Swing Out, Sister

Newly formed trio Tenor Madness performs the rhythmic best of 1930s jazz

Tenor plus jazz equals saxophone, right? Sometimes, but not always, and three Syracusans have formed a new trio to highlight an often forgotten instrument, the tenor guitar. With four strings instead of six—the bottom two have been omitted—and a slightly higher timbre, the tenor guitar came into common usage in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the very music Tenor Madness has embraced.

The trio, composed of Hanna Richardson, Tom Bronzetti and Phil Flanigan, makes its public debut on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Westcott Community Center. The show is part of the Second Saturday concert series sponsored by the Folkus Project. Richardson and Flanigan, internationally renowned jazz musicians, have been married since 2001 after playing music together nearly their entire lives. Bronzetti’s involvement in Tenor Madness came as a result of Richardson wanting to learn the unusual instrument.

“This new venture starts with me wanting to play the tenor guitar," says Richardson. "That’s what set this whole thing in motion.” Richardson's singing has been mentioned on allabout
jazz.com in a list that includes “20-year-old single-malt scotch, Debra Winger’s grin {and} farmhouses by the sea.” Her style is at once cool, casual, smart and sassy. It perfectly complements the swinging jazz standards of the Depression era.

“To me, the 1930s was the decade of this kind of music,” she says. “So much was going on. Something was happening to popular music in the 1930s that was really important; it was becoming more hip and sophisticated. It was this incredible decade of explosive creativity. I defy any American to listen to this and not like it. But the big secret is,” she adds, dropping her voice, “it’s jazz. But we call it swinging American music.”

Richardson will wrap her polished pipes around songs made popular by the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Mildred Bailey, Billie Holliday and Maxine Sullivan, “one of my many influences,” she says about the latter artist. “I’ll be singing most of the set list, but there are a couple of instrumentals to break things up and give the guys a chance to do their thing. They’re both incredible soloists. I’m supporting them in their amazingness.”

Of course, Bronzetti and Flanigan will be supporting her as well. Flanigan has played swinging jazz on his stand-up bass his entire career, at times with Benny Goodman in the latter decades of the big band great’s life and with Tiny Grimes, a disciple of tenor guitar. Bronzetti has played guitar for years, but hadn’t really encountered a tenor version until Richardson asked him for lessons.

“Phil showed me what he could,” she says, “he’s very able. But I got to a certain point where I thought I’d ask an actual guitar player to show me stuff. So I recruited Tom, who we’ve heard a lot playing locally, and I ended up lending him one of my tenor guitars so he could understand this strange new beast he was going to give me lessons on. He’s now playing that most of the time, even when he’s hired as a guitarist.”

At this point in their musical careers, Richardson and Flanigan, who met in elementary school while growing up in Geneva, embrace nearly any opportunity to experiment and perform. She has a vocation—associate deputy director of the honors program in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University—so the music gigs serve as her avocation.

“We are just having so much fun, the three of us, playing tenor guitar and bass,” she notes. “How cool is it that there are two tenor guitars? After years of obscurity the instrument is enjoying a bit of a renaissance although it’s still a little unusual. We made a commitment to this maybe five months ago so we’re still in the process of discovering songs that we want to do as Tenor Madness.

“We definitely have plans,” she continues of the trio. “We are hoping it’s as much fun for folks to listen to as it is for us to produce. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a band with a name. It’s fun to be in a band; it’s a change for Phil and me. You have a clearer identity that’s easier to promote. Here’s the picture, here’s the group, here’s the story. That’s very different from individual bios.”

To witness the resurrection of an unusual musical instrument, as well as the newest incarnation in the musical careers of Richardson and Flanigan, head to the Westcott Community Center, 826 Euclid Ave., on Saturday, Nov. 14. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $15, $10 for students with ID. For more information, call 478-8634.