courtesy of Roseanna Vitro
At the beginning of this month, Skyline Records reissued Listen Here, the debut album of vocalist Roseanna Vitro. This was complemented by the first release of the content through MP3 download, and the Amazon.com full-album download Web page includes a digital version of the booklet that accompanies the physical release. This will be valuable for those interested in the instrumental backup, which was led by pianist Kenny Barron. All of the tracks feature Barron’s trio partners, Buster Williams on bass and Ben Riley on drums. Selected tracks also include Arnett Cobb on saxophone, Bliss Rodriguez on piano, Scott Hardy on guitar, and Duduka Da Fonseca on percussion.
There is generous diversity across the album’s twelve tracks. The only composer to appear twice is Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose “Chega de Saudade” opens the selection in its English version, “No More Blues,” with lyrics by Jon Hendricks and Howard S. Richmond (under the pseudonym “Jessie Cavanaugh”). The mid-point is taken by Jobim’s “This Happy Madness” with English lyrics by Gene Lees. Hendricks is also represented by “Centerpiece,” which he co-wrote with Harry Edison.
While all of the tracks are given engaging instrumental treatment, I am afraid I could not warm up to Vitro’s vocal stylizations. Her approach to pitch is often more that a little too casual for my tastes. This is not a case of my recent speculation of Pythagorean intonation in the vocals of Billie Holiday. While Vitro’s intonation frequently conveys compelling rhetorical impact, there are these occasions when, in the interest of being more up-beat, she tends to let go of precision with disappointing results. Nevertheless, those with a less demanding sense of pitch may well warm up to Vitro’s interpretations more generously than I did.
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