Meet String of Pearls
By Joe Burns

August 13, 2009

Sue Halloran, Jeanne O’Connor and Holli Ross, known collectively as String of Pearls, string together the best of female vocal groups with a sophisticated repertoire that ranges from authentic re-creations of Boswell Sister’s songs to original jazz vocal arrangements. The group performs Friday night, August 14 at the Provincetown Jazz Festival.

Recently Ross and O’Connor put their heads together to answer a series of questions regarding the group’s history and repertoire.

How long have you been performing together?

We have been performing together since 1984. We were originally brought together to sing five songs to open for a couple of singers from the ‘50s, including Al Hibbler (who had the first hit recording of “Unchained Melody”).

What had you been doing before you formed a trio? What type of music were you singing? Each of us began as solo singers, and we have all continued to do solo gigs in addition to our work with the Pearls. We feel that some of the strength of our group comes from the fact that we are strong singers individually.

Holli and Jeanne were both doing jazz and big band gigs, and some pop music at private functions.

Sue was a busy jingle singer and voiceover artist, and also worked with a number of big bands.

You cover a wide range of material and styles, some such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross material would seem more complex harmonically. Do you find some more challenging/interesting than others?

Each style has its own challenges. Yes, the bebop arrangements and original arrangements by contemporary jazz people can be more difficult harmonically, and we thrive on that. But the material that is less complex harmonically (like, say, The McGuire Sisters or The Andrews Sisters) requires a lot of skill in terms of blending, dynamics, rhythm, and staying true to the genre without imitation.

Do you do much rearranging or do you try and stay close to the source?

We do many faithful transcriptions of vintage arrangements by the Boswell, Andrews, and others. In fact, Holli has done many of the transcriptions for us. But we do some of our own arranging and also have tunes adapted for us by top-flight arrangers. We’ve also been including original compositions.

The Boswell Sisters are a group that you don’t hear much about today. What do you do by them? What can you tell us about their music?

We love the Bozzies! They were three sisters from New Orleans who played their own instruments, worked with the best jazz musicians on the scene in the 1920s - 1930s, and also created wild arrangements that change tempo and keys in unusual places. One of the tunes we do “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing,” even features rapid-fire singing in Pig Latin! Other Boswell Sisters arrangements that we do are “Forty-Second Street,” Roll on Mississippi,” “Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia,” “Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding Day” and “Crazy People.”

Something funny that occurs from time to time is when we hire musicians who aren’t very familiar with the Boswells and they’re lulled into a false sense of security seeing such standards listed as “It Don’t Mean A Thing…” and “Forty-Second Street.” Then we start playing the tune and they’re blown away by the complete “derangement” of the piece and how it all comes together with such humor and musicianship. Everyone’s on their toes and a good time is had by all.

On the other hand, the Andrew Sisters are still well known. What do you find musically that accounts for their continued popularity?

Their arrangements are very charming and kind of showy. Great tight harmonies, lots of personality and swing. And they certainly benefited from their Hollywood exposure. There’s so much footage available to view on TV and now YouTube.

You do some ‘60s girl group covers as well. What do you do?

We do “Up on the Roof,” “Under the Boardwalk,” “Please Mr. Postman,” and “Met him on a Sunday.” Then we do a doo-wop style Billy Joel tune called “The Longest Time,” and we have some new ‘60s-style arrangements in the works.

You also do Brazilian-flavored numbers. What about Brazilian music do you find appealing?

Everything! Seriously, the various Brazilian rhythms are so sexy and sinuous, and they lend themselves to great phrasing choices for us as singers. Also, the harmony on many of these tunes (like those written by the great Antonio Carlos Jobim) are very sophisticated and lush. We also find Portuguese lyrics to be a very uninhibited and refreshing. As lyricists ourselves we appreciate their viewpoint so free from clichés.