Vanessa Racci - Italiana Fresca (2017)

Vanessa Racci brings a rich and enthusiastic voice in both English and Italian as she serves a full plate of Neopolitan flavors mixing jazz with traditional sounds and spices. She teams up with Glafkos Kontemeniotis-Yaron Gershovsky/p-arr along with David Finck/b, Cliff Almond/dr and an occasional vibrant horn section or dreamy string team. She sounds easy to love as she relaxes on a buoyant “Al Di La” while getting into a New Orleans groove with John Fedchock’s trombone on the high stepping “Guaglione.” She delivers a delicious chamber read of “O Sole Mio” and gets dreamy on “Return To Me” and gets ominous on the sultry “Tu Vuo L’Americano.”

A mood that would feel comfortable during a Puccini aria occurs as she teams with Finck on a luminous “Se Tu M’Ami” and when she gets together with vocalist Pau Marinaro, a cozy mood along Villa Borghese is felt on “Buona Sera” and “Anema E Core/O Marenariello.” A mix of strolling on Via Nazionale in Naples and Mott Street in NYC.~by George W. Harris