Susan Tedeschi lights a blues fire

Susan Tedeschi was a little rattled. The up-and-coming blueswoman had just returned home from picking up a new van and shopping - fallout from her last trip to Memphis.

"Yeah, we were getting ready to go to the club and the van wasn't there," she says by phone from her new home outside Atlanta. "It just wasn't there. Fortunately, we had already set up most of our equipment. My van is my life, so it was pretty upsetting."

That's been about the only upsetting thing in Tedeschi's life recently. She's on a roll, following the release of her Tone-Cool Records debut, Just Won't Burn. She's been getting great press, and the response is carrying over to her performances. Through her new booking agent, she's landed a showcase at B.B. King's in Los Angeles and will be playing several festivals during the summer.

All the momentum stems from Just Won't Burn.

"I made it in Massachusetts at several different studios," Tedeschi says. "A lot of it was made in Brookline at Rear Window. This doctor built a studio in his house, and he has about 100 vintage amps. He let us use a lot of his amps."

The results are somewhat of a vintage sound. Tedeschi's greatest strength is her voice. When she gets wound up, you hear the power and grit of Janis Joplin, and the beauty of Bonnie Raitt. But there is nothing derivative about her singing. It's original and unique. And it's the kind of voice that can lead to success.

Tedeschi already has had her share of successes, beginning with a blues talent competition in 1994. She won the Boston Battle of the Bands, which led to a performance at the International Blues Talent Competition in Memphis. She placed second. She was named best R&B act of 1995 by Boston Magazine, and was nominated as Outstanding Blues Act at the Boston Music Awards in 1995 and '96. She was nominated as Outstanding R&B Act in 1997.

Born in 1970, Tedeschi has been singing on stage since the age of 5. She graduated from the Berkeley College of Music in 1991, and began working in blues clubs. She formed her own band in 1993 with Adrienne Hayes on guitar, Jim Lamond on bass and Tom Hambridge on drums. That core group stayed together through the first sessions of Just Won't Burn, with Sean Costello replacing Hayes toward the end of the sessions. Costello is now part of a new touring band.

Tedeschi and Costello first met at the International Blues Talent Competition. Costello was a 17-year-old whiz kid guitarist who always impressed Tedeschi.

"I met him real briefly, but didn't really know anything about him," Tedeschi says of Costello. "Adrienne knew him, though. I really got to know him at the Johnny Copeland benefit, and I'm thankful for that."

Tedeschi and Costello hooked up for good in April. They've been out on the road ever since. Most nights, they are featured on the same bill, as they were in Memphis in January.

"If it's Sean's gig, he'll front the band, and I'll play rhythm guitar," Tedeschi says. "I'll do a set of my tunes, and we'll sort of mix it up. If it's my gig, then it's me singing the whole time."

And sing she can.

Just Won't Burn sizzles on each track, of which Tedeschi wrote about half. Bassist and producer Hambridge wrote a couple of the songs, and there are some well-chosen covers tunes, including songs by Junior Wells and John Prine. Throughout, it is Tedeschi's voice that is at the center of each song. From raspy shout to soothingly quiet, she covers the entire range on the record.

When it came time to make the record, Tedeschi knew she needed a label to back her up. That led to the decision to hook up with Tone-Cool. The label, which has been in business since 1985, has its roots in the Boston scene. Founder and president Richard "Rosy" Rosenblatt has taken the label from a small independent to national distribution through Rounder Records

Tedeschi says it was Tone-Cool's history and reputation that led her to sign with them. Her friends, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, who also record for Tone-Cool, helped her make up her mind.

"I took lessons from Paul, and Rosy and I have been friends," Tedeschi says. "It was a pretty natural fit. It's like one big family."

Having a record in national distribution "is a really cool feeling," she says. She'd previously made recordings by herself, but Just Won't Burn took her to new levels.

"This was a much bigger production," she says. "Everybody was so patient. Everybody wanted to make a good record. I think the record shows a lot of diversity and really good production values."

Now it is up to Tedeschi to hit the road and tour in support of the release. Her summer is filling up fast, and her goals keep getting bigger.

"One of the best things about Tone-Cool is that it is a family. We all help each other, and that's my goal, to help others while I help myself," Tedeschi says. "This is just the beginning. If this was the end, I'd just quit. But we're just getting started."

And there's no limit to where Tedeschi can take her talent.