Event

Suzanna Smith: Peggy Lee Project

This Saturday, Suzanna Smith and The Peggy Lee Project pay tribute to Peggy Lees first collaboration with pianist George Shearing the album Beauty and the Beat. The debut performance of this loving tribute, not a note for note recreation but a re-imagination, was recorded for KCSM's 'In The Moment' and gives a sneak peak of what's in store for you this Saturday:

https://soundcloud.com/jimmyb94114/kcsm-in-the-moment-7-14-16-suzanna-smith-beauty-and-the-beat-reimagined

Christopher Louden in Jazz Times gave this high praise to Suzanna, in reviewing her debut recording, Halfway Between Heaven and Love, There are relatively few contemporary female vocalists who evoke Peggy Lee, at least not genuinely. Suzanna Smith, new to recording, but a seasoned pro who has been honing her artistry in and around the Bay Area for over a decade, numbers among that rare ilk. That Smith sounds like Lee slightly breathy and warmly sensual with a hint of huskiness is undeniable, but the parallels extend much further. Lees ability to not just caress a ballad but smother it in mink has seldom been matched. She was also a sage swinger never too much, never too little as well as a first-rate songwriter. Smith checks all those boxes.

Brent Black on Critical Jazz.com said her approach is "organic, eclectic, and contemporary, yet rooted in the tradition of what old school vocal jazz was once all about, soul."

On Saturday, Suzanna will be joined by Lee Bloom on piano, Dan Feiszli on bass and Jon Arkin on drums.