Roseanna Vitro at Northampton Jazz Workshop March 26, 2019
by David Boatwright of the Equalites
As I’ve said in previous reviews, the Tuesday night sessions at City Sports Grille in Northampton are stellar! The Green Street Trio locks down piano, bass, and drums, and brings in a different guest every week to lead the proceedings. On this late March evening, Roseanna Vitro, a vocalist with Texas/Arkansas roots and 14 CD’s to her credit, took the stage with pianist Paul Arslanian, accoustic bass extrordianaire George Kaye, and guest drummer George Schuller sitting in for Jon Fisher. They got right down to business with Duke Ellington’s, “Love you Madly,” and the Luis Bonfa bossa-nova, “One True Love.” Cedar Walton’s, “Midnight Waltz,” followed with original lyrics by Vitro.
Next up was a track from Vitro’s latest recording, an interesting re-working of the Patsy Cline classic, “Walking After Midnight,” which featured some deep blues piano from Arslanian! This was followed by the Bill Evans tribute, “Funkalero,” and the slow ballad, “You Are There.” Jerome Kern’s, “Yesterdays,” featured a super-fast walking bass, and the set closed with the Abbey Lincoln/Julian Preister composition, “Long As You’re Livin,'” featuring the lyrics, “you’ll never beat life” and “the Truth will set you free!” Amen to that! Vitro has recorded in many styles, and her latest CD on the Skyline label is called, “Tell Me the Truth.” It features the funky chops of guitarist, Mitch Stein, and saxophone from Rolling Stones sideman, Tim Ries.
In addition to the aforementioned Patsy Cline classic, Vitro takes on the Allen Toussaint classic, “On Your Way Down,” the Staples’ “Respect Yourself,” Mose Allison’s “Your Mind Is On Vacation,” John Fogerty’s “Fortunate Son,” and the Everly Brother’s “When Will I Be Loved!” Another great night of Jazz in Northampton!
