Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Andrea Celeste: My Reflection

316

Andrea Celeste: My Reflection

Andrea Celeste: My Reflection
It's surprising to hear the debut of a mature vocalist, gifted with a deep and expressive voice, only to find that she is but 21 years old and wrote most of the songs on My Reflection. Italian vocalist Andrea Celeste began studying piano and classical singing at the age of eleven, and was later trained in gospel choirs and seminars by American singer Cheryl Porter. My Reflection was recorded in 2007 with some of Italy's finest jazz musicians.

The songs, in English, deal with some of the most banal aspects of love and relationships, more with the peaks than the valleys. Celeste sings with wise and elegant phrasing and a warm and expressive voice, portraying an innocent belief in the power of the romantic word. Her ability to entrust herself fully in the hands of her accompanying musicians, wins attention time after time. Robero "Robbo" Vigo's wise production spices each song with new color, mainly by adding new musicians to the core trio of pianist Gianluca Tagliazucchi, bassist Dino Cerruti and drummer Rodolfo Cervetto—heard on "I Don't Wanna Play This Game," where Massimo Currò's guitar adds a relaxed and breezy touch, not far from the sound of Pat Metheny.

Celeste's readings of the Gershwin brothers' standard "It Ain't Necessarily So" and Jimmy Dorsey's "I'm Glad There Is You" are masterful. Accompanied by pianist Dado Moroni and bassist Pietro Leveratto on the former and pianist Andrea Pozza on the latter, Celeste opts for a straightforward approach to singing the words, knowing that her strong voice is enough to carry the lyrics and nothing more is needed beyond a minimalist sketching of the melody. She resurrects Sting's "Seven Days" with beautiful and playful phrasing, recalling Sting's ability to write intelligent lyrics.

Celeste manages to sound far too optimistic for someone her age on her original tracks—the lovely opener, "Real," that resurfaces in a slightly different version as a hidden bonus track; the more meditative "A Thought Away" and "There's No Other Place," both aided by Robero Izzo's folksy violin; and the believable sadness conveyed in "You Say Goodbye." Throughout, Celeste's voice is captivating, conveying a wide spectrum of colors and shades, with an assured vocal command and elegant presentation.

Track Listing

Real; My Reflection; I Don't Wanna Play This Game; It Ain't Necessarily So; The Power Of Our love; I'm Glad There Is You; A Thought Away; Seven Days; Blue Is The Color Of Our Love; There's No Other Place; Take My Hand; Stand By Me In The Night; You Say Goodbye

Personnel

Andrea Celeste: vocals; Gianluca Tagliazucchi: piano; Dino Cerruti: double-bass; Rodolfo Cervetto: drums; Dado Moroni: piano; Andrea Pozza: piano; Enzo Zirelli: drums; Ricardo Fioravant: double-bass; Pietro Leveratto; double-bass; Stefano Cabrera: cello: Roberto Izzo: violin; GNU Quartet: Marco Moro: bass flute; Massimo Curr

Album information

Title: My Reflection | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Philology Jazz Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.