Debut Album
Those Leftover Dreams
Available now
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS:
"A jazz singer destined for big things"
Jazz Views
"This could be the vocal album of the year"
Bebop Spoken Here
Those Leftover Dreams is the stunning and highly anticipated debut album from jazz vocalist Michael Sutton and is the recording he has been destined to make. From the outset Sutton’s rich and soulful vocals dominate as he makes his own mark on each song as he delivers a captivating performance of a selection of compositions from the jazz repertoire.
In a performance that exudes the sheer joy of singing and making music, Michael delivers a selection of ten songs that coalesce to form an intoxicating blend of familiar tunes along with a couple of delightfully unexpected surprises.
With a topflight band featuring the impeccable arrangements and piano playing of Rob Barron alongside bassist Jeremy Brown, drummer Mark Taylor and the compelling and mesmerising trumpet of Quentin Collins, Sutton presents an extremely accomplished and personal take on ‘This Could Be The Start of Something Big’ that swings hard with a powerful vocal, and an exquisite and unadorned duet with Barron on ‘Never Let Me Go’.
Quentin Collins’s arrangement of ‘Red Clay’ by hard bop trumpeter Freddie Hubbard demonstrates Sutton’s versatility, and his handling of the bop phrasing and his ability to scat mark him out as a talented and tasteful musician.
Music has always played an important part in Sutton’s life from gigging and working as musician from the age of sixteen, until in his mid-twenties he decided that a more stable profession seemed a good option. Going back to university he studied to become a specialist in the field of Cardiology and has dedicated his time to working full time within the NHS.
The idea of returning to music and making an album has never been far from Michael’s mind and after an absence from music for seven years the time felt right to pursue the dream. Contacting pianist Rob Barron with who he played previously was the beginning of the journey that has led to the recording of ‘Those Leftover Dreams’.
At the suggestion of Barron, Michael contacted Claire Martin OBE, who readily agreed to produce the album. Michael describes working with Claire as an absolute joy and Claire also adds her vocals to ‘The Way Young Lovers Do’. A longtime admirer of Claire Martin, Michael recalls nervously giving Claire a demo that he made some twenty years ago. Having not forgotten the meeting, Martin’s experience and expertise in the recording studio has now seen the encounter coming full circle.
When asked about the title of the album, Michael smiled and acknowledged the play on words from the opening lyrics of ‘Here’s That Rainy Day’. Continuing the theme, with this superb debut album this is certainly no leftover dream and the start of something big.
"When the performance started Michael's silky, seductive tones created a hush throughout the venue, so impressive was the talent."
Birmingham Jazz Festival
"Michael showed a quality that could earn him success beyond the jazz market."
Jazz Kaleidoscope
"A singer with rare ability and great on stage persona.”
The Jazz Rag
