Awesome! Astonishing! Amazing!
The only thing more incredible than the initial reluctance of recording companies to accept this self-produced album and promote it is the music itself. As crowded as the present-day jazz vocal field has become, at least relative to the numbers of "competent" listeners, this Italian exponent of an American art form sets a new standard, following the lead of Ella and Sarah and raising the bar even higher. We've heard some extraordinary, pyrotechnical yet free-swinging performances in recent years from Ann Hampton Callaway, Karrin Allyson, Cheryl Bentyne, Diane Shuur and Kurt Elling (especially his two epic transcriptions of Dexter Gordon improvisations, "Tanya" and "Body and Soul") not to mention some earlier dazzling musical legerdemain by the British pop-jazz coloratura, Cleo Laine. But nothing could prepare even a close follower of the vocal scene for the artistry in evidence throughout "Easy to Love."

Jimmy McHugh's/Dorothy Fields' "Sunny Side of the Street" is in itself a tour de force that's likely to challenge the listener of this extraordinary performance as much as its maker. First, give the Italian vocalist credit for recognizing the significance of the material--an "apparent" lightweight Tin Pan Alley hit given a casual, at times humorous, reading by a quasi-vocalist (Dizzy Gillespie) with instrumental solos by Diz and his two partners, tenor greats Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins. But to the attentive listener, the 1957 Verve session, "Sonny Side Up," is a recording for the ages, testimony to the rich and complex musical language of its three peerless masters and a perfect example of the rare, unrepeatable, combustible chemistry of their meeting. (Note to the attentive listener: when Gambarini utters Stitt's name, she's at the end of his chorus, about to make the adjustment to the upper register for the next solo, which is by the incomparable Diz; when she drops back down and sings "Can't you hear that pitter patter pitter patter sound," she's singing Rollins' solo--more deliberative and motivic, less joyously free and "flying" than either of the two predecessors. I wonder which horn part Roberta enjoys singing the most?)

It probably would have been sufficient for most any other vocalist to do little more than "acknowledge" the earlier occasion--perhaps a few inflections of Dizzy's singing sandwiching solos by some present-day prodigious players (the Marsalises with Chris Potter, or Rollins himself, would be a promising assemblage and deployment of personnel). But not good enough for Roberta Gambarini. She decides to sing, by herself, the solos and the ensemble work by these American geniuses as it all went down during this extraordinary moment of recording history! Think of someone with a native tongue other than English writing a novel not merely in English but in the style of James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf (Joseph Conrad is perhaps the only writer who, after learning English at the age of 19, came close).

When you pick up this indispensable recording, be sure to have two CD or MP3 players handy. Start out with the Diz recording, but stop after each section: the playing of the song by the three instrumentalists; then the Stitt solo; next the Gillespie solo; then the Rollins solo; finally, the vocal chorus by Diz. And before proceeding with each new section, play the identical stretch as sung by Gambarini.

She not only nails the notes (numerous saxophonists have had trouble transcribing an intricate Stitt or Diz solo) but captures the individual instruments and the colorations unique to each instrumentalist! Moreover, she's able to pull it off with free-flowing extemporaneousness, effortlessly negotiating the elliptical leaps in the musicians' registers, setting up the double-time sections, and occasionally revealing an unmistakable "smile" in her voice--this awesome performance, intimidating at least to musicians who have aspired to play like Diz or Stitt, is for Roberta (as music always was for Diz) a form of "play": she's having fun!

Fortunately, the accomplishment of this recording and the brilliance of its creator is slowly being recognized. When last summer a teenaged alto saxophonist from Sicily brought his instrument into the heart of jazz and the home of its most fabled maker, proceeding to perform "Charlie Parker with Strings" in the world-famous New York club named after the progenitor, his feat was met with resounding silence and the stunning indifference of press and public on American shores. In the case of Gambarini, we can hope the combination of her talent and her determination to be heard will be too much even for an under-prepared public to ignore. On second thought, their loss is their loss, not yours. Grab your coat, get your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep (but leave enough space for an Amazon package containing this recording).

Every Song She Sings Is Simply Splendid!
"I approach all the tunes I choose to sing in terms of what they mean to me in lyric and story. Every one of them has something to do with how I see life and live life. Everything I do comes out of a mixture of personal experiences - things I've lived, things I am reminded of, things I am inclined to." ~ Roberta Gambarini ~

This CD, "Easy To Love" is a showcase of Roberta Gambarini's powerfully moving vocal artistry. In my book, she's now one of the finest female jazz singers of today and she has all the musical qualities to be considered as such. She's truly a versatile, creative and talented jazz singer.

She sings strikingly.
She swings arrestingly.
She scats exceptionally.
She improvises creatively.
She arranges impressively.

Every song she sings is simply splendid from the title track and one of my all-time favorite Cole Porter songs, "Easy To Love," which is sang with the meaningful intro verse down to a couple of bonus tracks, Billy Strayhorn's "Multi-Colored Blue" and Thelonious Monk and Jon Hendricks' "Monk's Prayer/Looking Back." Each song is interpreted in a strikingly beautiful fashion with arrangements that are all beguiling and spectacular. Thanks to the combined efforts of some of the finest musicians in the history of jazz: James Moody (sax), John Clayton and Chuck Berghofer (bass), Tamir Hendelman and Gerald Clayton (piano), Joe La Barbera and Willie Jones III (drums).

The glow in her voice and her almost flawless phrasing are evident in her heartfelt renditions of some of my favorite standards such as "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes/All The Things You Are," "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" and "Too Late Now," an achingly beautiful song by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner. What makes it so especially beautiful is the lone piano accompaniment by Tamir Hendelman.

She did a fabulous scatting acrobatics and vocalese in one of my highlights "On The Sunny Side of the Street" using the original arrangement by Dizzy Gillespie in an album he recorded in 1957 with two great Sonnys of jazz - Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins entitled "Sunny Side Up."

James Moody, a jazz great, joins her in "Lover Man" showcasing his mastery in tenor sax, and also in "Centerpiece" where you could hear him scatting with Ms. Gambarini.

And my top favorite from this collection is a song composed by Benny Carter, who was one of Ms. Gambarini's musical idols and the beautiful lyric was penned by my favorite romantic and eloquent lyricist, Sammy Cahn, "Only Trust Your Heart." Ms. Gambarini gives this song fresh-as-a-daisy and delicate-as-a-rose kind of interpretation. This song was also recorded by Diana Krall in Only Trust Your Heart and Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz in Verve Jazz Masters 53: Bossa Nova.

"Never trust the stars
When you're about to fall in love
Look for hidden signs
Before you start to sigh."

This is one of the most commanding jazz CDs ever recorded and it deserves my heartfelt recommendation for your listening pleasure . . . for always!

P.S. A million thanks to an Amazon friend, Rick Cornell, for this utterly charming Christmas present! I have been listening to it for four days now and I have been enjoying every minute of it!

What a voice!
I stumbled on "Easy To Love" while browsing Amazon looking for something by Sophie Milman. Reading what other reviewers said, I just had to check it out. Roberta Gambarini is amazing! My first impulse was to compare her to Ella, but after four tracks you know that she is an original. I still get goosebumps when I listen to her scat tribute to Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins. Like all the great jazz vocalists, her voice is her instrument, and Roberta plays it with finesse.

Totally derivative
Ms. Gambarini seems to have listened to one too many Carmen McRae and Nancy Marano CDs. Her phrasing, breath sounds, and tonal quality are completely derivative. It's not enough to have a nice voice and good skills. A singer has to have something unique and interesting to convey. What's the point of being a clone?

The best voice around!
This young lady simply has the finest classic jazz voice around today. Don't believe me? Listen to this album. She has a great voice, understands the music and the history of the music and she has a superb combo backing her. If she were from the USA she would be s superstar.