KATY TESSMAN: Fall

Katy Tessman

Fall

© 2001 Katy Tessman (783707298023)

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The songs move effortlessly over diverse emotional and musical terrain. Tessman's acoustic based arrangements are expanded by a talented cast of players and remarkably showcases her abilities as a vocalist and songwriter.

tracks

1 Wash It Away
2 Bright Chair
3 Fall
4 Make You Stare
5 Dip, Dip and Swing
6 Odd Timing
7 Alone
8 Thinking of You
9 Figured Out
10 Caribou
11 A Day Is A Day

notes

As a performer, Minnesota singer-songwriter Katy Tessman combines energy and emotion with genuine warmth and musical passion. Her powerful voice and rhythmic approach to the acoustic guitar (or mandolin) express a straight-from-the-heart songwriting style that's won accolades from fans and critics alike.

Katy Tessman's 11-song solo debut CD, "Fall," remarkably showcases her abilities as a vocalist and songwriter. Her acoustic based arrangements are expanded by a talented cast of players. Legendary jazz and studio bassist Richard Davis (Van Morrison, Janis Ian), innovative funk drummer Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown, John Scofield), violinist Randy Sabien (Greg Brown, Kate Wolf), and percussionist Wally Ingram (David Lindley, Sheryl Crow) make special cameos as well.

The songs on "Fall" move effortlessly over diverse emotional and musical terrain. The haunting instrumentation and melody of the title track mirror the joy and uncertainty in the lyrical love story. Dave Stanoch, Phil Lyons, and Pauli Ryan give "Dip, Dip and Swing" a cool island groove. "Wash It Away" blends Katy's story of trial and triumph with Wally Ingram's sublime percussion textures while "Bright Chair" has a majestic atmosphere and features Mary Gaines on cello.

Released on the independent Rhythmelodic Records label, "Fall" was recorded at Wakefield Mines studio in Madison, WI and was produced by multi-instrumentalist Jay Moran, drummer/percussionist Dave Stanoch, and Katy herself.

Since its release in January 2001, "Fall" has received commercial air play on regional radio stations including Sioux Falls' KSOB-FM, Minneapolis/St. Paul's KQRS-FM, and was charted in the top 30 new releases at KFAI-FM (Minneapolis/St. Paul) for five consecutive weeks.

Katy Tessman has been performing her original contemporary/urban folk music at venues in the Twin Cities and throughout the region since she picked up the guitar in 1993. Katy has been featured on several regional television news programs and has performed live on a wide variety of radio shows.

Before she began performing solo in 1997, Katy was best known as the voice of Joe's Elevator, the eclectic folk-rock band she co-founded in 1993. For four years, this quartet performed in Twin Cities coffeehouses and bars including The Loring, Ginkgo, Caboose, and 400 Bar. You can hear several of Katy's songs on "Up & Down," which was released April-1997. Over 400 people attended the Joe's Elevator CD release concert at The Fine Line Music Cafe and nearly 100 CDs were sold. Since then, Katy's solo career has blossomed.

Katy has been called an "urban folk purist" by KFAI-Radio and "a power-house in personality and music" by Pulse of the Twin Cities newspaper. With a voice that critic Bill Snyder described as "smooth and distinctive," Katy is emerging as one of the most engaging acoustic talents in the Twin Cities.
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Northland Reader Weekly - June 7, 2001
(Duluth, MN/Superior, WI)
Listen Up! CD Review by Jeff Loudermilk

At first blush, Katy Tessman's CD Fall seems to come into line with much folk music's mainstream. There are many elements reminiscent of artists like Judy Collins and Janis Ian, Tessman's voice seeming like a synthesis of these two giants of the 70's folk scene. But to judge initially on these surface elements does not do justice to this well-engineered piece of work.

To understand Tessman's work, you need to take a look back at a little of her musical history. First of all, while this is her solo debut, this is not Katy's first time in the studio. From 1993-97, she was the lead singer of Twin Cities folk-rock band Joe's Elevator, a quartet that had some success in the coffeehouses and bars of the Cities. Their CD Up & Down, which premiered to large crowds at The Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, had moderate sales and established Katy as a fixture in the Twin Cities folk scene.

Since that time, she has worked to promote other folk artists in the Cities, as well as polishing her solo performances. Joe's Elevator disbanded later in 1997, after the release of Up & Down and Katy has been flying solo ever since. It is a journey that Katy seems to take with great gusto, and it shows in the work that went into Fall.

Songs such as "Make You Stare" and "Odd Timing" speak to Tessman's strengths in the folk-rock genre, and remind one a little of the stylings of Sheryl Crow. However, where Katy really begins to show her own dimensions as an artist are in the songs like "Caribou" and "Fall," the title track. The music in the CD is heartfelt and honest, with as many outward observations as there are introspective moments.

Perhaps the greatest compliments that can be paid to this debut effort are Tessman's sensibilities in surrounding herself with a broad range of musical talent, and the production quality invested into the work. There is careful attention paid to assure that Katy's voice, as strong and clear as it is, does not overwhelm the cast of supporting players. Balance is achieved, and the entire CD rings with clockwork precision that promises even better things in the future.

This CD will speak to fans of folk, but more that that, it will speak to some who aren't fans of the genre. Her energy, if not her voice, is distinctive and infectious.

Katy has been performing heavily in the Twin Ports as of late, making regular appearances at The Inn on Lake Superior. She will continue to make appearances in support of the new CD, including stints at Beaner's Central (June 8), Amazing Grace (June 15) and the Park Point Music Festival (June 30). Fans of all stripes will find something to enjoy for themselves.
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reviews

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  • Hello
    author: Tom Hallet, Pulse of the Twin Cities

    Unfortunately Tessman is not blessed with a powerful set of pipes (her vocal range does not even span from "Free Man in Paris"-era Joni Mitchell to a lighter chip from an early Carole King).

  • highly recommended for fans of intelligent folk/pop
    author: Tom Hallett, Pulse Of The Twin Cities

    Tessman is blessed with a powerful set of pipes (her vocal range spans from "Free Man in Paris"-era Joni Mitchell to a lighter chip offa early Carole King).

  • Tessman's voice is like a folk festival road scholar
    author: Ben Ohmart, The Muse's News

    Easy to see that this girl got her degree in Speech Communication. She knows how to share her surroundings with the other folk. Personal and home-spun grace, this is what Katy releases into the wild, and never bothers to tag for keeping track.

  • fervor and passion
    author: Wendy Vickers

    Katy performs with fervor and passion, and those traits are evident on her CD.

  • straight from the heart with honesty
    author: Stacey Taylor, Kfai-fm Radio

    Tessman paints vivid pictures like an urban folk artist, on a journey to define modern 'culture' with words that are both refreshing as well as bittersweet.

  • a powerhouse in personality and music
    author: Peggy J. Vanduyne, Pulse Of The Twin Cities

    Tessman possesses a searing and powerful voice. Her ability to carve her way through lyrics with the deftness of a sculptor adds strength and beauty to her talent as a musician.

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