Susannah B Brings Her Soulful Songs Alive With Longtime Members of Alanis Morisette’s Band
From gracing off-Broadway stages and captivating audiences at pop and jazz clubs in her native Manhattan and Los Angeles to releasing critically acclaimed independent jazz and pop albums, Susannah B has enjoyed an impactful, genre-defying career.
On her latest album, the perfectly titled POV, the veteran singer/songwriter offers fresh perspectives on some of her favorite previously recorded original songs, including the recently released lead singles “Talkin’ to Myself,” “Be All Right,” “I Got Lucky” and “Secrets & Lies.”
Susannah complements those stirring originals with a beautiful re-imagining of Billy Joel’s “Vienna” and a soulful, contemporary take on “It’s Alright to Cry” – a heartfelt song her mother, renowned Broadway composer/lyricist Carol Hall, wrote for Free to Be…You and Me, the 70’s children’s album and Emmy-award winning TV special created by actress and author Marlo Thomas. Hall was best known for composing music and lyrics for the iconic Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
“It’s Alright to Cry” is set for release July 31 – before the highly anticipated drop of POV September 8. POV will also include a mystical pop version of the final single, “My Time Now,” whose lyrics freshly resonate from the perspective of a mother with grown children.
“I called the album POV because I’m now openly celebrating my age, feeling blessed to stand in solidarity with other late bloomers and to have enjoyed such a diverse career, with time off in between phases to become a devoted mom,” says Susannah, who launched her recording career in the 2000s with Happy Today (2003) and Let’s Pretend (2008).
“As we age, we have different ways of looking at things, and a song can mean something very different at various points in the journey. The concept of POV also refers to the way different people can experience the same thing, but their individual points of view cause them to have different reactions to the shared experience. That fascinates me, and I spend a lot of time thinking about how I consciously choose to see the world. I think many of humanity’s problems would improve if we simply considered other people’s POVs and didn’t expect everyone to see things the same way we do.”
POV is produced by Susannah and keyboardist Michael Farrell, best known for his work with Alanis Morrisette, and Macy Gray. The other band members are also veteran touring musicians with Morissette, including drummer Victor Indrizzo (whose resume includes Avril Lavigne and Brandi Carlile), upright and electric bassist Sean Hurley, guitarist David Levita (Faith Hill & Tim McGraw) and saxophonist Sal Lozano. The bands’ other collective credits include Beck, Colbie Caillat, Kacey Musgraves, Sara Bareilles, Lana Del Ray, Shakira and Eminem.