JUST BACK FROM HER SUCCESSFUL DEBUT HEADLINING AT THE MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, MOSCOW, AT WHICH SHE RECEIVED A STANDING OVATION FROM AN AUDIENCE OF 1500, TESSA SOUTER RETURNS TO HER REGULAR MONTHLY 'HOME' GIG AT THE 55 BAR ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2007
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2007
55 BAR
55 Christopher Street
@Seventh Avenue
New York 10014
Tel: 212-929-9883
Sets at 6.15 & 8 pm
FREE. TWO DRINK MINIMUM TESSA SOUTER TRIO
WITH JOHN HART (GUITAR) AND TBA
“British-Caribbean jazz vocalist Tessa Souter puts her own stamp on jazz and pop material through sure-footed musical instincts. The phrasing is absolutely serpentine as it slithers around the melodic line of a song. Who else would think to swing Cream's plodding “White Room"? Souter can also render a ballad, like her soul-baring “Here's to Life." She's an important jazz voice at the moment ...." KIRK SILSBEE, LOS ANGELES BEAT
“Tessa Souter brings new life to time-honored standards while also mining a creative spark from the unlikeliest sources." TIME OUT NEW YORK
“A must-see for lovers of world-class jazz vocalizing." DON HECKMAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
Born in London of Trinidadian and English parents, New York-based vocalist, composer and lyricist Tessa Souter (soo-ter) infuses jazz with the soul and passion of flamenco, Indian and Middle Eastern music. “One of the most imaginatively programmed vocal sets of recent memory," said the Los Angeles Times, in a rave review of her California debut at the Catalina Bar and Grill in 2002. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised her “amazing" debut CD Listen Love and her “crystal-clear voice with diamond-cut phrasing." Soul jazz singer Jon Lucien said of Listen Love. “Magnificent! I couldn't stop playing it over and over" Her mentor Mark Murphy says of her, “She is a complete musician ... extraordinary and moving." Sheila Jordan says, “There aren't many, but Tessa Souter is a natural born singer. She really moves me." Jazz tuba legend Howard Johnson says she is “an important musician... whose brilliant lyrics and songs make her stand out from the pack so very much." A late-comer to singing professionally, Souter was first a features journalist for The London Times, The Independent, Vogue, Elle and others. She was one of the original six members, along with Po Bronson and Ethan Canin, of the Writer's Grotto in San Francisco, where she lived and worked as a freelance journalist from 1992 to 1996, before moving to New York and starting to sit in on jazz jams. In 1998 she won a scholarship to New York's Manhattan School of Music, which she left to study privately with jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy. WNPK Radio FM says: “It's hard to believe she only recently became a vocalist, because she sings with the authority and passion that usually comes from long experience." To quote Los Angeles-based guitarist Larry Koonse, “Tessa Souter has all the qualities I value most in a musician: great time, beautiful phrasing, gorgeous sound, a respect for silence, an emotional connection to the moment, and a wonderful ability to tell a story. She is the 'real thing' in every way."
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2007
55 BAR
55 Christopher Street
@Seventh Avenue
New York 10014
Tel: 212-929-9883
Sets at 6.15 & 8 pm
FREE. TWO DRINK MINIMUM TESSA SOUTER TRIO
WITH JOHN HART (GUITAR) AND TBA
“British-Caribbean jazz vocalist Tessa Souter puts her own stamp on jazz and pop material through sure-footed musical instincts. The phrasing is absolutely serpentine as it slithers around the melodic line of a song. Who else would think to swing Cream's plodding “White Room"? Souter can also render a ballad, like her soul-baring “Here's to Life." She's an important jazz voice at the moment ...." KIRK SILSBEE, LOS ANGELES BEAT
“Tessa Souter brings new life to time-honored standards while also mining a creative spark from the unlikeliest sources." TIME OUT NEW YORK
“A must-see for lovers of world-class jazz vocalizing." DON HECKMAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
Born in London of Trinidadian and English parents, New York-based vocalist, composer and lyricist Tessa Souter (soo-ter) infuses jazz with the soul and passion of flamenco, Indian and Middle Eastern music. “One of the most imaginatively programmed vocal sets of recent memory," said the Los Angeles Times, in a rave review of her California debut at the Catalina Bar and Grill in 2002. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised her “amazing" debut CD Listen Love and her “crystal-clear voice with diamond-cut phrasing." Soul jazz singer Jon Lucien said of Listen Love. “Magnificent! I couldn't stop playing it over and over" Her mentor Mark Murphy says of her, “She is a complete musician ... extraordinary and moving." Sheila Jordan says, “There aren't many, but Tessa Souter is a natural born singer. She really moves me." Jazz tuba legend Howard Johnson says she is “an important musician... whose brilliant lyrics and songs make her stand out from the pack so very much." A late-comer to singing professionally, Souter was first a features journalist for The London Times, The Independent, Vogue, Elle and others. She was one of the original six members, along with Po Bronson and Ethan Canin, of the Writer's Grotto in San Francisco, where she lived and worked as a freelance journalist from 1992 to 1996, before moving to New York and starting to sit in on jazz jams. In 1998 she won a scholarship to New York's Manhattan School of Music, which she left to study privately with jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy. WNPK Radio FM says: “It's hard to believe she only recently became a vocalist, because she sings with the authority and passion that usually comes from long experience." To quote Los Angeles-based guitarist Larry Koonse, “Tessa Souter has all the qualities I value most in a musician: great time, beautiful phrasing, gorgeous sound, a respect for silence, an emotional connection to the moment, and a wonderful ability to tell a story. She is the 'real thing' in every way."
For more information contact Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services.
