For those unaware, on Shadows and Silence: The Erik Satie Project (out June 27th, 2025 via NOANARA MUSIC), her sixth album as a leader, Tessa Souter continues to explore her penchant for collaborating with a broad range of renowned composers, both living and dead.

Celebrated for her “startlingly fresh and poetic lyrics” (Michael J. West, Washington City Paper), her words to Wayne Shorter’s “Ana Maria,” impressed the late composer so much, he granted her shared writing credit.

Souter’s version of that song on her album Picture in Black and White attracted the attention of Kurt Elling who recorded it on his GRAMMY-nominated Wildflowers Volume 1 album. Her lyrics to Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” elicited a personal thank you letter from his daughter, Cecilia.

Now, precisely 100 years after his death, she has turned her attention to the music of eccentric French composer, Erik Satie, appending her haunting lyrics to new incarnations of some of his best-known works.

1. A Song for You (Gnossienne No. 1)
2. Mood (Musica Universalis)
3. Holding on to Beauty (Gnossienne No. 3)
4. Peace (Gnossienne No. 2)
5. Avec le Temps
6. D’ou Venons Nous (Gymnopedie No. 3)
7 Vexations (I Kiss Your Heart)
8. Never Broken (ESP)
9. Rayga’s Song (Gymnopedie Number 1)
10. If You Go Away/Ne Me Quitte Pas

This magnificently crafted new recording - where Tessa elegantly brings forth her jazz-inspired eloquence - opens on the vibrant A Song for You (Gnossienne No. 1) and the confidently ambient Mood (Musica Universalis) and then we get the emboldened Holding on to Beauty (Gnossienne No. 3), the beautiful piano piece Peace (Gnossienne No. 2) and the impassioned French work Avec le Temps.

Along next is the flourishing D’ou Venons Nous (Gymnopedie No. 3) which is itself backed seamlessly by the spoken word Vexations (I Kiss Your Heart), the jazzy blues of Never Broken (ESP), the set rounding out on a lonesome vibe within Rayga’s Song (Gymnopedie Number 1), closing on the French-sung balladry of If You Go Away/Ne Me Quitte Pas.

The album really showcases the virtuosity of her longtime working band, GRAMMY-awarded pianist Luis Perdomo (who also provided several insightful arrangements), GRAMMY-nominated bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and the singer’s partner in life and music, legendary drummer Billy Drummond. They are joined at carefully chosen moments by trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson.

“I’m surprised there aren’t more jazz tributes to Satie,” says Souter. And although there are many jazz versions of the deceptively simple “Gymnopedie No. 1,” there are very few jazz interpretations of his other compositions.

The album Gymnopedies & Gnossiennes by French pianist, Jacques Loussier​, featuring seven Satie compositions — including four variations on “Gymnopedie No. 1” — is something of an exception. “I didn’t plan on the album taking this long to make so the 100th anniversary of his death was almost a surprise to me,” says Souter. “Now that it’s here, it feels like synchronicity to champion his genius with these incredible jazz musicians.”

Tessa Souter is a 2025 Artistic Projects Program grantee from Chamber Music America funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

www.tessasouter.com