Album Review: Listen Here from Roseanna Vitro

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Album:  Listen Here
Artist:  Roseanna Vitro
Label: Skyline Productions 
Website:  https://roseannavitrojazz.squarespace.com

Cabaret vocalist Roseanna Vitro has re-released her 1984 classic recording Listen Here to be available for streaming and CD formats.  With arrangements by Fred Hersch, Vitro is supported by a stunning ensemble of jazz practitioners that include Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, Ben Riley on drums, Arnett Cobb on saxophone, Duduka da Fonseca on percussion, and Scott Hardy on guitar.  Vitro takes swing music into the 21st century with captivating renditions of tunes from the Great American Songbook.

"No More Blues (Chega de Saudade)," written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, and Jon Hendricks, starts off the recording, setting the listening experience on a swing blues axle.  Progressing forward, the album turns to a bossa nova coloring with  "You Go to My Head" penned by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie and "Centerpiece," a Harry Edison and Jon Hendricks's jewel.  The latter features Bliss Rodriquez on piano, weaving a soothing tone around Vitro's caressing vocals as Arnett Cobb's saxophone embroiders lacy furls along the dips in the melodic swells.

The storytelling quality in Vitro's voice radiates an intimate lure and palliative vibe in the title track, an Eddie Harris pearl.  Switching to a charismatic entertainer in Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's timeless number "It Could Happen to You," the elation inherent in the lyrics are presented vividly in her performance.  The glistening texture of her timbres shine on "Sometime Ago," a lovely melody by Sergio Mihanovich, and display an animated stage presence on Richard Rodger's and Lorenz Hart's playful classic "You Took Advantage of Me."

In recent years, Vitro distinguished herself as an acclaimed educator, clinician and columnist.  Additionally, her blog JVoice reaches a global audience of vocalists and those who support the art of singing.  Vitro revisits her adventure into the Great American Songbook, delving into her roots in American swing, blues and bossa nova with heart and soul.

Musicians:
Roseanna Vitro - vocals
Kenny Barron - piano
Buster Williams - bass
Ben Riley - drums
Arnett Cobb - saxophone
Duduka da Fonseca - percussion
Scott Hardy - guitar
Bliss Rodriquez - piano on "Centerpiece"
Fred Hersch - arrangements

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