Susan Abod

Vocalist/songwriter Susan Abod will celebrate the release of her new album, What’s Not Wrong?, this weekend in Santa Fe—and there’s a lot to celebrate about this jazzy chanteuse and her music.

Susan Abod
What’s Not Wrong (indie)
A review
The room is subtly lit. The tables are round and tiny. The servers, affable and discreet. The piano, gleaming black. The spotlight, tight and bright—and focused on vocalist Susan Abod.

Um, no . . . it’s just my imagination that has transposed me from my living room to an intimate cabaret—the scene brought alive by vocalist/songwriter Susan Abod’s new album, What’s Not Wrong? The intimacy and verve of her voice, the cleverness of her lyrics, the lilt of her melodies all conspire to create a living presence that, in reality, turns out to be suspended between two stereo speakers.

Eight years in the making, What’s Not Wrong? is worth the wait. Its 12 tracks—all but one, originals—offer a wide range of styles, from jazz to Western swing, reflective ballads to sassy uptempos, blues to novelty, which contributes to the freewheeling cabaret quality. All of it is supported by some of the best musicians New Mexico has to offer: Bert Dalton (piano, organ, accordion); Arlen Asher (clarinet, saxophone); Lewis Winn (guitar and ukulele); George Langston (guitar); Sharon Gilcrest (mandolin); Justin Brandford, Jon Gagan, Susan Hyde Holmes, Rob “Milo” Jaramillo, and Andy Zadrozny (bass); Dave Bryant, Cal Haines, Ann McCampbell, and John Trentacosta (drums/percussion); and Barbara Bentree and Patti Littlefield (backup vocals). “They’re really the ones that pushed me and said that these songs need to be out there,” says Abod, who is honored and humbled by their support.

Serious health issues—Abod has been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), as well as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and Lyme disease—have hamstrung her for decades, and her experience with this debilitating disease, which delayed the completion of this project for years, finds its way into her songs. The title track, for example, grew out of a meditation exercise offered by Thich Nhat Hanh many years ago that encouraged the practitioner to consider “what’s not wrong right now.” Abod turns this useful pocket wisdom (“Every day we’re getting older and then we’re going to die/But what’s not wrong right now?”) into an elevating and swinging blues enlivened by Dalton’s funky piano and the delicious backup vocals.

On “Homesong,” a country ballad and the most affecting track on the album, she recounts, without self-pity, how ME/CFS and MCS upended her life, initiating a decades-long search for a safe place to live, a home that would not poison her. She has used the song, which graced her film Homesick, to raise funds for others engaged in the same search. The slow, deep blues of “I’m Tired” communicates the daily challenges of the disease, with lovely, understated guitar work from Winn.

On a lighter note, the jazzy “You’d Look Swell in Nothing” brings a smile and makes you wonder if Abod might have made a successful career composing Broadway tunes. “Caffeine,” written by Patty Larkin, offers a comic ode to the wonders of that ubiquitous drug. “Could I Be,” a bluesy love song, is elevated by Asher’s clarinet—does anyone have better taste than this gentleman? “Under Santa Fe Skies” delivers an appropriately Western swing paean to the city’s beauty, with nice guitar work from Winn and Langston.

Abod will celebrate the album’s release this Saturday, November 3 (details below), with the help of Dalton, Winn, Asher, and McCampbell, mixing the album’s tunes with other material. The evening presents a good opportunity to experience Abod in a cabaret sort of setting in the flesh rather than your imagination.

Susan Abod
CD Release Party for What’s Not Wrong?
Saturday, November 3, at 7:00 p.m.
Fogelson Hall
Unitarian Universalists of Santa Fe
107 W. Barcelona Road
Admission: $10; CD: $20
or
Admission and CD: $25
Please come fragrance free

© 2018 Mel Minter