Discover- Under The Influence CD review
November 5th, 2003

CD Review::: Tuey Connell - Under The Influence
           

Tuey Connell
Under The Influence
Minor Music / in acoustics
Jazz/Coverversionen


The jazz singer, guitarist, banjo player and Songwriter Tuey Connell from Chicago has a formidable baritone. After he offered mostly his own compositions on his last cd, he attacks "the American songbook" and he does this with nonchalance. One can hear an ironical distance in some of the songs. Where Billie Holiday in her version of Gus of song "Love Me Or Leave Me" suffers indominably, Connell maintains a kind, gentle hopefulness. Thanks are entitled to him, because which version would one want now: one that is so theatrical, so dependent? No. There is surely no more proof of ability to recussitate standards which this than independent songwriter has outdone in some ways with his own pieces. A highlight is "No Moon At All," with Connell's original banjo composition, which involves the hopelessness expressed in the text along with the musical complexity. Two pieces "Why You Been Gone" continues to develop again a completely different atmosphere with the longing Country Blues. Tuey Connell seems to combine and juggle with epochs and singing styles. Here he sounds like Sinatra and there scats like an old singer, sings Cole Porter tunes and sings the blues from the bars from Chicago. On this CD stylistic differences are brought easily to a common denominator. That counts at the end: The result of the quotient is a swinging positive sign.

Peter Backof

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