Rick Holland: Thanks Roseanna for spending some time with us and our listeners at JR 247. I’d like to start by asking how you fell in love with jazz?

 Roseanna Vitro:  Hey Richard, thanks so much for taking the time for this interview.  I fell in love with  jazz music when I was  21 years old shortly after I had moved to Houston , Texas to find my  fame and fortune as a rock n' roll and blues singer.  I  love the blues and in my travels I  hooked up with bassist, Tommy Clarkson who introduced me to Arnett Cobb, the great Texas tenor man. Also with vocalist, pianist, sax player, Ray Sullenger. Ray could sing like Nat Cole and Mel Torme. When I sat in  with him he told me that I was a natural jazz singer. I had never heard any jazz in my hometown of Texarkana, Ark. My mother's family are all gospel/country singers and my dad was  like "Tony  Soprano.”  He loved Italian opera and Dean Martin, so I had  a nice variety of colors in my background.  After Ray Sullenger and Arnett dug my singing, I started studying with Ray and  sleeping at night with  headphones on , listening and learning from tapes that Ray would make for me. I began learning all the great jazz tunes.  I fell in love with the music and I've never looked back.

RH: Who absolutely inspires you in today’s scene? When you hear this person, that you just want to perform?

RV:  I am inspired by Nancy King, Sonny  Rollins, Kenny Werner, Kurt Elling, and Shirley Horn. There are many of  my comrads that inspire me.  Like say, Pete McGuiness, now if I could arrange, play the trombone and scat like Pete, that would be  a nice new level. This is something I aspire to.  Don Braden is another inspiration and  mentor for me. He improves continually. He does whatever he needs to do to get out there and keep playing and teaching.

RH: What are some things you do to prepare for big performances? Do you have a daily routine?

RV:   I am preparing right now for three weeks in various venues, situations and bands  that I will encounter on the road, in support of my new cd. The recording is on the JazzWeek chart right now and you need to get out there if you can, when you're getting airplay. I try to exercise as often as possible. I have  practice cd.'s that  I hand make  with vocal exercises,  bebop heads, backgrounds.   I teach myself ear training exercises. I listen and I  practice with these methods when I'm  driving around.  I also make various versions of this model for clinics on the road.  At this point, I wear so many hats that I do not have the kind of routine that I 'd like to have immersed in serious practice.  I remember speaking to Lynn Arriale a few years back and chatting with her about the self-promotion situation and how many hours it takes to  book yourself and make all of the arrangements, you try to know take care of everything, as the leader of the band. Your practice definitely suffers, but I will not be in promotion  or much longer on my new project and I'll be able to focus more on my  piano playing and composing and practicing.

RH: Are there things outside music that help to complete you musically?

RV:  I am definitely interested in life, family, politics and fun. I am very fulfilled by  having a wonderful daughter and husband. My daughter recently graduated from NYU with honors in film and animation. She is  now working at Curious Pictures in Manhattan and she can make a great looking cd.cover too!   My husband is Paul Wickliffe, one of the baddest recording engineers on the planet. After twenty four years of marriage and ten albums down the road, we still have great conversations and he is very political. You can imagine how that goes these days, there is plenty to talk about. Paul is also a great lyricist and he wrote two sets of lyrics on my new recording. The brilliant lyrics to Bill Evan's 'Twelve Tone Tune' is also Paul’s, he is at his best and is also heartfelt. "Commitment", a tune on my new project, here, Paul and Kenny Werner wrote together some years back. I'm very lucky to have a great team at home.

RH: What is some of your educational background? Any important  teachers that helped to shape and mold you?

RV:  I graduated from high school, took  a couple of years of courses at Texarkana College and then hit the road for 'life' school. All along the way, I have studied privately with a variety of brilliant and inspiring teachers.  I still study voice from time to time with Barbara Maier in Manhattan. Your voice changes up as you mature, so it's an ongoing process when your instrument is in your body and susceptible to allergies, acid reflux and all manner of elements (like the air on airplanes, etc).

Ann Marie Moss was also a major force when I got to NYC. Ann is the bionic voice. What an amazing singer. She really helped me discover who I am and what I had to say. Not what Ella had to say or Nancy or Carmen or Sarah. When I first got together with her, she says, "Who are you"?  And some of her technique exercises, I use in my own teaching today. Donna Jewel was an early teacher in NY, who was known for being totally free and out there. I always had interest in singing 'free' - no paper, no rules, just be musical and listen.

Fred Hersch and Kenny Werner have both been teachers for me and they taught me so much, especially since they are so different, yet amazing musicians. Also I studied opera in my first two years in NYC with Gabore Carelli, from the Manhattan School of Music

I thought about being an opera singer in the early days, but after two years of study, I changed my mind. I decided, it is more fun to improvise and  swing.  I studied some piano with David Leonhart and he helped me with some of my freak out concerning theory and the keyboard! Also I went to India a few years ago and studied the Classical Indian vocalese for two months. That definitely had an effect on my head and my singing. Indian music, and it’s concept, has a whole chapter into itself, and deeply affected my music. And last but not least, all of  the great musicians that I have put together in rhythm sections, teach me still today. We are always learning.

RH: Speaking of Jazz education, do you think it’s working within the walls of institution? Where do you feel it really began to “click” with you?

RV: For me the theoretical knowledge, math, practice, scales, chords, harmony was always difficult for me. No one would have ever guessed that I would become a teacher. I come to the table as someone who had  much too much energy and not enough focus.I had  a natural talent as a singer, but  getting into the  serious work  as a musician was difficult for me. I've  written about this and it has helped me in my own teaching with students that must be tied to a chair  to focus. If I could  learn theory, well there is hope for everyone! I think the developing  jazz programs  in  high schools and colleges are great, as it perpetuates  knowledge of our art form. Now whether or not, theory and harmony learned in a class room will give you 'soul' and swing like Ray Brown - now that's another question.

I think many of the school programs are still shaking out.  For example: I taught at NY's, SUNY Purchase for four years. Doug Monroe had a great concept of treating the singers the same as the instrumentalists - great.  But - when the singers were put into class room ensembles to  improvise with the  instrumentalists, then naturally they would fall on their faces and feel retarded.  Why? Because  when you study  classical or show singing, no one makes  you learn scales and chords  in the same way that jazz instrumentalists  learn in anticipation of playing jazz. In the old days, most voice teachers  would give  technique and you would run all major scales...duh...well that's why the singers could only 'hear' major scales.  And  "Time" nobody talked about metronomes?  Fortunately, this is a new day in jazz education and vocalists like Judy Niemack, Michele Weir, Bob Stoloff  are writing great books with good  idea's for practicing and hearing  the same as instrumentalists. This is why I put together  my own  packet and cd of instruction for each semester and each clinic that I teach.  I literally combine my own exercises with highlights from various books that I am studying and learning from myself.

RH: Your new recording “Live at the Kennedy Center” features a brilliant rhythm section, headed by Kenny Werner. Did  Kenny do a lot of these arrangements? Or was it a group effort?  

RV: Kenny Werner  has  written  several  incredible arrangements for me.  We go back five cd.'s now and that's not counting  our Steve Allen  project.  "Live at the Kennedy Center" really  was  primarily loose and not arranged, intentionally.  For example, the intro to  Like Someone in Love  he definitely wrote that in response to my asking him to write something that exemplified 'crazy  love- new hot love.'  Everyone always  plays that song so sweetly, but I decided I wanted something wild and crazy and  Kenny gave it to me!  Twelve Tone Tune by Bill Evans, lyrics by my husband Paul. Now this one, Kenny and Tim and Dean worked on in rehearsal. What a trip to sing that melody..man. Epilogue, by Bill Evans  also,  that was  spontaneous, as was most of the rest of the record. The intro  to "Do Somethin'" was written out by Kenny too, but almost everything  was  a run down in rehearsal and  then the hit!  Clearly we needed no practice on  Black Coffee and Trying Times, I had been  playing on the Ambassador Tours with Tim and Dean. Serrado, I think Scott Hardy may have  written that out for me years ago. Scott is a great guitarist  that I  played with in Texas years ago and we moved to NYC together.  Scott wrote many of my charts  in the early days.  Also in recent years, I certainly want to mention Joe Elefante, a young pianist in Jersey who I met at New Jersey City University and he has written  a lot of charts for me too and toured with me.

I think the developing  jazz programs  in  high schools and colleges are great, as it perpetuates  knowledge of our art form. Now whether or not, theory and harmony learned in a class room will give you 'soul' and swing like Ray Brown - now that's another question.

RH: When Kenny comes up some daring innovations in the music, how has that shaped you?

RV: Kenny has given me ear training lessons and teaches me everytime I sing with him. If I were to go thru my big book of arrangements that Kenny has written for me, man there are some amazing musical moments.  My recording "Reaching for the Moon" Kenny wrote an unbelievable arrangement on the title track and on I Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You, The Island, In the Name of Love and Milton Nascimento's Cancao Do Sal was a masterpiece arrangement. I literally recorded that with a full orchestra a couple of years back in Slovenia.

 Then our recording of Passion Dance, where we had Elvin Jones, paired with Kenny and Christian McBride. We had some absolutely killin' arrangements, a couple of the most well known were  Whisper Not and Freedom Jazz Dance and  Out of This World. My ears were smiling throughout. And then we added Gary Bartz into the mix, you can't have more fun than that. Last but not least was my Ray Charles tribute Catchin' Some Rays and Kenny once again came thru with some unbelievable arrangements to One Mint Julep, Tell Me You'll Wait for Me.

I had a Bill Evans tribute in between the Ray Charles project and then Tropical Postcards, followed in 2004 and once again. Kenny wrote a whole new set of amazing arrangements and we featured Joe Lovano on that recording. I could write endlessly on the musicians and projects that I have been lucky enough to record and put out. Fred Hersch has also had a strong effect on me musically and we did record some great music together, as well as Allen Farnham and Mark Soskin too. All  of these people are great musicians.

RH: I’ve always been a big fan of Tim Horner, how have you enjoyed the timbres and colors Tim has brought to the group? He really swings doesn’t he?

RV:  I have loved Tim's playing for many years. I think I first met Tim in the early 80's. I used to be absolutely afraid of Tim. He was so smart and so on it and I would become mute when  he would ask me what I want, which is NOT normal for me!!..haa!!!...So, all of these years, down the road, projects, gigs and now this recording has made me  "Tim Horner" spoiled. Tim is a consummate musician. 

When Tim Horner solo's you can hear the melody, all different colors and shades, dynamics and he is always 'driving' the band, swinging like crazy or really swinging in any time feel. There is never a feeling that the band is draggin' or not kicking.

Tim and Dean Johnson and Joe Elefante toured the Balkans in 2004 with me as US Jazz Ambassadors and in that six week period of playing six nights a week, we bonded like crazy.You can imagine all manner of situations from the hills of Albania to the Ambassadors dinners, we did it all.  

I have to say more about Dean Johnson too. Dean Johnson played for many years with jazz great, Gerry Mulligan. Dean hails from Seattle and he is one of the baddest bassists on the scene today. He has a big fat sound, he's always in tune and his solo's are out of this world. If Dean were more aggressive and not busy raising a nine year old in Brooklyn, you would hear even more about him. I am very lucky to play with these cats.

RH: Any future goals, recording projects, tours you’d like us to know about?

RV:  Well there's always  the next plan. A group that I put together a couple of years back after my studies in India was "From Bebop to Bombay."  This group featured Renee Rosnes on piano, Don Braden on  tenor, Dan Weiss on tabla's, Bob Bowen on bass and Tim Horner on drums.   Usha Kallynpurkar sang and scatted with me on vocals. I need to resurrect and record this band. It was an amazing  listening  experience to hear an Indian singer blowing over the blues!  As long as you have the correct raga scale, plus a pianist who knows what to do with it, there are so many new possibilities. I've also desired to do a big band project, a blues project and an original music project, so onward in our journey.

RH: Thanks for spending some time with us. We think you’re a very dynamic and original voice, and we wish you continued success.

For more information about Roseanna Vitro: RoseannaVitro.com