Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas on February 28, 1951 and began singing at an early age, drawing inspiration from various musical genres like gospel from her mother’s side of the family, rock and R&B, theatre and classical. During the 1950s, her father owned a nightclub in Hot Springs called The Flamingo and he loved Dean Martin’s music and opera. . By the 1960s, Vitro was determined to be a rock singer.

She was exposed to jazz and it became her genre of choice after moving to Houston in the 1970s. It was there that Ray Sulienger discovered her and voice coached her and presented her to the Houston Jazz Community. Vitro sang frequently with tenor Arnett Cobb.

She worked for two years in Houston’s Green Room with her group Roseanna with Strings and Things, hosted a radio show on KUHF-FM, featuring guests like Cobb. Many jazz greats stopped in and played with Strings and Things, like Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Tommy Flanagan and Keter Betts. Encouraged to dedicate herself to jazz, in 1978 Roseanna moved to New York City with guitarist Scott Hardy and began to study with Professor Gabore Carellia at the Manhattan School of Music.

Vitro started performing with Kenny Werner and Fred Hersch, sat in with and ultimately toured with Lionel Hampton, and appeared at all the major New York jazz clubs. She also appeared with Steve Allen, recorded an album of his compositions and performed and recorded live with Kenny Werner at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Throughout her career she has collaborated and recorded with Christian McBride, Elvin Jones, Gary Bartz, Kevin Mahogany, and David “Fathead” Newman. She has thirteen albums under her belt and a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album for The Music of Randy Newman. She has been inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame, a U.S. Jazz Ambassador for The John F. Kennedy Center and U.S. State Department, and The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad featured artist with her band JazzIAm.

As an educator Roseanna Vitro has taught Vocal Jazz at State University of New York at Purchase and currently at New Jersey City University and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. As a clinician she holds frequent workshops, clinics and master classes.

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