Music Log

Michael Doherty

November 14, 2024

Suzanne’s vocal approach is hopeful and passionate. It feels like she believes we might all have a moment to fly, and listening to her, we believe it too. Her approach is both of this earth and something beyond, with a magical quality, soaring at times.

Suzanne Pittson is a talented jazz vocalist based in New York. The first time I listened to her new album, Emerge Dancing, it was just before the election, and I decided to take the advice expressed in the album’s title to heart. Whatever happened, I would emerge dancing. Well, as we all know, the worst possible outcome is what happened, and while we are trying to wrap our heads around the fact that half of this nation is embracing fascism, I am still determined to dance my way to the other side. There are good people out there, just not as many as we’d previously believed, and they will be helping each other face the many obstacles that are certain to arise. There is also still beauty in the world, much of it expressed through music. This album is Suzanne Pittson’s first release in more than a decade, and its title comes from her own determination to continue after suffering from vocal problems that might have derailed another artist. The album contains a mix of jazz and pop songs, with arrangements by Suzanne Pittson and Jeff Pittson. Jeff Pittson also supports her on piano. Their son, Evan Pittson, produced the album, making it truly a family effort. Evan also plays viola on a few tracks.

Suzanne Pittson opens Emerge Dancing with a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” this version beginning gently on piano, that pretty work welcoming us. Suzanne’s vocal approach is hopeful and passionate. It feels like she believes we might all have a moment to fly, and listening to her, we believe it too. There is a good piano solo in the middle, and perhaps it is then that we take flight. The track returns to a gentle feel at the end, the final line delivered with warmth, soothing our concerns, our disappointments if we did not in fact take flight. That’s followed by a lively rendition of “Everything I Love,” written by Cole Porter.Suzanne delivers some cheerful scat here, with the piano solo then seeming to dance. “You are to me everything,” she sings in such a straightforward manner that we know it for truth.

It’s interesting to me how often jazz singers have been turning to the work of Stevie Wonder, taking fresh approaches to the material, as Suzanne does here with “The Secret Life Of Plants.” Her approach is both of this earth and something beyond, with a magical quality, soaring at times, as on “And some believe antennas are their leaves/That spans beyond our galaxy.” Jeff delivers a thoughtful, contemplative piano solo in the middle. This track also features some scat toward the end, this time with a contemplative air. That’s followed by “It All Goes ‘Round And ‘Round.” Jeff plays harmonica on this one, that instrument helping to set the tone right at the start. “Some folks never win/And some folks hardly lose.” Ain’t that the truth? “But here we are,” she continues. “We’re all a part of all there is.” And that’s key. Here we are. What are we going to do with our time? Listening to this song, you might find yourself thinking about your part in this crazy thing. I love the harmonica work on this track. “But here we are/Much wiser now than we were then.” Well, maybe, maybe not. 

“Blues And the Abstract Truth” is a particularly interesting track. It was the title of a 1961 album by Oliver Nelson, and here is presented with lyrics by Jeff Pittson. This is a piece that Suzanne Pittson included on her first album, where it was the title track. This new rendition has quite a different sound, in part because of the absence of bass and drums, and also because it features Evan Pittson on viola. Evan delivers some wonderful and exciting work. This one has a dramatic feel, especially in the vocal line. “Sing the praises of love and good fortune will come to you.” Then “You’ve Got A Friend” begins with some pretty work on piano. Suzanne does a wonderful job of reaching out with her voice, of offering comfort with those opening lines, “When you’re down and troubled/And you need some lovin’ care/And nothing, no nothing, is going right.” And right now it seems that nothing is going right with this country. We can all use a friend. “If the sky above you/Should turn dark and full of clouds.” The dread many of us felt in the days leading up to the election seems to be expressed in those lines. Suzanne does such a great job with this song. And the piano work has a welcome warmth. “I’ll never hurt you/I’ll be your friend,” Suzanne tells us at the end.

Suzanne Pittson gives us an excellent and moving rendition of “I Get Sentimental Over Nothing.” “I get sentimental over nothing/Imagine how I feel about you.” Oh yes. It’s the greatest feeling, isn’t it? And this track contains one of the album’s most captivating vocal performances. “It’s too absurd, I don’t know why/A tender word can make me cry.” This track also features a pretty piano solo in the second half. “Never Never Land” contains another strong vocal performance, one of joy, of warmth, of affection. “So come with me/Where dreams are born/And time is never planned.” Suzanne offers some light, joyful scat here. There are moments when life feels like a fairy tale, and we just want to immerse ourselves in those moments, let go. This track has that feel. There is more scat at the end, because sometimes that is better than words at expressing that feeling. There is some playful, cheerful scat in “Without A Song” too. “Without a song, there’d be no summertime.” We know the truth of that line. This track also contains some wonderful work on piano. This track in particular helps us to emerge dancing, encourages us to do so. “There ain’t no love at all without a song.”

“My mood has been kind of low/Because I don’t know what I know/Don’t know how to feel/And can’t tell what is really real.” Those lines from “Love’s The Thing” stand out in this time of distortion and deceit. This is another good number to listen to in these days of the blues. Suzanne Pittson delivers a particularly good vocal performance here, and this track contains some outstanding piano work. Evan joins them again on viola for “Something More,” written by Buster Williams. “Give me something more/Than words can say/So my heart can feel complete,” Suzanne sings at the beginning. That is what music does, what it provides. This is one of my personal favorite tracks, in part because of Suzanne’s striking and moving vocal performance, and also because of Jeff’s gorgeous piano work. The album concludes with “What Can I Do?” That’s another question a lot of us asked leading up the election, and it is one we’ll have to find an answer for in its aftermath. This song’s lyrics seem inspired, at least in part, by John F. Kennedy’s famous directive, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Then it moves to a more personal level, to helping a friend. “I’ll be the one to say/To every friend each day/What can I do for you?” I have a feeling that friendship is going to become even more important over the course of the next four years. Evan adds some really nice work on viola on this track too, and the piano solo fills us with hope.

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New and Old Jazz Voices

Bob Osborne

October 27, 2024

Suzanne Pittson with Jeff Pittson – Buster Williams said Suzanne Pittson is “someone who is setting the pace and creating new standards for those who follow and dare to call themselves ‘jazz singers,’” and with her August 2, 2024 release she continues to demonstrate that. Trained from childhood as a classical pianist, Suzanne earned BM and MA in piano. When a hand injury forced her to forgo a classical piano career, Suzanne turned her attention to jazz vocals, using her musical foundation to bring a jazz instrumental language to the voice. She went on to release three critically acclaimed albums: Blues and the Abstract Truth, Resolution: A Remembrance of John Coltrane, and Out of the Hub: The Music of Freddie Hubbard, writing and singing original lyrics to Coltrane and Hubbard solos and establishing herself as a master of vocal improvisation. In the last few years, her career was almost derailed by serious vocal problems. She is back, with her husband Jeff Pittson on piano and their son, Evan Pittson on viola.

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Music Pen Club

Keizo Takada (Japan)

October 17, 2024

One of the most worthwhile recent albums to listen to.

This is the fourth album by Suzanne Pittson, a vocalist active in New York. She attracted attention in 1996 with her first album, Blues and Abstract Truth, which featured songs by Oliver Nelson. In 1999, she released Resolution: A Remembrance of John Coltrane, in which she sang songs by John Coltrane, and in 2010, she released Out of the Hub: The Music of Freddie Hubbard, in which she sang songs by Freddie Hubbard, who first impressed her when she was young. She originally earned a degree in classical piano, but after an injury to her hand meant she could no longer play the piano freely, she began to focus on vocals. She practiced by transcribing solos from instrumental records of great musicians and singing them, and she uses her voice like an instrument, easily changing chords, and her improvisational singing is a distinctive feature of her songs. On this album, she sings her signature vocalese on Oliver Nelson’s “Blues and the Abstract Truth” from her first album, and on Freddie Hubbard’s version of “Without A Song,” which first impressed her, she sings with skillful scat singing. She also sings 12 songs, including the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” Stevie Wonder’s “The Secret Life of Plants,” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” in a duo with her husband, the wonderful pianist Jeff Pittson, with whom she has been married for over 40 years, and on three songs she is joined by her son, Evan Pittson, who plays the viola. This is one of the most worthwhile recent albums to listen to. In October 2019, she came to Japan with her family to perform live and hold workshops. (Takada Keizo)

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JazzWeekly

George Harris

October 17, 2024

Teamed with pianist Jeff Pittson, Suzanne Pittson sings with clarity through a collection of
modern tunes and standards… Post bop concepts.

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O’s Place Jazz Magazine

D. Oscar Groomes

September 23, 2024

Suzanne Pittson sings with gentle poise and delicate passion. We enjoyed “It All Goes Round and Round” featuring Jeff on chromatic harmonica, “Blackbird”, “You’ve Got A Friend,” and “What Can I Do.” Emerge Dancing is an inspiration to all of us, in dire times, to never give up.

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La Habitación del Jazz

Jose Ramon (Spain)

September 5, 2024

Suzanne Pittson is a great improviser… her personal style of singing and Jeff Pittson’s piano form an inseparable whole, merging in a magical way.

Suzanne Pittson is an accomplished jazz vocalist, pianist, and lyricist living in New York City. She grew up in a family of artists and musicians, listening to jazz in her home. She began studying piano at age 8. She subsequently earned a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Arts in Music (as a classical pianist) from San Francisco State University before turning to jazz performance.

She has performed and/or recorded with John Patitucci, Buster Williams, Dave Liebman, Steve Wilson, Mike Clark, Jeremy Pelt, Shunzo Ohno, Mark Soskin, Jack Walrath, Chip Jackson, Harvie S among many others.

A hand injury forced her to seek other means of musical expression which she found as a vocalist.

While continuing to perform and develop her craft as a jazz artist, Suzanne also made regular pop music appearances as a solo singer and pianist, as well as with a band. She also studied classical singing for ten years, performing recitals of repertoire as diverse as lieder by Schubert and Schumann, arias by Handel, and Aaron Copland’s “Ten Poems of Emily Dickinson.”

Ten years ago, she began to have severe vocal problems that made it difficult for her to sing and teach. Thanks to her Buddhist practice, her singing coach, Sophie Lair-Berreby, and her family and friends, she decided to continue. During the time of lockdown due to the pandemic, she practiced hundreds of melodies.

She has released Emerge Dancing, his fourth album following Out of the Hub: The Music of Freddie Hubbard (2010), Resolution: A Remembrance of John Coltrane (1999) and Blues and the Abstract Truth (1996), with music by Oliver Nelson.

The album is a family project involving her husband, pianist Jeff Pittson, and her son, violist Evan Pittson.

Jeff Pittson is a virtuoso of the piano and Moog synthesizer. He has performed with such figures as Joe Henderson, Ruth Brown, Eddie Henderson, John Handy, Buster Williams, Mike Clark, Maynard Ferguson, Larry Coryell, Kenny Garrett and many more. The Pittsons have been married for 40 years and have forged a close musical relationship.

Evan Pittson has played the violin and viola since he was a child, and his primary creative medium is visual art. The three form the Pittson Family Band, joined by Bryan Copeland on bass and Dave Meade on drums. The Pittson Family Band predominantly plays original material.

Emerge Dancing is made up of 12 songs, a mix of jazz standards and pop melodies.

The first track on the album is “Blackbird” by Lennon and McCartney. Original version, in which the piano treatment and Suzanne’s unique voice stand out.

Following the Cole Porter standard, “Everything I Love,” Suzanne delights us with scat, accompanied throughout by the piano.

From Stevie Wonder we can hear “The Secret Life of Plants”, something that connects with Suzanne’s spirit and love for nature.

In Bernard Ighner’s “It All Goes ‘Round and ‘Round,” Suzanne is accompanied by her husband’s piano and chromatic harmonica. Suzanne usually uses her voice as if it were another instrument. A moving song.

Oliver Nelson’s “Blues and the Abstract Truth” was originally recorded on Suzanne’s first album of the same name. The melody is radically reimagined here. Evan’s first appearance on viola.

Suzanne wanted the album to be about friendship and love, so it was natural for her to include Carole King’s pop standard “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Suzanne’s aunt Minette Allton wrote “I Get Sentimental Over Nothing” and it was recorded by Nat King Cole in 1949.

“Never Never Land” from Peter Pan, written by Comden, Green and Styne, has the peculiarity that it is Suzanne herself who does the piano solo.

As a young girl, Suzanne was fascinated by Freddie Hubbard’s version of Youmans, Rose and Eliscu ’s “Without a Song” and wanted to include it on this album. Suzanne is a great improviser.

“Love’s the Thing” is known instrumentally as Slide Hampton’s “Frame for the Blues,” for which Suzanne’s friend and colleague Mike Holober wrote the lyrics for a vocal version.

Jeff wrote the lyrics for this beautiful song titled “Something More,” written by his old friend Buster Williams. Evan provides the viola sound.

The album closes with “What Can I Do?”, written by friends Wayne Green and Brian Potter, and featuring a 3-part viola arrangement written and performed by Evan. The song’s message— what can we do to make the world a better place?—which each of us continually asks ourselves, takes center stage in these difficult times.

Suzanne Pittson’s personal way of playing and Jeff Pittson’s piano form an inseparable whole, merging in a magical way.

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Neon Jazz Podcast

Interview with Joe Dimino

August 30, 2024

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Bebop Spoken Here

Lance Liddle (UK)

August 24, 2024

‘I Get Sentimental Over Nothing’ is absolutely beautiful. Great vocal, great piano, great melody, great lyric. This track alone is worth spending your beer money on. In its own way it has the same effect!

Truly a family affair. Mother, father and son, voice, piano and viola respectively, combine on an interesting fourth album.

An extensive range that transcends that of most jazz singers and even operatic divas, Suzanne has been active on the NYC scene for many years. However, some ten years ago her career was put on hold due to serious throat issues that required surgery. Fortunately, as this album proves, she came back better than ever. On Never Never Land Suzanne has an impressive piano solo although not enough to cause any disharmony at the breakfast table. Her C.V. includes performing or recording with iconic names such as Jeremy Pelt, Jack Walrath, Dave Liebman, Buster Williams and John Patitucci among others.

Husband Jeff can also drop a few names: Eddie Henderson, John Handy, Maynard Ferguson, Larry Coryell, Joe Henderson and Kenny Garrett are just some. Apart from his fine piano playing he’s also reputedly a Moog virtuoso (it stayed in the trailer for this session) although he did play some tasty chromatic harmonica on It All Goes ‘Round and ‘Round. He is a tower of strength. 

Evan Pittson makes his presence felt, not just by doing some violaing on three tracks but by producing the album at the Samurai Hotel up there in Queens.

Suzanne has wisely avoided the overworked repertoire of so many singers and opted for some (not all) lesser known numbers by Lennon & McCartney, Cole Porter, Stevie Wonder, Bernard Ighner, Oliver Nelson, Carole King, Betty Comden, Vincent Youmans, Slide Hampton, Buster Williams, Wayne Green and Nat ‘King’ Cole. This last tune, written with Minette Alton as co-pilot, I Get Sentimental Over Nothing (Imagine How I Feel About You) is absolutely beautiful. Great vocal, great piano, great melody, great lyric. This track alone is worth spending your beer money on. In its own way it has the same effect! Lance

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All About Jazz

Nick Mondello

August 21, 2024

A fascinatingly intriguing album… Team Pittson has delivered a buffet of jazz, pop, rare-find and well-known standard fare that emerges as 24k performance and production gold. Whether one dances, cuts in or sits out listening, Emerge Dancing is a supremely well-performed presentation all around.

Suzanne Pittson has a uniquely intriguing vocal instrument. She is upbeat, on-point with her pitch and diction and effervescently hip, both in terms of her interpretation and her scatting. Plus, she’s a fun listen.

Emerge Dancing is a fascinatingly intriguing album from New York vocalist (and pianist/composer) Suzanne Pittson and her husband, pianist Jeff Pittson. Primarily a duo album, the pair is joined on a trio of tracks by their son, violist Evan Pittson. Team Pittson has delivered a buffet of jazz, pop, rare-find and well-known standard fare that emerges as 24k performance and production gold.

The frequently-recorded John Lennon and Paul McCartney gem “Blackbird” opens this session with the duo exploring its textures and lyric nuances. Suzanne Pittson delivers the tune with just enough drama and engagement with the lyric to give it a new sheen. Jeff elaborates beautifully, both in accompaniment and in a fine solo. The upbeat “Everything I Love,” from the Cole Porter songbook, has Pittson handily delivering a swinging portrait with some sizzling scat, prancing over and alternating with Jeff’s comps and keyed responses. The Pittsons deliver a rather dramatic take on Stevie Wonder’s documentary film score piece, “The Secret Life of Plants.” Suzanne lithely bounces the intervallic structure of Wonder’s melody and delivers the tune’s poetry with fervor. This track was powerful in its original presentation and is here, as well.

Suzanne Pittson has a uniquely intriguing vocal instrument. She is upbeat, on-point with her pitch and diction and effervescently hip, both in terms of her interpretation and her scatting. Plus, she’s a fun listen. Jeff is equally up to the musical tasks and, whether soloing or backing, has the piano firmly in his creative grasp. Savvy listeners will notice that the pair has a combined positive vibe that harkens back to the joyously swinging Jackie Cain and Roy Kral.

“It All Goes ‘Round and ‘Round” is a beautiful ballad take wherein Pittson sing-speaks the lyrics, accompanied by Jeff’s overdubbed Toots Thielemans-like harmonica responses and lush piano. Oliver Nelson’s classic “Blues and the Abstract Truth,” here a family affair, gets off with a fierce Vince Guaraldi-ish ostinato before Suzanne and son Evan’s viola-doubled melody and lyric burn; and there is no letup in sight. A fine viola solo erupts, including Evan copping a lick trumpeter Freddie Hubbard played on the original recording. A spectacularly hip track. The rarely recorded ballad “I Get Sentimental Over Nothing” written by Suzanne’s aunt, Minette Allton, and Nat King Cole, has the Pittsons delivering a beautiful take on the tune. A brilliant production selection this. “Without a Song” is presented up-tempo and joyously swinging, with an energized scat from Pittson. Jeff Pittson picks up on the bouncing joy with an equally hip ride. The pair reach back to the ’50s again for “Love Is the Thing,” with Slide Hampton’s melody and Mike Holober’s modern applied lyrics. Instrumentally known as “Frame for the Blues,” the tune was a brassy 1958 hit for the Maynard Ferguson band. The Pittsons deliver it in a noir smoky-bar blue. Suzanne is red-lipstick-seductively swinging. Catch Jeff’s last few tinkles up where the cigarette burns are. The very hopeful “What Can I Do?” ends the session on a slower, reflective note with Evan’s overdubbed viola adding a splendid touch.

Whether one dances, cuts in or sits out listening, Emerge Dancing is a supremely well-performed presentation all around.

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The Jazz Page

D. Glenn Daniels

August 13, 2024

Suzanne Pittson’s Emerge Dancing, the singer’s 4th recording, is an intimate and heartfelt album that beautifully showcases her exceptional vocal talent. Featuring husband Jeff Pittson’s colorful work on piano and harmonica, the album radiates with musical synergy and familial warmth. Evan Pittson, the couple’s son, adds a beautiful touch via the viola performances on several tracks, enriching the tunes’ texture and emotional depth. The arrangements of the nicely eclectic selections are exquisite, perfectly complementing Suzanne’s lovely and beautifully delivered lyrics. Each song is deeply engaging and a memorable listening experience on this wonderful musical family affair. Outstanding!

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JW Vibe

Jonathan Widran

August 4, 2024

Suzanne challenges herself, attempting intense runs, scats and high notes that truly transform her artistry. This is never more present than on ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’ which she could have played close to the vest but includes many unexpected, dramatic twists and turns. Suzanne worked diligently and prayerfully to get to this place of rebirth and musical reemergence. Beyond that narrative though is a truly beautiful collection that harkens well for many more albums in the future.

The story behind Emerge Dancing, veteran jazz vocalist Suzanne Pittson’s first album in 14 years, is a tearjerking tale of creative triumph over physical adversity worthy of a Lifetime movie. A mainstay on the NYC scene whose discography dates back nearly 30 years, Suzanne began having serious vocal problems ten years ago which made it difficult to sing and teach.

Faced with the prospect of giving up her life’s work, she leaned on her Buddhist practice, voice coach Sophie Lair-Berreby and family and friends to persevere and, dedicating hours during the pandemic downtime to practicing and improvising, emerge with a fresh approach to her art. As she writes in her heartfelt liner notes, “I discovered new ways to express myself, eventually replacing fear and doubt with heartfelt freedom, authenticity and the confidence to be truly in the moment.”

Fans who have been on board since her 1996 debut album Blues and the Abstract Truth will enjoy hearing her unique evolution and ability to overcome via a sonic comparison of the powerful, dynamic way she scales the impossibly jazzy heights of “Blues and the Abstract Truth”—an Oliver Nelson classic featuring lyrics by her husband, pianist Jeff Pittson—on both projects. Her voice is a bit higher, a tad less soulful but no less dazzling and engaging (and even slightly more “showtuney” dramatic) on the new, stripped-down version featuring only Jeff and the Pittson’s son Evan’s passionate viola improvisation.

Yet even if we didn’t know of Suzanne’s personal travails and determination to overcome them, Emerge Dancing would a lovely album to behold, a beautiful family endeavor with inventive harmonies and solos by Jeff—an accomplished sideman in his own right—and Evan’s production and occasional cello touches. Rather than give into whatever vocal limitations she may have compared to her work before her struggles, Suzanne challenges herself, attempting intense runs, scats and high notes that truly transform her artistry. This is never more present than on “You’ve Got a Friend,” which she could have played close to the vest but includes many unexpected, dramatic twists and turns.

Ditto her spritely, swinging twist on Freddie Hubbard’s arrangement of “Without a Song,” something of a callback to her 2010 tribute album Out of the Hub: The Music of Freddie Hubbard. Her choice of material is fascinating throughout, as she puts colorful spins on everything from Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird” and Stevie Wonder’s thought-provoking ballad “The Secret Life of Plants” to a passionate rendering of the exquisite ballad “Love’s The Thing” (originally a Slide Hampton tune titled “Frame for the Blues”) to a sultry, world-wise version of “It All Goes ‘Round and ‘Round,” featuring Jeff’s wafting chromatic harmonica emphasizing her emotional magic.

Suzanne worked diligently and prayerfully to get to this place of rebirth and musical re-emergence. Beyond that narrative though is a truly beautiful collection that harkens well for many more albums in the future.

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