Roberta Gambarini: Easy To Love

In 2007, All About Jazz reviewer Michael Caratti wrote: "This debut outing from Roberta Gambarini sees the Italian-born jazz vocalist pair up with two star-studded rhythm sections and legendary tenor saxophonist James Moody, to present what has to be one of the best vocal jazz albums of the decade. Opening with Cole Porter's classic title track Gambarini's exquisite tone and masterful rhythmic phrasing are immediately on display in the first a capella section. The gradual addition of bass and brushes does little to prepare you for what happens next, as the whole ensemble propels into a steaming swing that leaves you merciful (sic) you are only at Track One of the album and bewildered as to why you haven't heard the name Roberta Gambarini before."

Well, 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. Comparisons—entirely justified—to 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.

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