Roseanna Vitro
Roseanna Vitro, jazz vocalist
Allen Farnham, piano
Dean Johnson, bass
Tim Horner, drums
January 31, 2007
8:00 p.m.
The Natalie Davis Rooke Recital Hall in the Sigfriend Weis Music Building - Free
ROSEANNA VITRO brings a wealth of swing, melodic improvisation, and heartfelt expression tothe jazz idiom. Combining a vibrant, energetic spirit and a deep understanding of the history andtheoretical elements of jazz with her rhythmic, soulful southern roots, she produces her own uniquesound and style. Her many CDs have featured Elvin Jones, “Fat Head” Newman, George Coleman, AlFoster, Kenny Barron, Kenny Werner, Gary Bartz, and Fred Hersch. She was inducted into theArkansas Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998 along with Bob Dorough and John Stubbelfield. This honor was a great homecoming and return to her roots.
Roseanna grew up in Texarkana, Arkansas, and moved to Houston, Texas, where she was mentored by the great Arnett Cobb. After asuccessful run in Houston at the Greenroom where she presented live radio shows and sang with the likes of Oscar Peterson, she moved to NewYork City. Soon after her arrival, she toured with jazz great Lionel Hampton and became a regular at The Blue Note, Fat Tuesday's, Birdland, andThe Five Spot. She gave a concert at Town Hall with Steve Allen.
Roseanna had been a “Jazz Ambassador” long before she was discovered by the Kennedy Center. In 2003, she performed three concertsto packed houses for the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, with Hilton Ruiz and Andrew Jones to packed houses. On an extended trip toBombay, India in 1998, Roseanna began to study in Indian classical vocal technique, which was documented in her recent article in the IAJE magazine. The article’s title, From Bebop to Bombay, also served as the name of her eclectic ensemble that debuted at Birdland in New York, featuring Renee Rosnes on piano, Don Braden on sax, Dan Weiss on tablas, Tim Horner on drums, Bob Bowen on bass, and Classical Indianvocalist Usha Kallianpurkar. Arts International sponsored her November 2002 appearance in Bombay, India, for the Jazz Yatra Festival.Roseanna was also featured with The Maribor Philharmonic in Slovenia on their 2001 Christmas Concert televised throughout Eastern Europe(video available).
Jazz pianist.Marian McPartland has featured Roseanna on NPR’s Piano Jazz twice recently, as well as recording Cool Yule with herfor an NPR Christmas CD. In May 2003, Roseanna performed with the legendary Benny Golson at the The New Jersey Performing Arts Center.Additionally in 2003, she was featured at The Roswell Center in Atlanta with Freddie Cole and at The Virginia Arts Festival. Other recentperformance highlights around the country include: The Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center, Frank Foster's 70th Birthday Concertfor NPR, Newark Jazz Festival, Charles Earland's Jazz Cruise, Dallas Museum of Art Festival with George Coleman, Caravan of Dreams withTower of Power, Santa Barbara Jazz Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival recorded live for NPR, Clearwater Jazz Festival, Houston Jazz Fest, BET onJazz with Ramsey Lewis, Chicago's Green Mill, a United States Airmen of Note concert and Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., and stints in LosAngeles at the Jazz Bakery and the Catalina Bar.
Roseanna is currently in her ninth year as Director of the Jazz Vocal Program at New Jersey City University. She was a resident facultymember at SUNY Purchase from 1999 through 2002. She has taught vocal jazz at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Gifted Teens Programfor five years and at Janice Borla's Vocal Jazz Camp in Naperville, Illinois (2003). She has provided clinics and instruction at the University ofCinncinati, University of Southern California, Houston Community College, Memphis State University, North Texas State University, The JazzWorkshop in Nashville,Webster University in St. Louis, and the University of Miami.
coming events on the series
Wednesday, February 28
Pianist & composer Steve Rudolph & friends
a cabaret jazz festival performance
Wednesday, March 28
Acclaimed pop-jazz vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway
