Andrea Celeste - My Reflection

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:11
Size: 143,7 MB
Art: Front

( 4:23) 1. Real
( 3:56) 2. My Reflection
( 3:28) 3. I Don't Wanna Play This Game
( 3:29) 4. It Ain't Necessarily So
( 4:23) 5. The Power Of Our Love
( 5:09) 6. I'm Glad There Is You
( 4:27) 7. A Thought Away
( 4:55) 8. Seven Days
( 3:49) 9. Blue Is The Colour Of Love
( 3:26) 10. There's No Other Place
( 3:02) 11. Take My Hand
( 2:31) 12. Stand By Me In The Night
(12:06) 13. You Say Goodbye

It's surprising to hear the debut of a mature vocalist, gifted with a deep and expressive voice, only to find that she is but 21 years old and wrote most of the songs on My Reflection. Italian vocalist Andrea Celeste began studying piano and classical singing at the age of eleven, and was later trained in gospel choirs and seminars by American singer Cheryl Porter. My Reflection was recorded in 2007 with some of Italy's finest jazz musicians.

The songs, in English, deal with some of the most banal aspects of love and relationships, more with the peaks than the valleys. Celeste sings with wise and elegant phrasing and a warm and expressive voice, portraying an innocent belief in the power of the romantic word. Her ability to entrust herself fully in the hands of her accompanying musicians, wins attention time after time. Robero "Robbo" Vigo's wise production spices each song with new color, mainly by adding new musicians to the core trio of pianist Gianluca Tagliazucchi, bassist Dino Cerruti and drummer Rodolfo Cervetto heard on "I Don't Wanna Play This Game," where Massimo Currò's guitar adds a relaxed and breezy touch, not far from the sound of Pat Metheny.

Celeste's readings of the Gershwin brothers' standard "It Ain't Necessarily So" and Jimmy Dorsey's "I'm Glad There Is You" are masterful. Accompanied by pianist Dado Moroni and bassist Pietro Leveratto on the former and pianist Andrea Pozza on the latter, Celeste opts for a straightforward approach to singing the words, knowing that her strong voice is enough to carry the lyrics and nothing more is needed beyond a minimalist sketching of the melody. She resurrects Sting's "Seven Days" with beautiful and playful phrasing, recalling Sting's ability to write intelligent lyrics.

Celeste manages to sound far too optimistic for someone her age on her original tracks the lovely opener, "Real," that resurfaces in a slightly different version as a hidden bonus track; the more meditative "A Thought Away" and "There's No Other Place," both aided by Robero Izzo's folksy violin; and the believable sadness conveyed in "You Say Goodbye." Throughout, Celeste's voice is captivating, conveying a wide spectrum of colors and shades, with an assured vocal command and elegant presentation.~ EYAL HAREUVENI https://www.allaboutjazz.com/my-reflection-andrea-celeste-philology-jazz-records-review-by-eyal-hareuveni

Personnel: Andrea Celeste: vocals; Gianluca Tagliazucchi: piano; Dino Cerruti: double-bass; Rodolfo Cervetto: drums; Dado Moroni: piano; Andrea Pozza: piano; Enzo Zirelli: drums; Ricardo Fioravant: double-bass; Pietro Leveratto; double-bass; Stefano Cabrera: cello: Roberto Izzo: violin; GNU Quartet: Marco Moro: bass flute; Massimo Curr

My Reflection

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Andrea Celeste & Andrea Pozza - Enter Eyes

Size: 132,9 MB
Time: 57:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2009
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals, Swing
Art: Front

01. Blackbird (3:16)
02. Taking A Chance On Love (3:41)
03. I'll Be There For You (3:54)
04. Gull's Flight (5:24)
05. This Masquerade (3:51)
06. Dancing Fog (4:05)
07. Love Is The Way (3:29)
08. Black And Blue (3:42)
09. Dinah (3:10)
10. Blue Skies (3:14)
11. All In Love Is Fair (5:37)
12. Pure Immagination (3:22)
13. Bridge Over Troubled Water (5:26)
14. You Don't Know What Love Is (4:59)

Andrea Celeste was born on August 31st 1986 in Pontedera, a small town in the Tuscan countryside close to Pisa. Since her childhood she’s always been keen on music – she spent hours playing her sisters’ keyboard and singing on the stairs outside her home, fascinated by the acoustics of that place. She played with notes and, without being fully aware of it, she started composing her first melodies. Music started as a game and soon became passion and commitment. Celeste was just eleven years old when she started studying piano and classical singing with Vittorio Scali. The encounter with this awesome teacher marked her musical life for good: he taught her the foundations of vocal technique and the strategies to ‘find her own voice’. His personal and technical advice has been fundamental for Celeste.

Her talent is undeniable – still a young girl, she started performing in public, and in her teenage years she started collaborating with important gospel artists like the Massimo Bracci’s St. Jacob’s Gospel Choir. Only a 14-year-old girl, Celeste made her debut in the world of gospel music with this choir and had the chance of meeting American singer Cheryl Porter. Cheryl had been invited to sing with the St. Jacob’s Choir – as luck would have it, one of the choir soloists got ill and Andrea Celeste was picked to replace her. Cheryl Porter had a chance to listen to her singing and was deeply struck by her gorgeous voice. So she invited Celeste to sing at the international workshop Gospel in Castel Brando (2002), where she was awarded a scholarship. Celeste shared the opening stage with Cheryl Porter, with Italian jazz singer Mario Biondi and with several young artists. Performing at the Castel Brando workshop was a chance to meet top artists like Terron Brooks, Ashley Davis, Huntley Brown, Michael and Regina Winans. She carried on studying and improving her vocal technique and she took part to several in-depth courses.

Enter Eyes

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