recordings
albums
2006 - 2024
Easy to Love
2007 Grammy Award Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
The "Easy to Love" album was recorded at legendary Capitol Studios in LA by the great engineer Al Schmitt. Featuring Master James Moody, bassists John Clayton and Chuck Berghofer, pianists Tamir Hendelman and ( as a special guest on one tune) Gerald Clayton, and drummers Joe La Barbera and Willie Jones III, it has been reissued in 2023 as Vinyl Special Audiophile Edition.
Dedications - Duo with Jeb Patton
In 2018, Roberta recorded a collection of favorite tunes in duo with pianist Jeb Patton, as a special release destined for the Japanese market. This album is a tribute to the great singers who inspired her since childhood, as well as a love letter to the Japanese audiences who have been so supportive of Roberta's music through the years.
2019
2017
Connecting Spirits - with the Heath Brothers Band
Roberta Gambarini sings the Jimmy Heath songbook
Recorded in 2015, this album is a collaboration between Roberta and her mentor Jimmy Heath. Along with the Heath Brothers Band (Jazz Master Tootie Heath, pianist Jeb Patton and bassist David Wong) and a number of guests, Roberta and Jimmy perform 14 tunes from Master Heath’s songbook. Executive producer for this session is Jimmy’s son Mtume.
The Shadow of Your Smile - Homage to Japan
In the year 2012, one year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan and destroyed the nuclear plant of Fukushima, Roberta took place to a relief concert for the victims of this calamity, at Sony Hall in NYC. Shortly after, she recorded a special session, expressly dedicated to Japan. Accompanied by a stellar rhythm section featuring Masters George Cables (piano) and Victor Lewis (drums), and bassist Jon Webber, Roberta recorded a selection of songs beloved by Japanese audiences.
2013
2010
So in Love
2010 Grammy Award Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
This award-winning album was recorded by the great engineer Al Schmitt at Capitol Studio in Los Angeles and features a superb cast of musicians accompanying Roberta on a journey through songs spanning from the Great American Songbook to Willie Nelson, from jazz tunes by Johnny Griffin to Michel Legrand and beyond. Roberta’s mentor and saxophone Legend James Moody and long time associate and friend, jazz Great Roy Hargrove, add their magic to a number of tunes of this album as special guests.
I'm BeBoppin' Too
With the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars Big Band
2009
The follow-up to 'Dizzy's Business', this album features many of the greatest players in jazz, such as Masters Frank Wess, Jimmy Heath and James Moody (who trades improvised scat choruses with Roberta on Tadd Dameron's be-bop classic 'Cool Breeze'), the great pianist Cyrus chestnut, and trumpet Great Claudio Roditi. It also features some new and fresh versions of songs from composers such as Thelonious Monk ( with the now-iconic Slide Hampton arrangement of 'Round Midnight', which Slide penned expressly for Roberta), and Tadd Dameron (a gorgeous arrangement written by Jimmy Heath, including the rarely heard verse).
2009
Emergence - With the Roy Hargroove Big Band
2010 Grammy Nominated Roy Hargroove Big Band
For over a decade, Roberta was the singer with the Roy Hargrove Big Band. This ensemble toured nationally and internationally, performing in the biggest Festivals and theaters in the world such as Monterey Jazz Festival, Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City and Tokyo, the Hollywood Bowl, and many more. In this album, Roberta sings Roy Hargrove's gorgeous arrangement of the bolero classic 'La Puerta', which became a staple of the band's repertoire as well as a favorite feature for the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band, and a beautiful arrangement of Cole Porter's classic 'Every time we say goodbye',written by the band's guitarist Saul Rubin.
You Are There - Duo with Hank Jones
French Academy of Jazz 2009 Vocal Album of the Year Award.
This multi Award-winning recording, soon to be reissued as Audiophile Vinyl Special Edition, is the fruit of a long collaboration (and friendship) between Roberta and NEA Jazz Master Hank Hones. Recorded in NYC in 2007 at Nola Studio by engineer Jim Czak, it features a wide range of compositions, from Irving Berlin and Billy Strayhorn to rarely heard songs by Bebop Master Gigi Gryce.’
2007
2005
Dizzy's Business
With the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars Big Band
The album marks the beginning of Roberta’s journey as the singer for the world renowned Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band. Among the special arrangements created for Roberta by Masters Slide Hampton and Jimmy Heath, are Jimmy’s tune “Moody’s Groove”, and a gorgeous readaptation of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” that Slide Hampton expressly tailored on Roberta’s voice and musicality.
Aprèslude
The album, in duo with guitarist and composer Antonio Scarano, was recorded and released in Italy in 1991, and received high praise throughout Europe. The repertoire is vast and challenging, ranging from originals to compositions by Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk, and jazz interpretations of melodies by Maurice Ravel and Vincenzo Bellini. Harpist Loredana Gintoli and cellist Amerigo Daveri play on some of the selections, and Roberta overdubs her voice multiple times in a special arrangement of Miles Davis’ classic ‘Nefertiti’. ‘
