With the addition of the beyond incredible jazz, blues and Western swing influenced vocalist Sweet Megg , the glorious old-timey 20’s-30’s label Turtle Bay Music added a classic Patsy Cline-esque country-jazz element to their trademark aesthetic. After establishing herself as a professional jazz singer, Megg – an NYC native who studied jazz in Paris as a college exchange student – relocated to Nashville in 2021, where she collaborated with legendary studio musicians.
On Bluer Than Blue, her fourth album for Turtle Bay, she extends the jazz/country fusion vibe of her previous label release My Window Faces the South, by inviting the Nashville cats to jam with some of the early jazz maestros on Turtle Bay’s roster. The splendid time traveling result is a luminous and fun-spirited, rhythmically diverse collection of gems that sounds exactly like the kind of hip and contemporary retro-album Cline would make today if she were to return. In addition to providing the most expressive showcases possible for Megg’s supple and inviting, emotive vocals, the key to making an album like this a success is finding the right material.
While the set includes such classics as a heartfelt, ultimately soaring Kris Kristofferson/Shel Silverstein ballad originally recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis (“Once More With Feeling”) and the lilting romantic duet “Please Help Me I’m Falling” – originated by Hank Locklin in 1960 – as a duet with country artist Timbo, it feels like the spiritual core of the project comes on the two songs associated with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, the jangly, sweet swinging opening tittle track and a wild, freewheeling spin through the legendary group’s trademark song “San Antonio Rose,” buoyed by whimsy-filled solos by seven (count ‘em) seven of the participating musician – including lap steel guitarist Chris Scruggs, grandson of bluegrass icon Earl Scruggs.
Another essential element is the Duke Ellington influence, including Megg’s dreamy, sparsely arranged rendition of “In a Sentimental Mood” and a brassy, cocky stroll through “Lonesome Hearted Blues,” whose hard swinging arrangement is patterned after the 1942 Duke classic “Main Stem.” For those who love authentic traditional jazz and love classic country (as opposed to today’s slick pop-country), the magical, multi-talented and endlessly adventurous Sweet Megg is forever your girl.
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