Susanne Abbuehl - The Gift (2013)

Born in 1970, in Berne, Switzerland, Swiss/Dutch jazz vocalist Susanne Abbuehl showed an interest in music at a very young age, composing songs and writing lyrics as a small child, as well as studying harpsichord. She moved to Los Angeles in 1987 to study voice and spent time touring the United States and Canada with a jazz group. She later returned to Europe, studying jazz and classical voice, including North Indian classical voice, at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague.
In 2001, Abbuehl released April on ECM, earning enthusiastic reviews and comparisons to other modern-day, female jazz vocalists like Cassandra Wilson and Norah Jones. Compass, also on ECM, followed in 2006.~Tom Demalon.

Singer Susanne Abbuehl has a unique approach to setting verse, getting inside the texts, exploring their inner melodies and rhythms, setting them free to float and sway. The approach is beautifully realized on The Gift, recorded in the South of France in the summer of 2012. Poetry embraced on this occasion includes words by Emily Dickinson, Emily Bronte, Sara Teasdale, Wallace Stevens, and Susannes own lyrics. In the seven years that have elapsed since the release of Compass, Abbuehls band has been reorganized. Wolfert Brederode remains an important, central presence. New to the ensemble are Matthieu Michel, a highly intuitive musical partner since 2009, whose flugelhorn is a wonderful second voice here, and Olavi Louhivouri, whose sensitive drumming was previously heard on Tomasz Stankos Dark Eyes. ~Editorial