Talk about the golden touch. Jazz singer Tierney Sutton and her band have received a Grammy nomination for each of the nine albums they’ve released over the past decade.
And, legendary movie actor-director Clint Eastwood, who says that Sutton “is my favorite singer,” commissioned her and the band in 2016 to create the original score for his box-office smash, “Sully,” starring Tom Hanks. The end-title song “Flying Home,” featuring music by Eastwood and lyrics by Sutton and JB Eckl, is performed by Sutton and the band.
“In a sense this is the most organic project we’ve ever done,” Sutton said.
North Scottsdale audiences may experience her smooth voice and jazz stylings first-hand when Lakeshore Music presents this blockbuster group at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 19, at Ravenscroft Hall, Arizona’s stunning new state-of-the-art concert venue.
Tickets, priced at $60, are moving fast and a sellout is expected at Ravenscroft, 8445 E. Hartford Drive. Tickets may be purchased at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?performance=529890.
The New York Times describes Sutton as “a serious jazz artist who takes the whole enterprise to another level.”
Another big fan is Woody Wilson, founder, president and executive director of Lakeshore Music.
“I love Tierney Sutton for a host of reasons, but my heart literally skips a beat when I hear her sing,” Wilson said. “I’ve seen her do so many creative things with music over the years and I try to book whatever project she has going at the time. And our audiences always love it.
“When we first started out 13 years ago, I thought if I could only get Tierney Sutton and her band to play in our series it would be an important step for us. I remember that first date back in 2010 and Tierney was so lovely and gracious to us. And the band was outrageous. Since then, we’ve presented Tierney in several creative incarnations and I am always personally thrilled to have her back. She is one of my favorite people on earth.”
Humble through it all, Sutton regards herself as just a storyteller who uses her magnificent voice as an instrument to transform even the most familiar song into a revelation. Since 1993, she has fronted her band, which features instrumental virtuosos Christian Jacob, Trey Henry, Kevin Axt and Ray Brinker. On stage the band exhibits an “almost unearthly” connection, which explains having the same world-class personnel together for more than 20 years—virtually unheard-of in today’s music business.
“Screenplay,” the group’s latest album, is a deep dive into songs from American film that was nominated for a Grammy in the vocal-jazz category and hailed as “an aural Oscar” by allaboutjazz.com.
Her albums have addressed materialism (“Desire,” 2009), pursuit of happiness (“On The Other Side,” 2007), and have paid tribute to Bill Evans (“Blue In Green,” 2002), Frank Sinatra (“Dancing In The Dark,” 2004), and Sting (“The Sting Variations,” 2016). Her 2013 Joni Mitchell tribute, “After Blue,” included vocals by jazz legend Al Jarreau.
