TIERNEY SUTTON & TAMIR HANDELMAN, Spring

Perfectly timed for an early spring release, nine time Grammy nominated vocalist Tierney Sutton – aka “one of the most lauded jazz vocalists of her generation, as per the NY Times – finds a unique, emotionally charged yet supremely intimate way to celebrate the rites of the season of rebirth on the aptly titled Spring: her first recorded duo project with storied pianist Tamir Handelman featuring a repertoire of beloved standards associated with this time of year.

Stripped to the elemental dialogue between these two masters of their sonic universes, the expansive 12- piece collection feels less like a performance (recorded live, with loose arrangements) than a quietly unfolding conversation featuring two intuitive collaborators listening as closely as he plays and she interprets via her artful singing and exquisite wordless vocalizing and often skyscraping scatting.

Having spent decades refining her keen sense of storytelling, nuance and emotional truth over vocal theatrics, Sutton is the perfect match for Hendelman, an award-winning pianist whose elegant touch has graced recordings and performances with everyone from Natalie Cole to the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. They create and instinctively inhabit a musical rapport that feels instinctive, almost telepathic at times.

The album’s theme – spring as a metaphor for renewal, reflection and subtle – flows gently through their carefully curated repertoire. Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Double Rainbow” opens the set with a graceful piano prelude before Sutton enters with stylized airy vocal expressions that set the contemplative tone. The duo continues their Jobim-spring exploration on “Waters of March,” giving the familiar classic a buoyant yet intimate interpretation that allows the rhythmic flow of the lyric to sparkle.

Elsewhere, Sutton and Hendelman bring fresh perspective to Paul Simon’s “April Come She Will,” turning the folk classic into a hushed reflection on the passage of time, while she adds some of her own lyrics to a lively spin on Gershwin’s “’S Wonderful” that emphatically lives up to its name. Naturally, the artistic and emotional centerpieces of the album are the songs with spring in the title – taking us from a haunting ballad arrangement of Dori Caymmi’s “Spring” to a hushed, introspective reading of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” and lesser known tunes like “Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year” (the arranging bringing optimism to a bittersweet lyric) and Johnny Mercer’s “Spring Spring Spring,” its wit reflected in Sutton’s lightly swaggering coolness.

With every unfolding dual blessing, Sutton and Hendelman remind listeners that jazz at its finest often resides in simplicity: two musicians, one piano, and the enduring power of song. On Spring, their artistry blossoms in a space where subtlety, trust, and shared musical history create something graceful, beautiful and joyful.