Susan Werner sings her way into Glen Arbor

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor
The Manitou Music Festival brings the enormous talent of folk & jazz performer Susan Werner to Glen Arbor for a concert at the Leelanau School on Sunday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are only $15, and patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for what promises to be a delightful evening of music.
A breakthrough singer-songwriter in the mid-90s, Susan Werner has toured with countless luminaries including Joan Armatrading and Richard Thompson. Werner also appeared on the Peter, Paul & Mary Lifelines special seen nationally on PBS. Her 2002 release new non-fiction, received numerous accolades for its insightful social commentary and introspective stories. That’s why The Boston Herald said, “If the Grammy Folks knew what they were doing, it would be near the top of the list in next year’s Contemporary Folk category.”

Susan visited Leelanau County once before to sing in the dunes at Leelanau State Park for the wedding ceremony of her friends Dana McConnell and Walter Elder, summer residents of Empire. This time she brings her wit, charm, and incredible jazz chops to Glen Arbor to showcase original compositions in the style of the Great American Songbook. Susan’s poetic lyrics are clever, deft, and lovely, and her amazing voice ranges from smoky torch-song sexy, to the brassy back-slapping banter of Midwestern bonhomie. Susan is a huge talent with a compelling presence, so this is one show you absolutely must not miss. Arrive early and be prepared to be blown away!
Here are some notes on Susan’s recent CD I Can’t Be New:
“Werner’s lyrics are pure poetry” — Philadelphia Daily News
George Gershwin. Cole Porter. Richard Rodgers. Billy Strayhorn. The Golden Age of Popular Song. A bygone era. No one can write tunes like that anymore. Or has Susan Werner added a new chapter to the Great American Songbook?
I Can’t Be New (Koch Records), is Werner’s fourth nationally released recording, and while chartering somewhat new territory in style, it offers the same high quality writing that her fans have come to expect. Werner performs 12 original compositions in the songbook style. And in this nod to the composers of standards, she’s breathed new and brilliant life into the popular song tradition, one that many thought was a closed book.
“This is a songwriter’s record. I’d describe the aim of this project as Carole King’s Tapestry meets Ella Fitzgerald’s Cole Porter Songbook,” Werner suggests. “I listened to Ella and a lot of Julie London when recording this thing. Julie London, especially, she could read down a ballad so simply and beautifully, you’d just fall over and die.”
However, Werner cautions, this isn’t a record for jazz purists: “The purists want old songs done in a new way,” Werner says. “These are all new songs done in an old way.” And if standards have become the measure for all other songs, “It’s my secret hope, and I’d be overjoyed,” she adds, “if even one of these songs from the record becomes a standard.”
With Werner’s musical training (a Master’s degree in classical voice) and live reputation as one of the most compelling performers on the touring circuit, writing and singing in such an intimate fashion was a bold departure. “The extroverted performer bends and serves the introverted writer on this record,” Werner explains. “It was the most wonderful and rewarding challenge of my career.” Visit Susan Werner online at: www.susanwerner.com, and we’ll see you at the Leelanau School Sunday evening, July 31, at 7:30