Review of Emerge Dancing

MUSIC LOG

Michael Doherty

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.