made it one of his staples. In many respects Pizzarelli has patterned himself after Cole. While Cole was a consummate pianist it was his voice and that relaxed polish that won him legions of followers.

Pizzarelli proceeded with a marvelous medley of songs that all contained the phrase “Hey Baby” and then broke into some Hot Club of Paris, Django Reinhardt-style guitar on another tune from the Nat Cole repertoire, “Errand Boy of Rhythm.” Pizzarelli is no stranger to gypsy jazz having once been recorded with the great Stéphane Grappelli on “Live at the Blue Note” from 1995.

John Pizzarelli on Edddie's Attic Stage

Ever the storyteller, John spoke of this very day being the twenty-fifth anniversary of him opening for another of his idols, Frank Sinatra, in Berlin, Germany in 1993. His introduction to Sinatra was brief and ended with the crooner admonishing him saying  “Get something to eat kid, you look terrible." Pizzarelli likened looking into the singer’s blue eyes “like looking into a natural gas flame, they were that blue.”  Pizzarelli sang two Sinatra songs-“You Make Me Feel So Young” and  “How About You” before treating the audience to a solo instrumental version of Jerome Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight” on his seven string custom arch-bodied guitar. You could really see how accomplished a guitarist he is on this marvelous piece. Bassist Karn returned for the SammyC ahn and Jimmy Van Heusen Song “ Ring A Ding Ding” that Sinatra sang on his inaugural record on the Reprise label.

The evening continued with “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” from the 1953 musical Kismet. A clever rendering of Cole Porter’s “I Concentrate on You” with a Tom Jobim inspired Bossa beat and Jobim’s classic “The Wave.” Being in Georgia, it was only fitting that Pizzareli included a Johnny Mercer tune in his repertoire and he chose a song about Football and music “Jamboree Jones.” The finale was a Medley ending in “I Got Rhythm” and the encore was Sinatra’s “Lady Be Good.”

It was a wonderful evening of great songs played by the fabulous talent that is John Pizzarelli. If the show was any indication of the music on John's latest album John Pizzarelli Sinatra and Jobim @50 then it should be a keeper.

Marvin Stamm and Mike Holober Make Beautiful Music at the Nyack Library's Carnegie Room

Mike Holober and Marvin Stamm phot by Ralph A. Miriello  c 2013

In the tiny town of Nyack, in the shadows of the Tappan Zee Bridge, the Rockland County Jazz and Blues Society and the Nyack Library once again provide a superlative matching of two local jazz musicians as part of their Carnegie Concert series. This evening the series brought together trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist composer Mike Holober.

For those who don’t know these two fine musicians the evening offered an intimate opportunity to witness first hand just how accomplished these artists are. Mr. Stamm, dressed in a dapper white suit and a black band collared shirt, was the picture of hip style.  His brush cut grey/white hair with matching full tightly trimmed beard finished the image of a confident, seasoned performer.  His past includes stints with Stan Kenton and Woody Herman orchestras as well as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis  Big Band and a continued association with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band and The Westchester Jazz Orchestra. He has performed in multiple duo and trio settings with longtime collaborator pianist Bill Mays and has been a standout, first call studio musician for many years.  I first saw Mr. Stamm in a little, now defunct jazz club in Hackensack, N.J. back in the early seventies where he was a featured soloist with the house band of Billy LaVorgna on drums and Derek Smith on piano.  His performance mesmerized me back than and I have always found his playing to be exemplary.

Mike Holober and Marvin Stamm photo by Ralph A. Miriello c 2013

Mr. Holober is a classically trained pianist and a ubiquitous musician who has performed with many notable artists both as a pianist and as a leader/composer/arranger. In recent years he has released music with his own quintet as well as with the seventeen piece Gotham Jazz Orchestra.  I first saw Mr. Holober at a performance of the Westchester Jazz Orchestra where he is its musical director. His talents as a composer/arranger were on full display utilizing the various voices of this fine orchestra to great effect. This was my first time hearing Mr. Holober at the piano and he did not disappoint.

The evening performance started with Mr. Stamm respectfully asking for applause to be withheld until the end of each performance, so as to allow the continuity of each piece  to be enjoyed uninterrupted.The first songs were a Cole Porter song “Everything I Love” followed by Mr. Holober’s  treatment of an Argentinian dance piece by Alberto Ginastra  “Danza  de Moza Donosa .” ( An interesting side note, Gianastra’s music was the inspiration for Keith Emerson’s “Toccata” on Emerson Lake and Palmer’s  Brain Salad Surgery from 1973.) The piece starts out slowly, Mr. Holober playing a sensitive intro, with Mr. Stamm joining on muted trumpet.  You can immediately sense the ease of communication between these two, as Holober accompanies deftly and Mr. Stamm floats above with his warm sinuous lines.  The happy Porter tune is played joyfully and with great relish before Mr. Holober leads into the more solemn Gianstra piece. Mr. Holober’s  classical training comes to the forefront on the evocative melody steeped in a deeply Spanish tradition. Mr. Stamm , whose obbligato part was composed by Mr. Holober,  soars over the pianist’s chording like a clarion call.

Mr. Stamm introduces the next piece he wrote titled “In a Rosey Tone” based on the changes of a Duke Ellington 1939 composition “ In a Mellotone.”  After stating the melody the two have a marvelously swinging interchange of ideas where Mr. Stamm  and Mr. Holober intuit each other’s thoughts brilliantly.

Mr. Stamm is the consummate player; a trumpet player’s trumpeter.  His tone is rich and clear and he is not prone to hyperbole on the horn. He is a master technician who uses his horn with reserve and nuance in a complimentary way that works in perfect harmony with whomever he plays , in this case Mr. Holober’s piano. This is no more evident than on Don Raye and Gene De Paul’s classic “Star Eyes,” where Mr. Stamm takes a brilliantly understated solo, cascading through cadenzas of notes, but allowing Mr. Holober’s inventive, complex piano lines to take much of center stage during the performance. They use the rhythm pattern used by Charlie Parker’s famous version of the song to set the stage.

The two bring out their romantic side with a piece by Michel Le Grand that Mr. Stamm admitted was probably the most difficult piece of the evening’s performance, “Umbrellas of Cherbourg”. The emotionally laden song was a tour de force, the perfect vehicle for Mr. Holober’s delicate Evanesque touch and Mr. Stamm’s precise but beautifully poignant tone.  

Speaking of Evans, the duo ended the set with Bill Evans” Funkallero.”  The ostinato line was played in precise sync before Mr. Holober went into solo mode, dazzling the audience with his marvelously fluidity. The ideas flow from his hands in unpredictable ways that carry you like a traveler taking an eerily familiar but clearly unknown path.  When Mr. Stamm joined the fray the two played like two synchronized birds in flight soaring to new heights in precise formation.

As chance would have it I sat next to a world class percussionist, Dave Carey, a local resident who had once played with Mr. Stamm and Frank Sinatra. We both marveled at Mr. Stamm , who at seventy-three has such enduring proficiency on such a demanding instrument as the trumpet. 

The second set started out with another Cole Porter tune this time “I Love You.” Mr. Stamm took up flugelhorn on this one, and the warm, burnished tone he is able to get from the instrument draws you in as Mr. Holober accompanied him with beautiful chord voicings.

Antonio Carlos Jobim’s  “Camhinos Cruzados”, which Mike has arranged for the Westchester Jazz Orchestra with Marvin in mind, was a floating, sensitive ballad featuring Marvin’s flugelhorn. Mr. Stamm’s horn hung in the air like a warm breeze, wafting over an oceanfront. Mr. Holober’s swaying piano cast the alluring spell of a romantic getaway. He delicately danced over the entire keyboard with a skilled agility and grace.

After a beautiful improvisational duet on the Rogers and Hart tune “Have You Met Miss Jones,” that seemed to start unexpectedly from Mr. Stamm,  the duo did a piece by the famous corntetist Bix Beiderbecke’s Modern Piano Suite titled “Flash”  with Mr. Holober again writing the obbligato part for Mr. Stamm’s trumpet. The song had elements of a sound that harkened to the twenties, and Mr. Holober and Mr. Stamm captured the feeling authentically, with Mr. Stamm employing his mute to great effect.

The finale was Mike Holober’s composition titled “Moon in the Trees.” The stirringly imaginative piece was played in a rubato style. Mr. Holober’s  piano voice is ebullient, with a dancing quality that makes it endlessly entertaining. Mr. Stamm once again took up his flugelhorn in delicate accompaniment to Mr. Holober’s expressive piano.

It is apparent that these two musicians appreciate each other’s artistry. In talking with Mr. Stamm between sets, he expressed a fondness for playing with Mr. Holober,  a happy collaboration that hopefully will yield more beautiful music in the future.

You can see a live stream of the concert by linking below.

When Rio Calls Try Morello and Barth's latest "Fim De Semana Em Eldorado"

Review of Morello &  Barth’s  “Fim De Semana Em Eldorado”

CD: Morello and  Barth

In and Out Records  IO-77055-2

 

Guitarist Paulo Morello and saxophonist Kim Barth , both residents of Germany, decided to visit Brazil in 2001 to absorb the music of Brazil first hand. They did so in a way that allowed them more than a passing visitor’s perspective. They embedded themselves into the real life sounds and rhythms of Rio. They befriended local Carioca musicians and absorbed the MPB (Musica Popular Braslieira or post bossa nova , urban music of Brazil) scene, jamming with locals while living a few houses from the former home of Brazilian legend Antonio Carlos Jobim. Breathing in the sights and pulse that at one time influenced the master, their goal was to seamlessly meld authentic Brazilian bossa rhythm’s with jazz improvisation. By all accounts they exceeded all expectations. The two accomplished musicians were able to produce a remarkably entertaining album of fourteen songs, a mix of samba, ballads, disco-carnaval and  bossa with some bop thrown in for good measure.

Barth’s saxophone is sonorous and clean and his flute is lithe and ebullient. Morello is adept at a variety of styles from traditional Brazilian acoustic, ala Baden Powell to more jazz-like creations with octave playing in the Wes Montgomery vein.

The quixotic "Pe Quebrado" with the sprite pifano flute playing of Jorge Continentino is magical and one of my favorite songs on this album.

 The two pulled off an additional coupe of sorts by getting Brazilian vocal legends Johnny Alf and Alaide Costa to lend their authenticity to  

“O Que e Amar” and “Chora Tua Tristeza”. Johnny’s moving vocal on his own “Fim De Semma Em Eldorado” transports you swaying to sun drenched Rio.It is especially poignant to hear Johnny sing on this album, as the eighty year old passed away just this past March. Adaide’s quivering vocal on Jobim’s “Outra Vez” is the epitome of Carioca music at its best. Barth’s flute rings true throughout.

The sensitive “Balad Pra J.” features a stirringly facile guitar introduction by Morello and a beautiful piano solo by Jermaine Landsberger. Smooth jazz fans will find  the pleasurable"Songuito" easy listening, with nice octave work by Morello at the coda. 

Morello and Barth, along with their accomplished  sidemen, many who have played with the likes of Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil and other notables, makes this a special collection of truly inspired and entertaining music for anyone who appreciates true Brazilian music.

Musicians: Kim Barth (alto saxophone , flute); Paulo Morello ( electric and acoustic guitars, cavaquinho on track s 7 & 11); Lucio Nascimento (bass); Adriano Oliveira ( drums on  tracks 1,3,5,8,10, 13 & 14)  ; Fernando Pereira (drums on (drums on tracks 2, 4, 6,9, 11& 12 );  Reginaldo Vargas (percussion); Jermaine Landsberger (piano on track 8); Kiko Continentino (bass on tracks 7 & 11); Caca Colon (drums on tracks 7 & 11); Wolfgang “Lobinho” Stadler ( additional bass on track 11 );Jorge Continentino ( pifano flute on track 7). Special Guest Vocals Johnny Alf and Alaide Costa on tracks 3, 6,9 & 12.)

Recorded: Castello Studios, Rio De Janerio, Brazil November 2001