Susie Meissner - Tea For Two (2015)

A major jazz and swing singer, Susie Meissner always seems to have a smile in her voice. In addition to her very appealing tone and impeccable musicianship, the enthusiasm that she displays when she performs is infectious. She always swings and is an excellent improviser yet the lyrics that she interprets are very important to her. "When I perform a song," says Susie, "I want to express the emotions of the words so the listener is experiencing the lyrics the way that the writer intended. I'm never casual about the lyrics." Her skill at reviving and revitalizing classic songs is very much in evidence throughout her finest recording, Tea For Two.

Since the New York-based Susie Meissner also performs regularly in Philadelphia, particularly at Chris' Jazz Café, for her latest recording she decided to feature some of Philly's best jazz musicians along with a few guests. Heard along the way are such greats as tenor-saxophonist Larry McKenna (a Philadelphia legend), valve trombonist John Swana, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, guitarist Paul Meyers and clarinetist Ken Peplowski plus the superb rhythm section of pianist John Shaddy, bassist Lee Smith and drummer Dan Monaghan.