Event

Suzanna Smith Quintet

Suzanna Smith and The Peggy Lee Project pay tribute to Peggy Lee's vast repertoire taking you on a tour through Ms. Lee's big band days, the lost radio recordings and many of her biggest hits.

The Peggy Lee Project is a close collaboration between Suzanna Smith and pianist Lee Bloom, in the spirit of the great collaborations between Peggy Lee and many of jazzs finest composers and band leaders. Together they present Peggy Lees material through fresh, inventive explorations to reintroduce this deeply American treasure to todays audiences in new ways.

Christopher Louden in Jazz Times gave this high praise to Suzanna in reviewing her debut recording, Halfway Between Heaven & 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 CriticalJazz.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."

Suzanna will be joined by Lee Bloom on piano, special guest Noel Jewkes on reeds, John Wiitala on bass and David Rokeach on drums.