Vicki Rummler – Snapshots

A voice with a magnificently original timbre, full of feeling and impressively precise in its ability to navigate harmonies and rhythms, accompanied by a woodwind (clarinet or soprano saxophone) and a pianist—that’s not all that common.

And when the two instrumentalists are Francesco Bearzatti and Nico Morelli, you can be sure the musicality will be top-notch.

And that’s exactly the case, because Viki Rummler, the vocalist, is herself an accomplished musician who has mastered the art of inventive and fluid phrasing, whether singing lyrics or scatting, with an absolutely stunning freedom of tone and delivery.

Suffice it to say that, from the very first notes, you’re swept away by the sounds produced by this unconventional trio, whose charm will work its magic again with every new track. While Morelli’s piano possesses a cantabile tone that can only be achieved on this instrument through a refined touch, Bearzatticaptivates your ears with his ability to modulate sounds—sometimes fluid, sometimes rougher—with a sense of timing that is utterly breathtaking.

And Rummler’s voice, nestled between these two “instrumental singers,” is particularly at ease, as her freedom of expression is completely in sync with that of her two partners. Bearzatti—better known on the tenor sax—has momentarily set it aside for a rich, flavorful soprano sax and a clarinet of remarkable fluidity.

Morelli—whom I’m hearing here for the first time with a vocalist—is an accomplished rhythmist, whose vigorous left hand works wonders with earth-shaking chord progressions. As for his right hand, it weaves delightfully savory melodic lines.

It is thus in a particularly conducive setting that Vicki Rummler, with her impressive vocal range, enchants us with her sense of rhythm and her ability to bring delightful melodies to life or to improvise with a particularly compelling inventiveness and sense of timing.

A major album, to be listened to repeatedly without moderation and to be given to your loved ones… otherwise I won’t speak to you anymore. And that would be truly unbearable, wouldn’t it?