Roberta Gambarini - Easy To Love

Limited numbered and signed 180gm vinyl LP pressing. With a lyrical singing style which shows commitment to the heritage of Monk, Gillespie and Benny Carter, Roberta Gambarini delights us with her debut album, Easy To Love, recorded in L. A. Paying tribute to giants like Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Jon Hendricks, at the same time enriching their compositions with a new language. She is backed by two rhythm sections, consisting of bass players John Clayton and Chuck Berghofer, drummers Willie Jones III and Joe La Barbera and pianists Tamir Hendelman and Gerald Clayton. Saxophonist James Moody guests on two numbers and even contributes some inspired scatting. This album is a real masterpiece that was recorded live on tape over two afternoons in L. A. Just a few observations will suffice to establish the quality of this musical rendezvous. With On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Gambarini brilliantly reworks the Gillespie composition Sonny Side Up, reprising the original solos of Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins with brand new lyrics, and capturing, unerringly and full of esprit, the high tones of Dizzy's trumpet. In Centerpiece, she enters into a dialogue with Moody's saxophone, then he embarks on a spontaneous scatting adventure with his partner. Their teamwork in the erotic Lover Man works just as magnificently. With Multi-Colored Blue, she roams effortlessly up and down the bluesy scale and in Monk's Prayer / Looking Back, she succeeds in offering a magical and intimate finale for Thelonious.