Roseanna Vitro – Listen Here – CD Review
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Plastic – CD
Surface noise: N/A
Dynamic Range: 4+
Stereo Imaging: 4+
Image depth/perspective: 4
Overall frequency response: 4+
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Track List:
- No More Blues
- You Go To My Head
- Centerpiece
- Love You Madly
- A Time For Love
- This Happy Madness
- Listen Here
- It Could Happen To You
- Easy Street
- Sometime Ago
- You Took Advantage Of Me
- Black Coffee
Instrumental Line Up:
- Vocals – Roseanna Vitro
- Piano – Kenny Barron/Bliss Rodriguez
- Bass -Buster Williams
- Drums – Ben Riley
- Saxophone – Arnett Cobb
- Guitar – Scott Hardy
- Percussion – Duduka Da Fonesca
Background:
This CD was originally recorded and engineered by Roseanna’s husband Paul Wickliffe at Skyline Studios in NY on October 4th, 1982. Skyline Productions is now located in Warren NJ, and is affiliated with Charlestown Road Studios, NJ.
Jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro launched her career in 1984 with Listen Here and in 2012 she was Grammy nominated for Best Vocal Jazz Album, The Music of Randy Newman. She continues to perform having released 14 albums and to provide various workshops and classes. Wanting to re-introduce herself to the upcoming jazz generations Listen Here has been digitally re-mastered and was re-released on February 12th, 2021.
This is a solid selection of well recorded jazz standards, with Roseanna’s assertive vocals and occasional upbeat scatting leading an excellent instrumental lineup.
As with many studio recordings instruments appeared panned into position within the stereo image. Instrumental imaging and placement was solid with no instruments hard panned to either the left or right hand speakers, nor was there any hum or overtly obvious compression. However there was some non-intrusive gentle hiss that was apparent during quieter passages. The kit stereo image was set slightly back showing a little height for the cymbals with additional percussion placed mid center>left. Roseanna’s vocals were dead center and right out front together with the pianos stereo image that was spread mid-left to mid-right, the electric guitar placed center>left of center, the sax placed just right of center with the double bass just behind Roseanna. Most instrumental images appeared in the same horizontal plane with a shallow depth perspective all pushing to the front-center during breaks and solos.
Overall dynamics were good with the individual musical parts being enjoyable and all instruments sounding natural, having good detail, sparkle and openness. Instrumental solos and breaks abound for the piano, sax, bass, with a few short breaks for the kit.
Roseanna stands front and center of each mix with good presence. Her dynamics did not seem to be overly restricted having a generally warm and mellow tone that occasionally produced a slightly hard mid-range. Her annunciation and scatting being clear and concise with no undue emphasis to any part of her vocal range and her close miking only occasionally producing a little sibilance.
The acoustic piano provided a broad image set up-front just behind Roseanna’s vocals. Rarely showing any key, damper or action noise and having a bright dynamic sound, with good attack, and a clean light bodied tone.
The sax is generally sat slightly back just right of center behind Roseanna, coming to front center on all of its breaks and solos, T3, T4 and T8, and providing plenty of room presence. It presented two very different tones; the first was soft, gentle and mellow, almost melancholy, the second clean and open with a bright brassy edge, plenty of depth and a little reed and breath noise but never sounding hard or strident.
The guitar on T6 was imaged center>left of center. Having no breaks or solos, and being well integrated “into” the mix I leave the listener to judge its sound quality.
The acoustic double bass sat generally behind Roseanna never getting lost in the mix and coming to the front during its solos/breaks on T9, T10 and T11. Its tone was generally deep and solid with a rolling depth. During the various solos and breaks it displayed good presence with a tight well defined string action and a little finger and neck noise. It provided several tight duets with the piano; T2, T4 and T5 and Roseanna, T11.
The kit was set slightly back being imaged from mid-way left > mid-way right, providing several impressive short breaks on T8. The cymbals and hi-hat were bright and well detailed with no signs of a hard edge, the snare and toms were well damped with a short ring, the snare sounding particularly mellow, rim work was impactful and brush work on T5, T8 and T10 well detailed. The kick drum created a dull well damped thud, with a little beater noise raising its head on several of the short breaks. Additional percussion could be heard set back mid-way center to left that included wood blocks, snare etc.
There are notable levels of long synthetic reverb on all tracks that “fills out” the studio acoustics providing warmth to the performance. This is very obvious on the T12 vocals where I found the echo and reverb levels a little distracting.
Released digitally for the first time this CD makes for a good listen, and I am sure old fans and newcomers alike will enjoy both Rosanne’s vocals and the tight instrumental lineup, breaks and solos.
Playback note: Reviewed using my Denon DBP A100 over Denon Link 3. Speakers; a stereo pair of Genelec 1038’s and four SVS subs.
Disclosure: This CD was provided by Mouthpiece Music for my review. No financial compensation was provided.
Purchase the CD from Roseanne’s web site, or from Amazon.
See my other Mouthpiece Music reviews.
