The only jazz magazine in NY in print, online and on apps! January 2021 www.hothousejazz.com Livestream from Soapbox Gallery Page 2 Facebook, and Livestream from Mezzrow Page 4 Roseanna Vitro Rossano Sportiello Immanuel Wilkins John Beasley Livestream from Bar Bayeux Page 6 Livestream from JEN Conference Page 8 Where To Go & Who To See Since 1982 ROSEANNA VITRO Continues to Cut Her Own Path By Don Jay Smith INGER ROSEANNA VITRO IS A Snatural storyteller. She relays anec- dotes effortlessly and is extremely engag- ing, witty and knowledgeable. It is no won- Roseanna Vito & Kenny Werner der she is such a successful teacher, so suc- the Kennedy Center, and The Music of cessful at attracting a huge global audi- Randy Newman, which received a ence for her blog JVoice, and enjoys such Grammy nomination in 2011. Don longevity as a very popular performer. Heckman of The International Music Roseanna was raised in Hot Springs, Review called The Music of Randy Arkansas, by parents who imbued her with Newman “a remarkable album” and a wide range of vocal styles including great praised Roseanna as “always a fascinating big band singers like Frank Sinatra, down- jazz singer.” home gospel music and classic Italian Throughout her decades-long career, opera. Roseanna has been a favorite of both audi- “I came from a family of singers and ences and critics. Neil Tesser of USA sang in everything growing up, from school Today wrote that she “can sing rings musicals to the chorus,” she explains. “I around half the vocalists you can name,” loved a wide variety of music so I guess I and Mike Joyce of The Washington Post followed the Ellington concept that there loves her “pure and sultry voice.” was only good music and bad music.” With the pandemic curtailing her live Possessed of a fine voice, she eventually performances, she has made a smooth moved to Houston to pursue her passion transition to online Zoom instruction. “My for blues and rock. “I loved Janis Joplin retirement from NJCU after 20 years even though my voice was too pure to didn’t last long,” she notes. “Drawing on sound like hers.” It was there that she dis- the technique of my favorite jazz singers— covered jazz, thanks to the great tenor sax Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen player Arnett Cobb and the big band McRae, and Anita O’Day—I have created a singer Ray Sullenger. Her two-year gig at new course devoted to improvising with Houston’s Green Room, “Roseanna with lyrics. It has become a very popular offer- Strings and Things,” gave her the opportu- ing at the California Jazz Conservatory.” nity to hone her craft and jam with jazz This month, listeners have the opportu- icons such as Oscar Peterson and Bill nity to enjoy Roseanna’s vocal presence Evans. when she appears with Kenny Werner at After moving to New York in 1978, she Brooklyn’s Soapbox Gallery on Jan. 16. befriended two pianists who became long- The streaming is free, but to support the time collaborators, Fred Hersch and performers the Soapbox Gallery makes Kenny Werner. Fred arranged many of the tickets available on a pay-as-you-can basis. tunes on Roseanna’s debut album, Listen “Kenny and I will be getting together Here (Skyline Productions), which she soon to plan the show, but we will draw on plans to reissue in February. Released in many of the tunes we have performed in 1985, the recording features Kenny the past,” Roseanna says. “Kenny is so sup- Barron, Buster Williams, Ben Riley and portive and effortless in his mastery; he Arnett Cobb. makes everything sound great. Together “During this pandemic, I decided to we just keep cutting a path with our music, revisit my early records that have long performing from our hearts and drawing been available only on vinyl,” Roseanna on our long history and friendship.” says. “Listen Here is all standards and did And so it is with Roseanna Vitro. She very well when it was released, particular- has made the most of the pandemic, mov- ly since I had some amazing musicians on ing to a new home, writing about singers the date.” Cited as “enjoyable and histori- and their craft, teaching the next genera- cally important” by AllMusic reviewer Alex tion of jazz vocalists, revisiting her original Henderson, the recording features classics recordings, and constantly learning. She such as “Love You Madly,” “No More continues to inspire everyone she touches Blues,” and “You Go To My Head.” with her positivity and her amazing talent Originally released on vinyl, the album as a singer. will soon be available for the first time on streaming and CD formats. Roseanna Vitro appears with Listen Here was the first of 14 record- pianist Kenny Werner as part of the ings by the singer; others include The Time Soapbox Gallery Concert Series of My Life: The Songs of Steve Allen, online on Jan. 16. Conviction: Thoughts of Bill Evans, Live at 2 Beasley cover photo by Fran Kaufman, Sportiello by Stefania Curto, Vitro by John Abbott, Wilkins by Dana Scruggs. Brazilian musicians at the most advanced leval, some of them music directors for your favorite Brazilian singers, demonstrating their powerful playing, improvising and fire, with their original material and some additional estrangeiros. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTCraI4UrcU&t=112s Paulo Russo David E. Tillman Gilson Peranzzetta Luiz Avelar Barrosinho Raniere Ricardo Gustavo Anacleto Idris Boudroua Itamar Assiere Dario Galante The Music of Paulo Russo The Music of the late Paulo Russo, a tremendous contributor to Bons Ritmos, who will be greatly missed. Rest In Peace. With Fabinho Costa, Rafael Vernet and Andrew Scott Potter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJj70XD1_PY&t=2111s Gilson Peranzzetta "One of the top four arrangers in the world "..Quincy Jones The late Paulo Russo, one of the greatest musicians in the world https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ekXzazC5bQ&t=41s You can hear these Bons Ritmos CD's in their entirety at the Bons Ritmos Youtube Channel, for free. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM4qH4HR_Dsdpc45CphwUwQ/videos Youtube search "Andrew Scott Potter Bons Ritmos Youtube Channel" 3 comes out on Arbors Records this month. “This CD is something new,” Rossano muses. “It blends so many elements, but ROSSANO I’m not just mixing them up at random, I am incorporating them all into a mixture that blends completely together into some- thing new. There are elements of bebop, elements of stride piano, elements of clas- SPORTIELLO sical, elements of swing, and also clear sty- listic references to Hank Jones, Dave McKenna, Ralph Sutton, Art Tatum, Bill Evans. I don’t think this has ever hap- Expansive Strides pened before.” A lot of those elements he references By George Kanzler appear on the album, which is not really surprising since Rossano says he often doesn’t know what exactly is coming next Y THE AGE OF 20, PIANIST either. He will incorporate something that BRossano Sportiello had mastered he remembers at the moment into what he the repertoire of trad jazz, from Jelly Roll is playing, no matter how incongruous it Morton and Dixieland to Louis Armstrong might seem. For instance, he begins the and Fats Waller, with special emphasis on Rodgers and Hart tune “Thou Swell” in a stride piano. He did all this while growing romantic, rubato opening then transitions up in Northern Italy, learning from records to a fast, striding statement of the melody and playing in European trad jazz bands through the opening chords of Miles Davis’ beginning when he was 16. Rossano could “Milestones.” Another Rodgers and Hart have pursued a career in trad jazz after tune, a lushly treated “Bewitched, coming to the United States at 22, and did Bothered and Bewildered,” morphs into a continue to emulate such early model/men- Bach Prelude, because they are both in C tors as Ralph Sutton, Dick Hyman and Major. Dave McKenna, notable for their swing The album is a generous mix of stan- and stride styles. dards, including some Fats Waller-associ- But Rossano was drawn to jazz not pri- ated tunes right up to Michel Legrand, and marily because of the trad style, but five Rossano originals, ranging from the because of the possibilities he heard in the Bill Evans inspired “She Is There” and freedom of improvisation. His early piano “Song for Emily” to “Nonno Bob’s Delight,” lessons were classical, and hearing which bounces exuberantly between 3/4 improvisation was a revelation to him. and 4/4. Throughout the album, Rossano Exploring music styles beyond trad and employs stride in more ways than most lis- stride is an ongoing source of inspiration, teners are accustomed to, from rollicking, and he incorporates all he's learned into full-tilt to soft, guitar-like strumming and his own playing. every kind of swinging in between. “I met Barry Harris [New York’s dean of So how is Rossano coping with the pan- bebop pianists] when I was 26,” says demic? Although holed up in his New York Rossano, “and we have been friends for 20 apartment, he still feels the need to share years. It is so inspiring to hear him play his enjoyment of playing his music with an that I came to the conclusion that he knew audience, so every week he streams an the truth when he spoke too.” hour-long piano concert, with occasional Barry belongs to what Rossano (like guests, “From the Flat in Greenwich many critics) calls the New York School of continued on page 12 pianists, a group including but not limited to the likes of Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Sir Roland Hanna and Jimmy Rowles.