Courtney Cutchins

Grunge to Grace

Laseryn Music

One doesn’ typically associate the grunge sound of Nirvana and Soundgarden with jazz but jazz vocalist Courtney Cutchins brings that rare connection to life on her debut, Grunge to Grace.  The NYC-based Cutchins earned a Master of Music from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and has been a fixture in some of the smaller, experimental clubs in the city.  She earned the cred to assemble a top flight backing quartet. They are producer-pianist David Cook (Taylor Swift, Mark Guiliana, Lizz Wright, and Nicole Zuraitis); guitarist Nir Felder (Keyon Harrold, Jenny Scheinman),  bassist Matt Clohesy (Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Chris Bergson Band) and drummer Obed Calvaire (Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, SF Jazz Collective).  To be fair, Cutchins has not constructed a complete album of grunge tunes, just three in fact, balancing them with six originals that attest to her phrasing and technique.  She clearly has a strong future and has already carved out her own niche.  While not at all emulative, there’s a risk taking element in her vocals that may evoke such singers as Fay Victor or Mary LaRose balanced with the traditions of Sarah Vaughan and Abbie Lincoln.

The impetus for the album was finding joy in songs of her youth during a particularly troubling period. Her therapy advisor suggested finding songs from her childhood. After poring over Disney tunes, folk songs, and Muppet movies, she somehow got struck with a memory of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun.” After all. Cutchings did grow up in Seattle. This led her down the path of transforming grunge tunes to jazz which she had the opportunity to do in the NYC clubs. Now that vision is available for all to hear.

The grunge tunes are mixed in with her originals in the sequence, opening with Soundgarden’s “Boot Camp” from the group’s fifth studio album, 1996’s Down on the Upside.  The tune begins calmly before taking on a swinging swagger where each member of the quartet’s individual voice comes through, especially Felder’s fluid, rapid fire solo which leans far closer to jazz than rock. If you’re familiar with Felder you know he is a master of both. Cutchins sings the typical grunge lyrics of rebellion but offers a sliver of optimism in the lyric flow of “there must be something good/there must be something else/far away from here.”

She and Felder tackle another Soundgarden/Chris Cornell tune “The Day I Tried to Live” from the band’s 1994 Superunknown, rendered here as an intimate acoustic duet.  It too is melancholy but Cutchins finds hope in the sense of discovery of oneself. Her delivery speaks to her self-confidence but the perhaps the most challenging of the three is Kurt Cobain’s “All Apologies” from Nirvana’s last album, In Utero.  She soars, alternating lyrics with vocalese over a dense, dark backdrop from the band. She comments on role of these songs in the album’s theme – “…which is about living in your authentic truth. It’s about the journey to become who you are and who you want to be.”

 Stylistically her originals follow a similar path. Cutchins is adept at conveying moods and drama. “Star on the Sea” may reming of Strayhorn’s “Lush LIfe” as Cutchins sings of a galaxy where women are free to live in a place of peacce and power. (No, it is way too mellow and ballad-like to qualify for a Harris campaign song). Cook’s piano of Calvaire’s brushwork is delectably delicate in support.  She and the band swing steadily on “Passenger,” her ode the NYC subway system.  Felder breaks out warmly and expressively as Calvaire keeps pushing the throttle to inspire him further, eventually bringing the piece to a glorious crescendo.  Her practically a cappela approach in the intro to the dreamy “Hold Up the Moon” is further evidencce that she has command of the ballad format and the technique to effectively mix vocals and vocalese.

Her confessional “Prison in Your Mind” is a model of wedding articulation with emotion while the hymn-like title track is both a remembrance of Chris Cornell and the resolution of pain and healing hope in her sustained lines.  Ironically the most “grrunge” sounding tune is her closer, “illuminate.”  Calvaire’s insistent beats are akin to that of a rock drummer as Cutchins voice soars to the highest levels on the album

Keep you eye on Cutchins. She brings a unique approach to the ever competitive world of female jazz vocalists.

– Jim Hynes

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