Live From Austin Texas
In this 2003 performance from theAustin City Limitsseries (also available onDVD), New England's Susan Tedeschi demonstrates a range that extends well beyond her blues base. Following the blueprint employed byBonnie Raitta few decades earlier, she coversJohn Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" (a signature tune for Raitt), inserting a snippet from theGrateful Dead's "Sugaree." The piano balladry of her "Wrapped in the Arms of Another" could fit just fine on a Raitt album. The set also finds her sampling from the songbooks ofSly Stone("You Can Make It If You Try"),Bob Dylan("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), andStevie Wonder("Love's in Need of Love Today"), in addition to the more straightforward blues ofKoko Taylor("Voodoo Woman"). Though Tedeschi's stinging lead guitar provides the focus, she receives strong support from a band featuring the interplay of electric pianist Jason Crosby (who doubles on violin) and William Green on Hammond B-3 organ. Highlights include a tribute to jam-band inspirationCol. Bruce Hamptonon "Hampmotized" and the simmering "Wait for Me," with its echoes ofAretha Franklin.  Tedeschi has yet to show the suppleness as a vocalist to complement her guitar chops, but the musical range she displays here bodes well for her artistic development.--Don McLeese