Happy Faces: Tierney Sutton

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JAZZ VOCALIST TIERNEY SUTTON has expressed every kind of mood, every shade of human emotion, through her finely phrased singing and keen musicianship. So on her latest album, "On the Other Side" (Telarc), Sutton drills deep into the meaning of that overused and underfelt word "happy."

With the telling exceptions of "Haunted Heart" and a sob-inducing "You Are My Sunshine," Sutton culled a baker's dozen of classic tunes for "On the Other Side" with the tricksy word in the title. She's helped by her ace band — pianist Christian Jacob, bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry and drummer Ray Brinker — as well as special guest Jack Sheldon on trumpet and vocals.

E-mailing from England a week before her two-night Blues Alley stint this weekend, Sutton discussed her music, her religion and what happiness means.

» EXPRESS: Your band is terrific. How did it come together?
» SUTTON: I think the thing I'm proudest of in my career is that this band has managed to stay together for almost 15 years. They are extraordinary and I never get tired of listening to them. They're also my closest friends. I met them when they were playing as the rhythm section in Jack Sheldon's big band in the early '90s. I was visiting L.A. and saw them play and thought, "Wow — there's a strong young jazz scene here. Who knew?"

» EXPRESS: It's such a jazz-and-standards irony that a whole bunch of songs with "Happy" in the title are not necessarily cheery on the inside.
» SUTTON: Yes, the Great American Songbook is filled with optimism — or so it seems. Like all well-crafted songs, the standards we looked at have many layers and we looked at some of the darker corners.

» EXPRESS: What do you think happiness means to most people?
» SUTTON: I've thought about this question a lot — especially since making this CD. I think for most people happiness ultimately comes from feeling they are useful or of service to others in some way, yet this isn't what the broader culture appears to value. At the same time, psychology often prescribes public service to those who are depressed because of the effect of service. I know for myself, I'm happiest when I feel useful — as a mother, as a musician, in the world.

» EXPRESS: Are you willing to discuss your music in terms of your spiritual life?
» SUTTON: Certainly. My music is all about my spiritual life — and vice versa. Somehow this question has just started to pop up. In Italy the blurb about the band in the Umbria brochure spoke of my spiritual approach in the very first sentence. Although this is my aspiration, I have never advertised my spiritual beliefs, but I guess people want to know. I am a member of the Baha'i faith, as is James Moody and as was Dizzy Gillespie. The core of our belief system is the oneness of mankind and finding paths toward greater unity in diversity in the world. This is a perfect metaphor for the band's arranging philosophy and the Baha'i principles have profoundly impacted our process. I am the only Baha'i in the band and that is, of course, just fine with me — it's about uniting all and finding harmony and equality of voices and approaches.

» EXPRESS: Do you find that American audiences relate to your music differently from the way European audiences do? It's such completely homegrown music, yet we don't always have an appreciation for it.
» SUTTON: The only difference I've found is that I can't always prepare my audience for a song or arrangement when I am in a non-English-speaking country. At the same time, in Italy I was moved to tears thanking the Italian audiences for the love Italy showed for the jazz greats — Ella did some of her greatest singing in Italy and there are so many examples of jazz greats flourishing in Europe. They have a profound appreciation of the craft and of the music in general.

» EXPRESS: Which sad song do you love the most? Is there anything so sad you can't sing it?
» SUTTON: There surely isn't one favorite "sad" song, but my favorite song on the new record is "You Are My Sunshine." I like the fact that it's dark because the last lyric is "I hung my head and I cried" — so our version is more consistent with the lyric than all the happy, skippy, peppy ones! There have been many times when I have teared up when singing something because of the song's association with someone, but that's the price of being present. I hope to be that present.

» EXPRESS: What's next for you?
» SUTTON: Well, I'm writing you from London where we just played a sold-out show after being in Perugia and Rome for two weeks. We're launching into music for our next CD and hope to premiere some in D.C. Onward....

» Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW; Sat. & Sun., $25, 8 & 10 p.m., 202-337-4141.

Top and bottom photos by Pamela Springsteen; middle photo by Pablo Aguilar