Singer and composer Megg Farrell started performing original songs when she was at high school in New York. At the age of 16 she was playing the jazz bars in the city. After touring colleges, festivals and bars along the east coast with a group of like-minded artists that she’d put together, Farrell moved to Paris for a year to study jazz harmony. On her return to New York, she fell in with musicians playing jazz from the 1920s and 1930s, became a professional jazz singer and formed her first early jazz band, Sweet Megg & The Wayfarers.
In 2021 Farrell moved to Nashville, where she assembled a mixed group of musicians who hadn’t played together before. She combined western swing and country musicians with classic jazz players from the artist register of Turtle Bay Records. This all resulted in Bluer Than Blue with a repertoire drawn from classic jazz of the 1920s and country standards from the 1950s. One new song, Little Bit, has been jointly composed by Farrell and the band’s guitarist Justin Poindexter.
While the album’s lyrics often concern broken hearts, missed chances and failed relationships – part of the staple diet in singing the blues – it never descends into maudlin retrospection despite the title. Instead, the tenor is upbeat and cheerful. For instance, check out the band’s rendition of Kristofferson and Silverstein’s Once More With Feeling, particularly from around 2.12 when the jazz element of the band increasingly takes over from the initial country approach.
This rhythmically varied collection of songs includes classics such as Please Help Me, I’m Falling. First recorded by Hank Locklin and sung here by Farrell as a duet with guest vocalist Timbo, it recalls the sound of the Everly Brothers. Songs recorded by Alberta Hunter and Patsy Cline rub shoulders with Duke Ellington’s In A Sentimental Mood. And take a look at the band’s version of It’s All Over Now, initially recorded by Bobby Womack and later covered by the Rolling Stones. It has Ashley Campbell (Glenn Campbell’s daughter) providing impressive harmony to Farrell’s lead.
All in all this a great album. Farrell’s supple and expressive voice, the soloing by each musician and their nimble improvisation and creative ensemble work are top notch. Every track is a gem.
Discography
Bluer Than Blue; Once More With Feeling; I Wonder Where You Are Tonight; San Antonio Rose; Someday Sweetheart; Please Help Me I’m Falling; Little Bit; In A Sentimental Mood; Leaving On Your Mind; It’s All Over Now; Lonesome Hearted Blues; (Remember Me) I’m The One Who Loves You (41.53)
Sweet Megg (v); Billy Contreras (vn); Chris Scruggs (stg); Justin Pointdexter (g); Dalton Ridenhour (p); Mike Davis (t); Ricky Alexander (cl, as); Sam Chess (tb); Dennis Crouch (b); Chris Gelb (d). Guest singers: Timbo (track 6); Ashley Campbell (track 10). No place or date supplied, possibly Nashville, c. 2024.
Turtle Bay Records TBR24002CD
