• Randy Newman quote:
  ” It’s a great honor to have musicians of this quality devote themselves to doing these really great versions of some of my songs.  I feel about it much the way I did when Harry Nilsson did an album of my songs.  Roseanna is a great artist.”

DOWNBEAT -August – 2011   * * * * 1/2 Roseanna Vitro  — The Music of Randy Newman — Motéma Music 63

When one considers songwriters whose canons might be interpreted by jazz singers,  Randy Newman is quite the dark horse.  His appeal is not in intriguing chord changes, harmonic possibilities or a rich melodic approach,  but in a distinctive lyrical content.  By turns witty,  melancholy, ironic,  satirical or sardonic–Newman is a wry observer of American life.  The simplicity with which he tells stories –stating little and implicating more –marks him as a practicing master of musical Americana.

Singer Roseanna Vitro has her way with ten Newman originals, from his Warner Brothers period to the present.  (He had a lengthy track record as an eclectic songsmith before he recorded in 1970.)  She’s a passionate,  expressive singer whose emotional streak never overrides her musicality.  Nor do her musical flights interfere with the story of a song.  “Sail Away”– a slaver’s advertisement –is sung with heartfelt sincerity,  making it all the more laden with historic and social implication.  She’s very effective on ballads and laments: her poignancy on “Everytime It Rains” and the haunting “In Germany Before the War:  are near heartbreaking.

Vitro’s also a swinger and she expertly romps on a ripping “Last Night,” bossa treatments of  “If I Didn’t Have You”  and  “Baltimore,”  and the blues-tinged  “Mama Told Me Not To Come.”  Her soulful alto connects beautifully with Newman’s great feel for Southern music forms.  Pianist Mark Soskin,  away from his Sonny Rollins’ sideman role,  accompanies effectively throughout, and Sara Caswell’s emotionally charged violin provides a sympathetic foil for Vitro.  This album is awfully good.     –Kirk Silsbee

“Roseanna Vitro “The Randy Newman Project” Vitro, always a fascinating jazz singer, expands her horizons with her new CD, in which she explores the far-ranging, emotionally diverse musical catalog of Randy Newman.  It’s a remarkable album, and the live performance of its selections should make for a compelling musical evening. ” The International Music Review – Don Heckman http://irom.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/picks-of-the-week-june-14-%E2%80%93-19/

Love the Tylers review:  http://thetylergang.blogspot.com/search?q=roseanna+vitro

Thank you to Robert Bush for your fine review of our concert at The Saville Theater for KSDS in San Diego on 9/20 in the San Diego Reader-

Read it on my blog and check out the photo’s : http://jazziam.blogspot.com/

Check out Andrew Gilbert’s article on Roseanna and The Music of Randy Newman in “The Berkeley Side” September 2011

Roseanna Vitro interprets Randy Newman’s songbook

Check out a new http://www.AllaboutJazz  spotlight and free track of ‘Sail Away’ track at: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/showcase.php?id=1043

http://www.muzikreviews.com/reviews.php?ID=1623 ••••1/2  Donny Harvey  MuzikReviews.com”From her sultry low end to her belting high notes, her delivery is right on time. Even more impressive, her ‘scat’ vocalizing is as perfect as any instrumental solo on the album, such as the piano and violin work on “Last Night I Had a Dream.” She’s a great jazz singer who brings a lot of heart to her craft.  ”

Check out the latest reviews of “The Music of Randy Newman” in All About Jazz, The Jazz Page, All Music Guide, Metro Weekly, and PR Movie News! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/7599966.html (Roseanna Vitro inspired by Legends) Houston Chronicle