Quickies: Susan Tedeschi, KJ Denhert, Al Foster

by Pico

There's been a gaggle of good-uns coming out this week and Nick's been on the ball giving you the low down on many of them. From Ry Cooder to Sonny Rollins and Boz Skaggs, Mr. D. has got you covered on the new offerings that matter the most to SE readers.

It's a damned good thing, too, because Mr. "P." has been reveling in little-known up-and-comers and reissues of very old records. But today, with a new installment of "Quickies," I aim to get relatively more mainstream. This one's headlined by a couple of ladies who are very talented singer-songwriters. And a Quickies completely devoid of that whack stuff, too. Enjoy the normalcy while it lasts!


Susan Tedeschi Back To The River
With her strong blues foundation and pliable, slightly raspy croon, Susan Tedeschi is always going to be compared to Bonnie Raitt. However, she's yet to achieve that crossover blockbuster success of a Nick Of Time. That isn't for a lack of quality material, though, as with Back To The River, Tedeschi continues to stay true to providing an optimal blend of blues, r&b, gospel and rock.

In ever so discreet steps, though, she's showing continued growth in the songwriting department. They're nicely varied but all have a lot of that old school soul in them and showcase Tedeschi's many facets of her voice. All but one track are originals and she's written or co-written all of those. They're all good ones, ranging from the rocker "Talking About" to the soulful "People." Some of these songs sound as if they should have been written years ago, they sound so comfortable and familiar alongside classic r&b/rock tunes of the late sixties and early seventies, such as Allen Toussaint's "Break In The Road," which Tedeschi tackles here with authority.

One of the co-writes--the title track, in fact--- was with North Louisiana legend Tony Joe White. Other notable collaborations and contributions are courtesy of Doyle Bramhall II and naturally, Susan's husband Derek Trucks.

Bringing in family for help can sometimes be a forced proposition but in this case, one could even stand even more Trucks' signature slide guitar on this record (which he also produced). No matter, though, it's his old lady that makes Back To The River, out October 28, another strong undertaking.

Purchase: Susan Tedeschi - Back To The River


K.J. Denhert Dal Vivo A Umbria Jazz
Last spring we introduced on this site the music of Karen Jeanne, or "K.J.," Denhert, a multi-talented woman who sings, writes damned good songs, and plays a righteous Martin acoustic guitar while fronting an airtight combo. Back then, I surmised that Denhert sounds "a lot like Bonnie Raitt with a little less blues and a little more jazz. Or Lizz Wright with a little less gospel and a little more rock." I could just as easily declare that her music resides at the intersection of James Taylor, Steely Dan and Sergio Mendes. That's a mighty good place to be.

That's the place that comes to my mind when listening to Denhert's quick follow-up to Lucky 7 for Motema Music, the live in Italy Dal Vivo A Umbria Jazz. The title translates into "Live At Ubmria Jazz," a world-famous jazz festival in Italy where Denhert has served as artist-in-residence six times already. Half of the dozen tracks come from Lucky, plus there's some extended Denhert-ized covers of rock classics "Message In A Bottle" and "Ticket To Ride."

So what do you get from a Denhert live record that you don't from the studio ones? The main selling point is Denhert's band, The NY Unit, which has been backing KJ for nearly a dozen years, now. The cohesiveness of this unit is unbeatable and they run through Denhert's tight arrangements like it's nothing at all. The recent addition of sax player Aaron Heick brings out the jazzy side of this combo's sound even more.

Superbly recorded, Dal Vivo, out earlier this month, captures K.J. Denhert and her band as the experienced live performers that they are.

Purchase: K.J. Denhert - Dal Vivo A Umbria Jazz


Al Foster Love, Peace And Jazz!
Al Foster is the drummer best known for his extended stints in Miles Davis' band; as the only member of Miles' pre-retirement and post-retirement bands, he's probably appeared on more Davis recordings than any other sideman. He's also worked with Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Haden, Thelonious Monk, Freddie Hubbard, Dave Liebman, Herbie Hancock, and was the drummer for Joe Henderson's crucial comeback The State Of The Tenor live recordings.

Twenty-two years after Henderson's 1985 date at the Village Vanguard, Foster and his own four-piece band performed at the same venue one weekend in April and six selections were culled from that engagement and assembled into a new CD, Peace, Love And Jazz! Helping out Foster was Kevin Hays on piano, Eli Degibri on saxophones and Douglas Weiss on double bass.

Foster's band delivered no-nonsense, straight jazz at times with such an intensity that coaxed occasional yells from the leader. Three of the songs are Al's, the strongest being the opening number "The Chief." Two Miles numbers are also included, although both preclude the fusion era that Foster was a part of: Wayne Shorter's "ESP," and the poignant ballad "Blue In Green." The closer is Blue Mitchell's Latin number "Fungii Mama," on which Foster played the original recording as a member of Mitchell's band back in 1964.

The first Al Foster album for the label Jazz Eyes, and the first overall in about 12 years, Love, Peace And Jazz! has been available since September 1.

Purchase: Al Foster - Love, Peace And Jazz!