Nashville Scene
June 21st, 2004

JUNE 17 - 23, 2004 -- OUR CRITICS PICKS


Monday, 21st
TUEY CONNELL Imagine a younger, hipper George Plimpton or Alan Rickman who sings--or swings through--cabaret standards and sometimes strums a banjo as well. The idea shouldn't be that foreign, as Count Basie vocalist Joe Williams claimed that he polished his enunciation by listening to British actors like Basil Rathbone. Connell, the son of a Connecticut vintner, honed his bluegrass licks early in life but later settled into the realm of standards like "Love Me or Leave Me" and "I Thought About You," also writing originals that ring true to the Great American Songbook. His somewhat foggy, mildly flat baritone carries its patrician air quite lightly, and whatever he might lack in range is more than made up in his feel for each song's pulse, his phrasing and his slightly melancholy but never too grave delivery. For this show, he'll be comping on banjo and guitar in a trio setting. Bluebird Cafe
--Bill Levine

Download PDF version of this review

Back to Press Page