Album Review: Comfort & Joy from Vanessa Racci

 

Album: Comfort & Joy 
Artist: Vanessa Racci 
Label: VRE Records 
Street Date: November 6, 2026
Website: www.vanessaracci.com 

As an expressive vocalist and eloquent live performer, Vanessa Racci shapes holiday favorites with a swinging jazz character on her release Comfort & Joy.  Produced by Nicole Zuraitis, the recording is a feast loaded with unbridled zing and holiday cheer, showing Racci backed up by her arranger Ron Drotos on piano, Marcus McLaurine on bass, Dan Pugach on drums, Sean Harkness on guitar, and Geoff Burke on saxophone and flute.  Adding to the mirthful spirit are trumpet players Max Darche and Benny Benack III. 

Racci combines "I’ll Be Home for Christmas" and "Silent Night," highlighting the lobbing motion of her vocals shaping elegant curves, then transitions into a suave ragtime peal along "Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You." arced by the sleek wails of Benack's trumpet.  Her duet with Benack on "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" is berth in a swinging rhythm that produces a sizzling fireside setting.  "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" displays her vocals buoyed by the bopping pulsations of McLaurine's bass and Pugach's agile drumming while the spontaneous flurries from Darche's trumpet seasons the tune with a hot jazz texture.

The slow simmer of "The Christmas Song" is brimming with warm sentiment, creating a cozy and intimate listening experience, bolstered by the smooth chimes of Benack's trumpet.  Switching to a comfy stroll along "Let There Be Peace on Earth," Racci's vocals are saddled in the tingling sensations of Drotos keys as the soft silhouettes of Burke's flute quiver gently across the landscaped melody.  Closing with "Here We Come A Wassailing," Racci radiates a zing and cheer rooted in the modern swing palette.

Benny Benack III is quoted in the press release as saying Vanessa Racci's "voice feels like a warm cup of hot cocoa on a chilly day...just the best!”  That is precisely what listener's will  experience. 

Musicians:
Vanessa Racci — vocals 
Ron Drotos — piano, arranger 
Marcus McLaurine — bass 
Dan Pugach — drums 
Sean Harkness — guitar 
Geoff Burke — saxophone, flute 
Max Darche — trumpet on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” 
Benny Benack III — trumpet on “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You” and “The Christmas Song” and guest vocals on “Little Jack Frost Get Lost”