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Roberta Gambarini: Easy To Love
ByWell, yeah. That pretty much summed it up for many listeners. There was an unexpected fuss about a relatively obscure Italian jazz singer. Gambarini had a lovely alto voice, swung like mad, and could raise proverbial goosebumps. Comparisonsentirely justifiedto Ella Fitzgerald began to appear. This was only the beginning.
In the intervening fifteen years, Gambarini has probably established herself as the finest female jazz vocalist in the world. She has won multiple awards from the Jazz Journalists Association; recorded at least half a dozen albums; appeared on others; given vocal lessons during COVID; left a variety of critics speechless; and continues to tour now that the pandemic seems behind. To paraphrase Isidor Rabi on Robert Oppenheimer's accomplishments, "What more do you want? Mermaids?" While it is true that she does the Great American Songbook, that is a bit like saying the Philadelphia Orchestra does a lot Rachmaninoff and Beethoven. So what? Extraordinary music packs a punch when it is artfully delivered, no matter how many times one hears it. And a master artist, like Gambarini, is a master artist.
As to the virtues of vinyl versus CD, this is, honestly, a matter of taste, ears, and equipment. To some, this 2023 vinyl (analog) remastering may sound a little warmer, and have a less lapidary presence than the digital (CD) version. If the question is whether this initially spectacular recording is any less spectacular in its carefully and beautifully produced vinyl reissue, the answer is of course not. This recording has held up very well since its initial release. Some things, happily, do get better with age.
Track Listing
Easy To Love; Only Trust Your Heart; Lover Man; On The Sunny Side Of The Street; Porgy, I's Your Woman Now/I Loves You, Porgy; Lover Come Back To Me; The Two Lonely People; Centerpiece; Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry; No More Blues; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes/All The Things You Are; Too Late Now; Multi-Colored Blues; Monk's Prayer/Looking Back.
Personnel
Roberta Gambarini
vocalsJames Moody
woodwindsTamir Hendelman
pianoGerald Clayton
pianoJohn Clayton
bassWillie Jones III
drumsJoe La Barbera
drumsChuck Berghofer
bass, acousticAlbum information
Title: Easy To Love | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: KOCH International Jazz
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About Roberta Gambarini
Instrument: Vocals
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