Discovering something new about your ancestry must be an awakening experience. I would imagine that learning the truth about your heritage would hit you like a bucket of cold water, instantly washing away past assumptions and putting your personal history in sharp focus.
When singer Tessa Souter found out in 1984 that her estranged birth father was from Trinidad, it changed her life dramatically. She soon learned that she had roots in Africa and the Caribbean, not ancient Britain and Spain, as her mother had told her to stop the bullying at school. All of which needed to be explored or at least considered. Born in London, Tessa studied piano from 8 to 12, at which point she abandoned it for the guitar. At 16, she left home, married, had a son and, in 1992, moved to San Francisco to pursue a journalism career.
She also began singing at the city's clubs. Soon, jazz consumed her and in 1997 she relocated to New York to attended the Manhattan School of Music. She met Mark Murphy and Sheila Jordan, who became her vocal mentors.
On her new album, Picture in Black and White (NOA), her fifth release, Tessa tells the story of meeting her Trinidadian father and all of the feelings that were awakened. The 12 songs on the album, many of them originals, become an odyssey that sends Tessa on a vocal quest to learn about her background and to clarify her identity. She's joined on the album by Yotam Silberstein (guitar and oud), Adam Platt (piano), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), Dana Leong (cello), Keita Ogawa (percussion) and Billy Drummond (cymbals and drums).
As we listen to Tessa's pain and elation, we feel as if we are with her as she rummages through a trunk of emotions trying to piece together her background. While it's impossible to guess how someone feels after learning something significant about a parent, we can only assume it's a spiritual game-changer. Dwelling on one's lineage and one's ancestors would have to become an obsession, and Tessa's soul-searching rips raw feelings that are beautifully expressed here.
In this regard, Picture in Black and White feels like the kind of journey saxophonist Wayne Shorter has taken us on with albums such as JuJu and The Soothsayer. Artistically, you know Tessa is someplace far away, and we follow. If Charles Mingus were around today, I'm sure he would have loved to have built an orchestral piece around this album. Brava, Tessa!
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Tessa Souter's Picture in Black and White (NOA) here.
You'll also find the album at Spotify.
JazzWax clip: Here's Child of Love...
And here's Lonely Woman...
