Daniele Vavassori: Jazz Canto....Italian singer with rock roots releases jazz album
The irony of the great Italian crooners — Sinatra, Martin, Bennett, Damone, Darin, Como, et al. — is that none actually hailed from Italy. Indeed, apart from one-hit-wonder Domenico Modugno, whose chart-topping “Volare” earned him a pair of 1958 Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, the ranks of Italian-born pop and jazz vocalists whose careers have extended beyond the borders of their native land are pretty thin. (Nor is the female side of the equation any more robust; quick, name an Italian vocalist, apart from Roberta Gambarini, who has earned an international audience).
Which makes newcomer (or, at least, new to American shores) Daniele Vavassori a bit of an anomaly, though a most welcome one. Nothing in Vavassori’s musical background points to his recent emergence as a jazz stylist. Yes, his grandfather introduced him to Sinatra and Como recordings, but he preferred Queen, Billy Joel and Tori Amos. Early on, he began writing songs and formed the rock outfit Liberty (subsequently expanded to Liberty Express). In 2005, he joined the band PLC, whose Rock Surgery earned significant notice.
It wasn’t until earlier this year that Vavassori became fascinated with swing melodies, an interest that led him to jazz. With guitarist Sandro Gibellini, bassist Marco Ricci and drummer Stefano Bertoli, the 33-year-old has since recorded A Pocket Full of Dreams (4My Records). Sung entirely in English, the album is, he says, “a tribute to the great swing songs of the 20th century.” Perhaps. The Gershwins’ tenderly regretful “But Not for Me,” Sacha Distel’s ruminative “The Good Life” and the Isham Jones-Gus Khan chestnut “It Had to Be You” don’t immediately suggest hard-core swing (though, admittedly, all have been swung over the years).
Semantics aside, Vavassori choice of nine standards is solid, if eclectic. (Indeed, A Pocket Full of Dreams may mark the very first time that “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” has been included on a non-Christmas album). He opens with Dave Frishberg and Johnny Mandel’s lilting “Little Did I Dream.” The voice is unexpected. This isn’t the muscular crooning of Sinatra or Martin or Darin, or even the softer Como. Vavassori’s light, bright sound is closer to that of early ’60s pop star Gene Pitney, though his emerging jazz instincts are keen enough to also hint at the rhythmic gentility of John Pizzarelli.
Complete on >> http://jazztimes.com/sections/hearingvoices/articles/26949-daniele-vavassori-jazz-canto
Which makes newcomer (or, at least, new to American shores) Daniele Vavassori a bit of an anomaly, though a most welcome one. Nothing in Vavassori’s musical background points to his recent emergence as a jazz stylist. Yes, his grandfather introduced him to Sinatra and Como recordings, but he preferred Queen, Billy Joel and Tori Amos. Early on, he began writing songs and formed the rock outfit Liberty (subsequently expanded to Liberty Express). In 2005, he joined the band PLC, whose Rock Surgery earned significant notice.
It wasn’t until earlier this year that Vavassori became fascinated with swing melodies, an interest that led him to jazz. With guitarist Sandro Gibellini, bassist Marco Ricci and drummer Stefano Bertoli, the 33-year-old has since recorded A Pocket Full of Dreams (4My Records). Sung entirely in English, the album is, he says, “a tribute to the great swing songs of the 20th century.” Perhaps. The Gershwins’ tenderly regretful “But Not for Me,” Sacha Distel’s ruminative “The Good Life” and the Isham Jones-Gus Khan chestnut “It Had to Be You” don’t immediately suggest hard-core swing (though, admittedly, all have been swung over the years).
Semantics aside, Vavassori choice of nine standards is solid, if eclectic. (Indeed, A Pocket Full of Dreams may mark the very first time that “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” has been included on a non-Christmas album). He opens with Dave Frishberg and Johnny Mandel’s lilting “Little Did I Dream.” The voice is unexpected. This isn’t the muscular crooning of Sinatra or Martin or Darin, or even the softer Como. Vavassori’s light, bright sound is closer to that of early ’60s pop star Gene Pitney, though his emerging jazz instincts are keen enough to also hint at the rhythmic gentility of John Pizzarelli.
Complete on >> http://jazztimes.com/sections/hearingvoices/articles/26949-daniele-vavassori-jazz-canto
Born in Bergamo on the 11th of May 1977, Daniele Vavassori has held a lifetime passion for singing. After years of inspiration and dedication to pop/rock he rediscovered the magic colours of swing melodies which led him to get in touch with an amazing jazz trio. The result of this collaboration is 'A pocket full of dreams', a ten track album which is a homage to some of the greatest songs of the last century and more...
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