I am in LOVE with this CD!!!  I attended one of Sue Matsuki's shows in New York City recently which celebrated the release of this fabulous recording, and here below are some of the comments I have of this show and about this CD which anyone in the right mind must own!

Visualize, if you will, a secluded nightclub on 52nd Street NYC during its heyday in the 50's, with the likes of Billie Holiday, Sylvia Sims and Mabel Mercer standing with their combo, looking elegant and regal. That is the picture you get when Sue Matsuki and her group began their set at Arci's Place NYC celebrating the release of her fabulous new CD "A New Take."   But, she is here today and we've got her!

This is truly a celebration of great singing and superlative playing. Opening with the fantastic "Speaking of Happiness" the evening was off to a great and wonderful start. This gal has got the chops to add a fresh new flavor to each and every number, and the incredible musicians to back her up. Looking oh so elegant in her black sparkling blouse and regal posture, it took her just a song or two to really let loose, so that by "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" she had you eating out of her hands. 

After getting you warmed up, she brings you back down by going into an absolutely gorgeous and soothing arrangement of "Quiet Nights/One Note Samba" that was to die for! Always hitting the right mood every step of the way, this was a show (and a CD) that sets a beautiful mood and holds it. 

"If I Close My Eyes" is but another beauty, so wonderfully done, and dedicated to her husband Kenro. Stunning work by Gregory Toroian throughout - what gorgeous arrangements, some leaving you breathless. A minimum of patter throughout the show seemed to suit this classy lady, but when she did fill in with introductions, it was always with the utmost respect for the composer/lyricist or a word of thanks to Gerry Geddes, her director.  Luckily he had suggested she try "Anticipation" - a song she didn't seem to think would work. But, wow, what an arrangement Toroian gives this one. Truly, hearing is believing! 

All visions of MGM star Ann Miller (who sang it so memorably in EASTER PARADE) disappear when you hear Sue swing into "Shaking the Blues Away" - she really lets it rip! Brava!! And, for lovers of "Moondance" - and I number myself among them - her New Take, if you will, on this contemporary classic leaves you with the greatest of admiration for this beautiful singer and her fantastic group. 

Definitely this is a must-see show and MUST HAVE CD!!   Take this NEW TAKE home with you today - you will definitely be happy you did!!!!



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SUE MATSUKI'S "A NEW TAKE"
by Jed Ryan

     After listening to about 30 seconds of "A New Take", Sue Matuski's award-nominated ("Best Female Recording of the Year" at 2002 MAC Awards) debut CD , listeners will realize one thing: This diva's got the voice of an angel.   Matsuki's voice is fresh and unblemished,as sweet and light as cotton candy-- yet strong, self-assured, and multi-dimensional.  While she's got a truly impressive range of tones and emotions, she never loses her own unique vocal persona.  After listening to "A New Take" over and over again (And trust me, you can't resist doing so!), you'll realize something else: Sue Matsuki has a very talented ear for what works.   She has lovingly selected 14 songs that display her singing talents to the maximum.  Matsuki gives us her own take on several jazz favorites, and takes some songs that she "jazzes up" for a new flavor. Similarly, Matsuki surrounds herself with truly impeccable musicians who compliment her warblings with smoky, meticulously paced rhythms. Gregory Toroian on piano is particularly impressive.   The results is a CD which will be savored by jazz lovers as well as those who are just starting to discover the genre.  In the first track, "Speaking of Happiness", Matsuki teases us with mellow vocals wrapped in smooth groves, before going all out with her belting abilities.   And that's just the beginning! "A New Take" is a delight from start to finish.

    Sue Matsuki was Winner of "Best Female Jazz Vocalist" of the 2001 Cabaret Hotline Online Awards, and she also scored the 2002 MAC Award for "Female Jazz/Pop/R&B Vocalist".  The youthful quality of Sue Matsuki's voice makes the diva perfectly suited to take on the role of prophet of love in the feel-good Gimbel/Thielemans classic "Bluesette" ("Pretty little Bluesette, don't you be a mourner; Have you heard the news yet? Love's around the corner."), a song of encouragement for all the lonely girls (and boys!) out there.   Similarly, her uplifting delivery  works just as well when she sings an adoring tribute to her man in "You Brought a New Kind of Love" ("If the nightingales could sing like you, they'd sing much sweeter than you do.  You brought a new kind of love to me."), a song which some of you may remember Liza Minnelli singing in "New York, New York".   We can also thank Matsuki for resurrecting some little-known ear candy that begs to be heard again.  One of these is the Whiting/Mercer tune "Have You Got Any Castles, Baby?", in which she playfully proclaims, "I have dreamed about romance a lot.   Men like Galahad and Sir Lancelot, always did the things I'd like to do."  Another is "It's Nice Weather for Ducks", a track which couldn't be more perfectly suited to describe the feelings of New Yorkers after this past spring.  In other highlights, Matsuki gives the Van Morrison favorite "Moondance" a frenetic treatment-- and during the song, she takes a vocal pause to allow us to again appreciate her gifted family of musicians. 

     Of course, no collection of love tunes would be complete without songs about the, shall we say, tougher side of love.  And Matsuki can flawlessly become mournful in "I'm Gonna Miss You", or pensive in "I'll Close My Eyes", a song from the movie "The Bridges of Madison County". Yet even when Matsuki plays the role of the wounded lover for some tracks, we don't believe that the spunky heroine she brings to life in her songs will stay down.  She may be bruised, but not broken.  Perhaps the most impressive skill of Matsuki is to juxtapose bits of two songs together, changing moods and/or musical styles so subtly that the listener hardly notices the transition.   On one of the tracks on "A New Take", she effortlesly segues from the ethereal "Quiet Night of Quiet Stars" into the dynamic "Astrud".  In another piece, the upbeat Rodger & Hammerstein's "I Whistle A Happy Tune" (from "The King and I") segues into the mysterious, mellow Mancini/Mercer tune "Whistling in the Dark". The torment of a broken heart, as only Janis Ian could have given us, comes through as Matsuki gives us her version of Ian's haunting "Love Is Blind".   

    Sue Matsuki leaves us off with two final tracks guaranteed to please.  In the classic "Shaking the Blues Away" (This song was performed in movie musicals by both Ann Miller and Doris Day.), she reminds us that sometimes a little song and dance is the best way to fight thos pesky blues.   And who would know better than this lady of song?  For a finale, Matsuki and Toroian give us a stripped-down, piano-and-vocals only rendition of Carly Simon's "Anticipation", and the effect is beautiful and provocative.  Again, we get some lyrical advice that Matsuki no doubt uses in her own philosophy of life: "These are the good old days..."-- and we better enjoy them!

    "A New Take" is ultimately a triumphant experience for Matsuki, her musicians, and, ultimately, the listener. And just think... This is only her first CD!
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