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Tierney Sutton Band - ScreenPlay Act 1: The Bergman Suite


GA Russell

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The Tierney Sutton Band
"ScreenPlay Act 1: The Bergman Suite"

Impacting: February 22 2019

Format(s): Jazz, Non-Commercial, NPR

 
 
 
  Artist Title Time  
  The Tierney Sutton Band The Windmills of Your Mind 05:31  
  The Tierney Sutton Band What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life 05:48  
  The Tierney Sutton Band How Do You Keep The Music Playing 04:20  
  The Tierney Sutton Band It Might Be You 06:25  
  The Tierney Sutton Band Ev'ry Now And Then 02:59  
 


After 20-plus years, 8 Grammy nominations and countless performances throughout the world, L.A.-based Tierney Sutton Band has set their sights on the wide-ranging panorama of film music by releasing an ambitious 19-track collection of songs in five parts -- “ScreenPlay.”

 

“ScreenPlay” spans the first century of American film music. The band gained firsthand experience in this idiom in 2016 when they were tapped by legendary director Clint Eastwood to score his box office hit “Sully”.

 

The arrangements and Sutton’s readings of the songs comprising “ScreenPlay” are pure Tierney Sutton Band at the height of its powers, subtly illuminating and revolutionizing each classic, as well as introducing a few lesser-known gems.

 

Wanting to dig ever deeper into the material, the band has chosen to present this creative, new music in a creative, new way. 5 acts, each including 3 to 5 songs, will be released as a digital EP, once a month, beginning in February of 2019. A podcast and other behind-the-scenes material that explore the songs and the films that made them so iconic will accompany each of these acts. In June of 2019, a compilation ScreenPlay CD will be released worldwide.

 

 

ACT 1:  THE BERGMAN SUITE

Welcome to The Bergman Suite, the opening Act of “ScreenPlay”, the new project by the Tierney Sutton Band. We thought it fitting to begin our journey into the first century of American film song by sharing 5 songs by perhaps the most influential film lyricists of all time, Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The Bergmans are 3-time Oscar winners and in 1982 3 of 5 Oscar-nominated songs were theirs (they didn’t win).

 

We open here with “The Windmills of Your Mind”, arranged by Tierney Sutton, which provided Alan and Marilyn with their first Academy Award in 1969 for “The Thomas Crowne Affair”. When the film was remade in 1999, wise producers kept the song as the main title, this time sung by Sting. The song was written as a meditation on the roiling anxiety of the film’s main character.“The Windmills of your Mind” features the music of celebrated French composer Michel Legrand as do tracks 2 and 3. “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?”, the Bergman’s supremely touching marriage-proposal-insong- form, is presented here as a simple piano/vocal. The song needs nothing more. “How Do You Keep The Music Playing”, arranged by Trey Henry, is a vocal duet featuring Tierney Sutton and Alan Bergman himself. Bergman’s sublime vocals are not to be missed, filled with the magic you might expect expect from the 93-year old master story-teller.

 

Tracks 4 and 5 feature music by legendary jazz pianist and composer Dave Grusin. “It Might Be You”, from “Tootsie” and arranged by Trey Henry, appears here as an intimate rumination, thinking out loud. The last track is the least known song in this collection. The theme was written by Grusin and was featured in the 1996 film “Mulholland Falls”. The Bergmans wisely took the stunning melody and created one of the most haunting songs of lost love imaginable, “Every Now and Then.”

 

We hope you enjoy listening to the cinematic poetry of Alan and Marilyn Bergman as much as we have enjoyed spending time with these great songs. Please visit www.tierneysutton.com for supplemental interviews, videos and podcasts. Just press the “ScreenPlay” tab. We’ll see you in March 2019 for ScreenPlay Act 2 Technicolor.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

Edited by GA Russell
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The Tierney Sutton Band
"ScreenPlay Act 2: Technicolor"

Impacting: March 21 2019

Format(s): Jazz, Non-Commercial, NPR

 
 
 
  Artist Title Time  
  The Tierney Sutton Band If I Only Had A Brain 05:59  
  The Tierney Sutton Band I've Got No Strings 04:30  
  The Tierney Sutton Band The Trolley Song 03:05  
  The Tierney Sutton Band It Might As Well Be Spring 04:48  
 

ScreenPlay Act 2: Technicolor

 

Welcome to “Technicolor” — The four songs featured here were penned from 1939–1945 and are full of fantasy, imagination and optimism, which offered a stark contrast to the state of the world at that time. Creating magical lands, they became some of the most indelible and enduring pieces in music history.

 

"If I Only Had A Brain," by Harold Arlen and Yip Harberg, comes from the 1939 classic The Wizard Of Oz. This arrangement by bassist Kevin Axt provides a musical cast of characters much like the film itself. One funky bass, one cool bass, one volatile and emphatic singer, and a chorus of finger-snappers make for an entirely new and whimsical reading of a beloved song.

 

“I’ve Got No Strings” was written in 1940 by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for the Disney filmPinocchio. Our other bassist Trey Henry reimagined this classic as an exploration into the consequences of a life devoid of traditional connections. It begins with Ray Brinker’s drums setting an ambiguous texture that creates a feeling of floating in space. Throughout, Tierney sings with a sense of wonder and introverted mystery. Only the sound of Serge Merlaud’s tender guitar improvisation is left to hint at the joy and regret of an imagined state of mind.

 

Made famous by Judy Garland, “The Trolley Song” was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis. This version, done as a duet featuring Tierney and Ray, could be described as the product of two master musicians playing together for more than two decades. The breakneck speed combined with the accuracy, energy and imagery displayed here is seldom seen or heard. And to drive the point home, this arrangement was created on the spot and recorded in one take!

 

An Academy Award winner for Best Song, “It Might As Well Be Spring” was written for the 1945 film State Fair. Pianist Christian Jacob is featured on this one, along with Tierney. Christian’s inspired arrangement brilliantly illuminates the Rodgers and Hammerstein gem. The opening piano figure makes the lyric “I’m as restless as a willow in a windstorm” a foregone conclusion, and the transition to a sadder and more pensive tone perfectly reflects the song’s wistful bridge.

 

We hope you find the world of “Technicolor” as enchanting and inspirational as we have. Feel free to stay as long as you like!

 

Stay in touch with us by visiting tierneysutton.com for news, interviews, podcasts, videos and more. Just click or tap the “ScreenPlay” tab. Also, please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/TierneySuttonMusic for the latest ScreenPlay scoop and gig announcements. We’re on Instagram and Twitter too!

 

We’ll see you in April for Act 3!

Edited by GA Russell
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The Tierney Sutton Band
"ScreenPlay Act 3: The Golden Age"

Impacting: April 26 2019

Format(s): Jazz, Non-Commercial, NPR

 
 
 
  Artist Title Time  
 
 
 
  The Tierney Sutton Band The Sound of Silence 05:32  
  The Tierney Sutton Band Moon River / Calling You 04:41  
  The Tierney Sutton Band Two For The Road 04:48  
  The Tierney Sutton Band Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend 03:24  
 

ScreenPlay  Act 3: The Golden Age

Welcome to the third chapter from the TSB ScreenPlay collection. This time around we bring you four songs from the Golden Age. They possess many of the same characteristics as Broadway show songs from this period, although none of them actually appeared in a Broadway show. Powerful, emotional content combined with plot and character development, which many film directors of the same era wished to convey in their movies were the hallmarks of these songs. In this chapter, we explore the music of Paul Simon, Henry Mancini and Bob Telson including a Mancini/Telson mashup.

 

The Sound of Silence” is a Paul Simon song which was released as a B side single by Simon & Garfunkel in 1965. While Mike Nichols was editing his hit 1967 film The Graduate, he utilized the song in several scenes as a place holder until a final substitute was found, but he eventually decided that the Paul Simon song was his best option. Trey Henry and Ray Brinker conceived this complete re-imagination of the S&G hit, creating irony by utilizing widely contrasting dynamics and textures which range from meditative to massive, as well as the frequent TSB device of two basses playing together simultaneously. The end result is a sonic rollercoaster ride featuring a brilliant Christian Jacob piano solo.

 

Moon River/Calling You” is a cross pollination of two beautiful ballads that are melded together seamlessly by Trey’s and Tierney’s arrangement. “Moon River” was a song written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for Audrey Hepburn to sing in the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Its more contemporary partner, “Calling You”, was written in 1987 by Bob Telson for the 1988 cult hit, Bagdad Cafe. While the lyrics of “Moon River” inspire hope and anticipation, “Calling You” is a tale of desolate isolation. Tierney manages to tell these disparate stories, each in their appropriate context, flawlessly blending them together in perfect symbiosis with the arrangement, her heartfelt interpretation both hopeful and haunting. Once again, the two basses appear side by side.

 

In 1967, Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse wrote the title song “Two For the Road” for the eponymously titled film, also starring Audrey Hepburn. Mancini was often heard to say that of all his songs, this was his favorite. The lyric tells the tale of a couple in love traveling life’s road, with all of its beautiful scenery and juddering potholes, secure in the knowledge that “as long as love still wears a smile” they will always travel this road together. Tierney and Christian embark upon the musical version of this journey, voice and piano negotiating the twists and turns with an empathy that is as moving as the story it tells; understandable since they’ve spent two and a half decades on this road together!

 

The final song in this chapter is Jule Styne and Leo Robbin’s “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”, originally sung by Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Robbin’s spectacularly un-PC lyric is given a light, ironic and humorous read by Tierney, accompanied by the master of all time and dynamics, her drumming partner for a quarter of a century, Ray Brinker. I defy you to listen to this melodic/rhythmic frolic without smiling. It’s an irresistible involuntary response.

So that’s Act 3, “The Golden Age”. Enjoy! Please stay in touch with us by visiting tierneysutton.com for news, interviews, podcasts, videos and the like. Just press the ScreenPlay tab.

 

Act 4 is just around the corner!

 
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The Tierney Sutton Band
"ScreenPlay"

Impacting: May 16 2019

Format(s): College, Jazz, Non-Commercial, NPR

 
 
  Artist Title Time    
 
 
 
  The Tierney Sutton Band The Windmills of Your Mind 05:31    
  The Tierney Sutton Band Moon River / Calling You 04:41    
  The Tierney Sutton Band On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever) 04:06    
  The Tierney Sutton Band What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? 05:48    
  The Tierney Sutton Band I've Got No Strings 04:30    
  The Tierney Sutton Band If I Only Had A Brain 05:59    
  The Tierney Sutton Band The Sound of Silence 05:32    
  The Tierney Sutton Band Goodbye For Now 02:27    
  The Tierney Sutton Band Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend 03:24    
  The Tierney Sutton Band Hopelessly Devoted To You 04:12    
  The Tierney Sutton Band You're The One That I Want 05:01    
  The Tierney Sutton Band How Do You Keep The Music Playing? 04:20    
  The Tierney Sutton Band Ev'ry Now and Then 02:59    
  The Tierney Sutton Band It Might Be You 06:25    
  The Tierney Sutton Band Arrow 02:55    
 
 

 

 

After 25-plus years, eight Grammy nominations and countless performances throughout the world, the Los Angeles-based TIERNEY SUTTON BAND presents ScreenPlay, an ambitious 15-track collection of songs from American film. 
 

ScreenPlay opens with a song by the most influential film lyricists of all time, Alan and Marilyn Bergman. “The Windmills of Your Mind” was an Academy Award winner for the Bergmans and composer Michel Legrand in 1969. Other Bergman contributions to ScreenPlay include “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?,” “It Might Be You,” and the previously unrecorded “Ev’ry Now And Then.” Tierney Sutton and Alan Bergman himself perform a vocal duet on “How Do You Keep The Music Playing.” 

Along with the five Bergman titles, the music of ScreenPlay spans nearly 80 years of American film. The arrangements and Sutton’s readings of the songs that comprise ScreenPlay are pure TIERNEY SUTTON BAND at the height of its powers. Starting with the 1930s on tunes like "If I Only Had A Brain” from The Wizard Of Oz, to the 1980s on a heartbreaking “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” and a Latin 5/4 romp through “You’re The One That I Want” from the movie musical Grease, and up through 2016 on “Arrow," which was originally written for Clint Eastwood’s hit Sully, the TIERNEY SUTTON BAND subtly illuminates and revolutionizes each well-worn song while shining a loving light on some lesser known gems. 
 

This recording is yet another classic from one of the most creative and artistically satisfying bands on the scene today. 

 

 

     
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