New Orleans’ Gabrielle Cavassa releases ‘Diavola’ | Music | Gambit Weekly

Gabrielle Cavassa released several singles in advance of her major label debut on Blue Note Records, “Diavola,” which arrives Friday, May 1.

They include a dip into singing in Italian on “Angelo,” and she recorded her rendition of “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote the song for the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and B.J. Thomas’ breezy version became a No. 1 single on Billboard’s charts in the U.S. and beyond.

Cavassa’s version is slower and sweet but more contemplative. It’s also sort of a sentimental choice for her.

“That song was on a music box that was given to me by my mom when I was little, and it was her music box when she was little,” Cavassa says. “So I had this little music box and I loved It. It’s one of the first songs I ever learned. It’s like it’s been stuck in my head my whole life, and I just love the song.”

The song’s sense of knowing things will get better also fits Cavassa’s sense of determination.

“I am a deep optimist cloaked in this Eeyore, melancholic-like attitude,” she says. “I don’t appear optimistic. I come across as dark and melancholic, but beneath that burns within me a deep and powerful optimism.”

Cavassa also describes herself as a bit of a perfectionist, and the vocalist’s often impassioned delivery of the songs on “Diavola” show the dedication paid off. Her voice shines on a collection of covers and originals with a spare, acoustic feel.

“Raindrops Keep Falling” also has a beautiful solo by saxophonist Joshua Redman, who co-produced the album with Don Was, president of Blue Note and producer of landmark albums by everyone from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones to Iggy Pop and the B-52s.

Redman and Cavassa have been collaborating since he asked her to sing on what turned out to be his Blue Note debut, 2023’s “Where Are We,” an album of covers featuring songs about places.

Cavassa’s “Diavola” has a few lighter, sunnier songs. One of her original compositions is “Bossy Nova,” a tune she wrote on guitar drawing inspiration from Brazilian syncopation. The lyrics talk of a dreamy moment on Italy’s Amalfi coast and swimming naked in the ocean. It’s about both escapism and wanting more in life but also realizing a sense of satisfaction.

“It’s about ultimately choosing the dream and the path I am already on,” Cavassa says.

Some of the songs are about love, though not in a neat pop song kind of way.

“I believe in love,” she says. “I think it is the driving force of our lives. I don’t believe in the fairy tale of it. I know I often feel inclined to express the vulnerability that it brings. It’s not always pain, but there’s always vulnerability.”

“Angelo” is Luigi Tenco’s song about the end of a relationship as one difficult partner suddenly realizes they’ve pushed a partner too far. Cavassa sings it in the original Italian, in a robust and emotionally charged version.

Also in Italian is “La notte dell’addio,” a gentler break up song about being ready to move on.

The centerpiece of the album is the title track, which also takes some Italian inspiration. While “diavolo” means the Devil, “diavola” is a dangerous and powerful woman, with the connotation of a temptress.

Cavassa makes “Diavola” the name of a character she assumes in the song, she says.

“It’s like an alter ego that allows you to access greater honesty,” she says. “The truth of Diavola is that she’s flawed, and I don’t want to be. She is able to access things I am not able to. She can be vain and all these qualities I don’t want to see in myself.

“I wanted to evoke the feelings of wanting to trust somebody, but you don’t. You want to give yourself over, but then it was a bad idea.”

Cavassa wrote the song with Alexander Warshawsky, but it’s a showpiece for her singing.

The band on the album includes drummer and former New Orleanian Brian Blade, bassist Larry Grenadier, guitarist Jeff Parker and pianist Paul Cornish, who’s in Redman’s band. Redman contributes solos on “Raindrops Keep Falling” and a cover of Barry Manilow’s “Could It Be Magic,” which Redman and Cavassa have performed often on tour.

Though Redman is from the Bay Area and Cavassa lived there before moving to New Orleans in 2017, they were first connected in New Orleans after his manager heard Cavassa sing at a wedding. Redman soon invited her to record an album with him, and it was recorded at New Orleans’ Esplanade Studios and later released on Blue Note. It was the first time he recorded an album with a vocalist.

Cavassa shared first place in the 2021 International Sarah Vaughn Jazz Vocal Competition. But the album and subsequent tour with Redman raised her profile and put her on top jazz stages. Since then, she’s done several shows with Redman, as producers often seek to book the two together. When Was wanted to sign her to Blue Note and do an album, Redman supported her.

If there was any pressure moving up to a major label, it helped.

“Luckily, I like pressure,” she says. “I do the best with pressure. I felt being part of a legacy that deep was important to me, I really wanted to make something worthy of it.”

This week, she’ll officially release the album with three nights of shows at New York’s legendary jazz club Birdland.

For more on “Diavola,” visit gabriellecavassa.com.