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<\/p>\n Gabrielle Cavassa<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Gabrielle Cavassa released several singles in advance of her major label debut on Blue Note Records, \u201cDiavola,\u201d which arrives<\/a> Friday, May 1.<\/p>\n They include a dip into singing in Italian on \u201cAngelo,\u201d and she recorded her rendition of \u201cRaindrops Keep Falling on My Head.\u201d Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote the song for the movie \u201cButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,\u201d and B.J. Thomas\u2019 breezy version became a No. 1 single on Billboard\u2019s charts in the U.S. and beyond.<\/p>\n Cavassa\u2019s version is slower and sweet but more contemplative. It\u2019s also sort of a sentimental choice for her.<\/p>\n \u201cThat 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,\u201d Cavassa says. \u201cSo I had this little music box and I loved It. It\u2019s one of the first songs I ever learned. It\u2019s like it\u2019s been stuck in my head my whole life, and I just love the song.\u201d<\/p>\n The song\u2019s sense of knowing things will get better also fits Cavassa\u2019s sense of determination.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a deep optimist cloaked in this Eeyore, melancholic-like attitude,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t appear optimistic. I come across as dark and melancholic, but beneath that burns within me a deep and powerful optimism.\u201d<\/p>\n Cavassa also describes herself as a bit of a perfectionist, and the vocalist\u2019s often impassioned delivery of the songs on \u201cDiavola\u201d show the dedication paid off. Her voice shines on a collection of covers and originals with a spare, acoustic feel.<\/p>\n \u201cRaindrops Keep Falling\u201d also has a beautiful solo by saxophonist Joshua Redman<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Redman and Cavassa<\/a> have been collaborating since he asked her to sing on what turned out to be his Blue Note debut, 2023\u2019s \u201cWhere Are We,\u201d an album of covers featuring songs about places.<\/p>\n Cavassa\u2019s \u201cDiavola\u201d has a few lighter, sunnier songs. One of her original compositions is \u201cBossy Nova,\u201d a tune she wrote on guitar drawing inspiration from Brazilian syncopation. The lyrics talk of a dreamy moment on Italy\u2019s Amalfi coast and swimming naked in the ocean. It\u2019s about both escapism and wanting more in life but also realizing a sense of satisfaction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about ultimately choosing the dream and the path I am already on,\u201d Cavassa says.<\/p>\n Some of the songs are about love, though not in a neat pop song kind of way.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in love,\u201d she says. \u201cI think it is the driving force of our lives. I don\u2019t believe in the fairy tale of it. I know I often feel inclined to express the vulnerability that it brings. It\u2019s not always pain, but there\u2019s always vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAngelo\u201d is Luigi Tenco\u2019s song about the end of a relationship as one difficult partner suddenly realizes they\u2019ve pushed a partner too far. Cavassa sings it in the original Italian, in a robust and emotionally charged version.<\/p>\n Also in Italian is \u201cLa notte dell\u2019addio,\u201d a gentler break up song about being ready to move on.<\/p>\n The centerpiece of the album is the title track, which also takes some Italian inspiration. While \u201cdiavolo\u201d means the Devil, \u201cdiavola\u201d is a dangerous and powerful woman, with the connotation of a temptress.<\/p>\n Cavassa makes \u201cDiavola\u201d the name of a character she assumes in the song, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like an alter ego that allows you to access greater honesty,\u201d she says. \u201cThe truth of Diavola is that she\u2019s flawed, and I don\u2019t want to be. She is able to access things I am not able to. She can be vain and all these qualities I don\u2019t want to see in myself.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to evoke the feelings of wanting to trust somebody, but you don\u2019t. You want to give yourself over, but then it was a bad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Cavassa wrote the song with Alexander Warshawsky, but it\u2019s a showpiece for her singing.<\/p>\n The band on the album includes drummer and former New Orleanian Brian Blade, bassist Larry Grenadier, guitarist Jeff Parker and pianist Paul Cornish, who\u2019s in Redman\u2019s band. Redman contributes solos on \u201cRaindrops Keep Falling\u201d and a cover of Barry Manilow\u2019s \u201cCould It Be Magic,\u201d which Redman and Cavassa have performed often on tour.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 Esplanade Studios and later released on Blue Note. It was the first time he recorded an album with a vocalist.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s done several shows with Redman, as producers often seek to book the two together. When Was wanted to sign her to Blue Note<\/a> and do an album, Redman supported her.<\/p>\n If there was any pressure moving up to a major label, it helped.<\/p>\n \u201cLuckily, I like pressure,\u201d she says. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n This week, she\u2019ll officially release the album with three nights of shows at New York\u2019s legendary jazz club Birdland.<\/p>\n For more on \u201cDiavola,\u201d visit<\/em> gabriellecavassa.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Keep up with the latest New Orleans events at calendar.gambitweekly.com.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n Gambit previews the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\n Provided photo by Roeg Cohen<\/span>
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