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Digging up Gospel Roots
While awards and nominations pile up, a rising artist contemplates her past.
By Rob Hochschild
The stack of videotapes in front of Susan Tedeschi `91 brought back both good and bad memories. "I want to see this one," the Grammy-nominated musician says, her finger resting on one tape. "This one, I don't need to see," she says, pointing at another. Later, at a Berklee film scoring lab, she watched the footage of her student days along with two of her favorite Berklee teachers, Berklee Reverence Gospel Ensemble director Dennis Montgomery III and Special Programs Project Manager, Orville Wright. Not surprisingly, times have changed.
"I'm so young here. I can't sing that high anymore," Tedeschi says, listening to a solo from a gospel concert. "I didn't have my own voice yet."
It wasn't a random burst of nostalgia that prompted Tedeschi to drive from her hometown of Norwell, Massachusetts. to Berklee on a Friday afternoon in January. Music cable network VH-1 wanted to use some of her concerts for a profile on the Best New Artist nominee.
Known these days primarily as a blues singer and guitarist, Tedeschi came to Berklee in 1988 at the age of 17, still searching for her musical identity. As a result, Tedeschi's Berklee video library ranges from gospel and country to rock and Motown. There was a tape of her take on Linda Rondstadt's "Love Has No Pride," The Band's "The Weight," and even Yes's "Long Distance Runaround," which she was asked to sing at Berklee's 1991 Commencement Concert in tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, head of Atlantic Records.
As the viewing session went on, however, it became clear that Tedeschi's favorite videos were of her performances with Berklee's Reverence Gospel Ensemble. And it was these selections from the late 1980s, including "Come On In My House" and "Who Shall Separate Us?" that exhibited best Tedeschi's striking voice.
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Tedeschi takes a break from the viewing session with Dennis Montgomery (left) and Orville Wright. |
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"She was so talented at such a young age," says Montgomery, after the viewing. "She didsome really good things with her gift. She was never very shy, but the more she came out of her shell, the more confidence she got."
Several other alumni, including 1990 graduates Paula Cole and Lalah Hathaway, also list the Reverence Gospel Ensemble among their most memorable Berklee experiences.
"Dennis [Montgomery] would challenge me to try different things that helped build my confidence on stage and gave me a lot of self-esteem," says Tedeschi, who has been singing professionally since the age of 13. "I would get a lot of encouragement, and I realized if I wanted to do something I could do it."
Her confidence knocks you over the head right from the opening moments of "Rock Me Right," the first track from Tedeschi's Just Won't Burn, (Tone-Cool, 1998; a link to audio is provided at left). Before any instruments enter, Tedeschi sings the first line in a blistering growl that immediately places her in the blues woman pantheon somewhere between Bessie Smith and
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Tedeschi performs at the 1991 Commencement Concert. |
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Photo by Kim Grant |
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Bonnie Raitt. Her performance also grabbed the attention of the recording academy,which named Tedeschi—along with Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Kid Rock—as the Best New Artists of 1999. Tedeschi's nomination was one of 18 received by Berklee alumni or staff.
"It's a huge thing and great honor, but I'm not expecting to win," says Tedeschi. "I'm just trying to stay focused on music. I want to make my new record a strong record."
Tedeschi also has been nominated as Contemporary Female Artist of the Year by the W.C. Handy Awards, and has received four Boston Music Award nominations, including Act of the Year.
After the Grammy broadcast on February 23, she will return to the road, playing several venues as a headliner and on other dates, sharing the bill with the Allman Brothers, B.B. King, or Buddy Guy. She may also play some dates with Bob Dylan, with whom she performed last year.
"Dylan heard me sing a song with Phil Lesh's band last November in Philadelphia, and then he asked me to open up for him in Newark," says Tedeschi, adding that Dylan also asked her to play lead guitar for him on several songs during his set, including "Highway 61" and "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35."
Tedeschi is recording her second Tone-Cool album in Louisiana and plans to release it this year. Her drummer and producer, Tom Hambridge, told Music News of the World that her next record will be more geared toward mainstream audiences than the blues-dominated Just Won't Burn. "I don't think [the next record is] gonna sound like Britney Spears, but maybe Sheryl Crow," he says, in a story from MNOTW's January 18, 2000 edition. She's also been in the recording studio recently with Willie Nelson, performing with him on a version of the classic "Crazy" for his next album.
Although her plate may seem full at the moment, Tedeschi is fantasizing about another recording project that would truly return to her roots. "I want to call you to do a gospel album," she says to Montgomery.
That videotape might be the best of them all..
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Grammy Girl
Check out a Boston Phoenix profile from the weekly's Feb. 17 edition. |
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