Entertainment :: Music
Dangerous Mood by John Amodeo
EDGE ContributorTuesday Jun 2, 2009 The 1920’s ushered in a great jazz age, where sexually ambiguous female jazz singers, such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, Moms Mabley and Ethel Waters purposely cultivated lesbian or bisexual images to broaden their appeal.
Nearly a century later, thanks to their pioneering, along with Carmen McCrae, and the gender-bending Betty Carter, we now enjoy the varied works of numerous out and proud lesbian jazz singers such as Lea DeLaria, Ann Hampton Callaway, Patricia Barber, and Dena DeRose, as well as our own Boston-area cabaret/jazz vocalists Krisanthi Pappas and Michelle Currie.
Add to that list, the marvelous Suede, whose recently released CD, Dangerous Mood, (Easily Suede Music) shows exactly what wonderfully complex shadings and new interpretations an out lesbian can bring to familiar and lesser known material within the world of jazz.
"Dangerous Mood" represents a departure from Suede’s more intimate sounding recordings and the culmination of a lifelong dream of hers to sing with a big band. Here, she pulls out all the stops, clearly with a lush budget, to create an even lusher big band sound.
The extraordinarily talented musical director and pianist Janice Freidman created fabulous swing arrangements for trio and horns especially tailored to Suede’s velvety textured voice and eclectic style, so entwined that you can’t tell where voice leaves off, and accompaniment begins.
The result is a recording that is at once varied and cohesive, with moments of R&B, gospel, pop, swings, standards, and even folk, that is held together by a common approach to mood and style. The vision is all Suede’s, however, and a gorgeous vision it is.
If you had only one jazz vocal album to buy this year, it would be this one, and you may not need to get another one for a while.
The title "Dangerous Mood" is the epitome of truth in advertising, as the entire recording brims and sizzles with the confidence of a woman who knows what she wants and is capable of getting it.
She takes control right from the start, with the Bart Howard’s morsel, "Let Me Love You," showing instantly that she can swing with the best of them, recalling such greats as Carol Sloane, and Anita O’Day.
In the department of mood-setting, Tom Waits "New Coat of Paint" gets the full film noir treatment with a muted trumpet, courtesy of the multi-talented Suede herself, casting atmospheric shadows within which the story of two lonely hearts sharing a nightcap, vow to start their lives afresh.
By the time Suede reaches her final number, an unusual up-tempo celebratory "Here’s To Life," that eschews the usual slow sober reflection it often gets, you will be entirely in her sway, and a devotee for life.
textTo purchase "Dangerous Mood," visit www.suedewaves.comtext
John Amodeo is a free lance writer living in the Boston streetcar suburb of Dorchester with his husband of 18 years. He has covered cabaret for Bay Windows and Theatermania.com, and is a contributing writer for Cabaret Scenes Magazine.
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