SUZANNE PITTSON/BEV MANSON, Conversations

While some musical partnerships are carefully planned, while others like Conversations, the newly unearthed five-track EP by vocalist Suzanne Pittson and pianist, composer and arranger Bevan Manson, evolve and emerge almost by instinct. Originally recorded as an unreleased demo session in 2002 and finally completed more than two decades later, the collection captures two adventurous improvisers listening, responding and challenging one another with remarkable trust and spontaneity.

Although the project showcases Pittson’s gifts as an expressive interpreter, its greatest revelation is the astonishing breadth of her artistry. She moves effortlessly from intimate storyteller to fearless vocal instrumentalist, treating her voice with the fluidity, agility and daring of a saxophone while Manson proves an equal conversational partner at the piano. Their chemistry is never forced; every phrase feels discovered in the moment.

That interplay fuels the exhilarating Freddie Hubbard-inspired opener “Like a Byrd–Byrd Like,” where Pittson’s fast-flying scat passages dart above Manson’s percussive piano in a joyful exchange of ideas that grows increasingly virtuosic with every chorus. Moments later, Cole Porter’s “After You” reveals an entirely different side of the singer. Trading dazzling technique for emotional nuance, she delivers the romantic ballad with haunting tenderness and theatrical grace while Manson’s elegant accompaniment deepens every expression of longing.

Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation” becomes another tour de force, with Pittson transforming her voice into a blazing bebop horn, matching Manson’s kinetic piano lines note for note before each launches into exhilarating musical exploration. The duo closes the intimate portion of the program with a wistful reading of “I’m a Fool to Want You,” balancing heartbreak, warmth and understated intense unrequited romantic longing in equal measure.

The EP culminates with the expansive “Out of the Hub–One of Another Kind,” where the duo’s musical dialogue blossoms into a richly orchestrated canvas of strings, horns and spirited rhythm section. Pittson glides effortlessly from poetic lyricism to virtuosic0 horn-like scat improvisation while Manson’s vibrant arrangement gives the performance both cinematic sweep and intimate emotional resonance, bringing their extraordinary musical conversation to a thrilling close.

Coming on the heels of Pittson’s inspiring artistic rebirth, Conversations feels less like a rediscovered archival curiosity than a timeless reminder that genuine musical empathy never grows old. Preserved at last, these performances capture two exceptional artists at their most fearless, intuitive and joyfully alive.