Tierney Sutton Band: Desire

Most singers place the emphasis on romance when interpreting the Great American Songbook. Not Tierney Sutton. The LA-based vocalist's Desire is a decidedly unromantic, melancholy effort that looks at the darker side of standards by the likes of Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, as well as more contemporary tunes by Dave Frishberg and others.

With her clear, supple voice, sensuous delivery and an actress' flair for the dramatic, Sutton conveys skepticism along with heartbreak in her highly distinctive readings of familiar fare like "It's All Right With Me," "Cry Me a River," "Fever" and "Skylark." She's especially effective in the role of the cynical seductress in "Whatever Lola Wants." When she sings that song's most licentious lines ("She always gets what she aims for/And your heart and soul are what she came for"), there's no doubt Lola will get everything she desires.

Sutton is aided enormously over the album's 11 tunes by her sympathetic bandmates—Christian Jacob (piano), Trey Henry and Kevin Axt (bass) and Ray Brinker (drums)—all of whom are given space for extensive soloing. She's been working with these musicians for 15 years and their ease and rapport with one another is clear.

Comments