TIERNEYSUTTON“PARISSESSIONS”A 7-time Grammy nominee, Sutton has received 6 consecutive nominations for “BestJazzVocalAlbum”-anominationforeveryprojectshehasreleasedforthelastdecade.

For many years Tierney Sutton appeared in the context of The Tierney Sutton Band,“TSB”,withwhichshehasarecordingandtouringhistoryspanningover20yearsand10CDs.ComprisedofSuttonandinstrumentalvirtuososKevinAxt,RayBrinker,TreyHenryandChristianJacob,thebandfunctionsasatruecollaborative(andlegallyincorporated)unit and makes all musical as well as business decisions as partners. In 2011 theTSB received a Grammy nomination for it’s collaborative arranging, the onlycollaborative team ever to receive that honor. In 2016 they collaborated with ClintEastwoodonthesoundtrackofhisfilm“Sully”andtheyalsoreleasedtheir10thCD“TheStingVariations”.

In 2013 she released “After Blue”, a jazz-inspired re-imagining of the legacy of JoniMitchell. The album received wide acclaim and was Sutton’s breakout as a leaderwithouther longtimeBandand features Al Jarreau,Hubert Laws, Peter Erskine, LarryGoldings,MarkSummer,KevinAxt,SergeMerlaudandTheTurtleIslandStringQuartet.

For“ParisSessions”sheteamedupwithajazzguitaristfromParis:SergeMerlaud,andthe bass guitarist of the Tierney SuttonBand,Kevin Axt. Sutton firstmetMerlaud 20yearsbeforetheParisSessionstookplace(in1992)onavisittotheCityofLights.“SergeactuallyintroducedmetoBillEvans’recordYouMustBelieveinSpring.AndthereasonthatheplayeditformewasthatIwastellinghimhowprofoundIthoughttheBergmans’lyricswere. I laterendedupmeetingAlanandMarilynBergmanthroughJackSheldon,whoused to letme sit inwith his bandwhen I first came to LosAngeles.Over theseyearsAlanandMarilynhavebecomealmost likesecondparentstome, justverydear,very close. And I’ve always regarded their lyric for ‘YouMust Believe in Spring’ as apersonal anthemof hope. It became a theme forme during a dark period inmy life,helpingmetoknowthatthingsweregoingtogetbetter.”

For their reunion in the studio in 2012, the chemistry between Sutton andMerlaud,alternating between nylon string acoustic and electric guitars, was immediate andmagical on the duet numbers -- “YouMust Believe in Spring,” “Ilm,” “You’reNearer,”“BodyandSoul”and“AnswerMe,MyLove.”Axtaddedhisresoundingtonesonacousticbass guitar for the seven trionumbers, includingbossanova renditionsof “Beija Flor”andBrunoMartino’s“Estate,”Merlaud’s“Izzat”and“Asma.”AxtalsocontributessomedeftchordalcompingbehindSuttonandMerlaudon“Don’tGotoStrangers,”Ellington’s“All Too Soon” and the melancholy “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me.” Says Tierney, “We justdecidedtodoabasicallyspontaneousrecord.Itwasjust,‘Here’sasongwe’regoingtoplay.Let’sseewhathappens.’”Sheadds that therewasvery littlepreparation for thissession.“KevinwasdelayedandonlyarrivedinParisthedaybeforeweweresupposedtogointhestudio.HehadneverplayedanotewithSergebutheardhimonrecordings.

Sowedidabouttwohoursofrehearsalsthateveningat5o’clock,wenttosleepandgotupat8o’clockthenextmorningandwenttothestudio.”

Tierney has headlined in recent years at The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, TheKennedyCenterandJazzAtLincolnCenter.ShecanalsobeheardonfilmandtelevisionsoundtracksincludingthatofTheAcademyAward-nominatedfilm“TheCooler”aswellas on television commercials (BMW, Green Giant, Yoplait Yogurt, Coke) and recentlyClintEastwood’s«Sully».

Live Tierney Sutton «Paris Sessions» presents songs from Tierney Suttons entirerepertoire,includingthe«AfterBlue:TheJoniMitchellProject».

One need listen no further than "You Must Believe in Spring," the opening trackofTierney Sutton'sParis Sessions, tograsp that somethingquite special is takingplacebetweenthemusicians.Thiscollectionof standardsandoriginals recorded induosandtriosbetweenthesinger,guitaristSergeMerlaud,andbassistKevinAxtisabare-bonesjourneyintothedepthsofmusicalintimacy.

ThomYurek,Allmusic

“ParisSessionsiseasilythemost informal iteminSutton'sdiscography,buttheideaofinformality shouldn'tcarryanegativeconnotation;quite theopposite, in fact.This isawork of unfiltered beauty, successfully pairing vocal temptress with guitar and bassguitar.….Sometimes it takesthearrivalofanalbumtorealizethatsomethingwasmissing inthefirstplace.SuchisthecasewithParisSessions.ThisisthehushedSuttonstunnerthatthejazzworlddidn'tevenknowitneeded.”

DanBilawsky,AllAboutJazz