Revived Interest in Vocalist Susie Thorne

This past Friday I learned from one of my reliable sources about a revived interest in the album Blue Skies, Clear Day, which is the second CD recorded by jazz vocalist Susie Thorne. I am not quite sure what constitutes revival; but, as of this writing, Amazon.com has a Web page for the CD, which is currently only available as used, currently from seven different sources. However, that Web page also has a hyperlink to an MP3 Web page, which probably did not exist when the album was first released in 2006. Sadly, that Web page does not include the liner notes that were included in the CD release. Also missing is the back label, which provides the personnel information, as well as the composition credits for the eleven tracks on the album.

For the most part, there is a satisfying clarity in Thorne’s vocal work. This is particularly important where the three Cole Porter tracks are concerned: “Blue Skies,” “Night and Day,” and “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” Porter was the most important contributor to the Great American Songbook that consistently paid as much attention to the words as to the music, and Thorne clearly honors that versatility. That same versatility can be found in Paul McCartney’s “Can’t Buy Me Love;” and there is a certain comfort in recognizing that McCartney gets just as much respect as Porter.

The only real disappointment arises on the final track. Thorne decided to record Joseph Kosma’s “Autumn Leaves” using the original French lyrics by Jacques Prévert, rather than the more familiar English version provided by Johnny Mercer. While there is consistent clarity across the English texts on the first ten tracks, negotiating the French account of “Autumn Leaves” requires more than a little creative imagination on the part of the listener.

On the instrumental side Thorne is accompanied by the “standard” trio with Christine Hitt on piano, Tom Kennedy on bass, and Miles Vandiver on drums. Kennedy is particularly engaging when accompanying Thorne’s interpretation of “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.”  Guitarist Rick Haydon contributes to six of the tracks, as does Jason Swagler on alto saxophone (but not the same six tracks). This amounts to highly satisfying accompaniment work, making for engaging listening (at least when the words are in English).