My Name is Anita

My Name is Anita is a project lovingly dedicated to the legendary vocalist Anita O’Day in honour of the 100th anniversary of the singer’s birth, being celebrated in 2019.

Gifted with an extraordinary sense of rhythm, and an upbeat and unconventional personality, Anita O’Day, while of “caucasian” descent, earned a place alongside the greatest afro-american vocalists in jazz history, performing with grand orchestras and extraordinary rhythm sections. What’s more, she made important contributions in the evolution of vocal approaches to jazz music.

Thanks to her thoroughly innovative way of interpreting standards, O’Day did away with the stereotypical image of the vocalist as a simple decoration, a pretty aftertouch to be added to an orchestra for extra effect. Instead, she grew to become a protagonist on the musical panorama and a leader of her own groups; with authority and sensitivity she established a lively and continuous interplay with the musicians who accompanied her, directing, like an expert conductor, each musical episode. In this way, she developed her own personal expressive style which proved to be a true inspiration to later generations of vocalists.

Accompanying Elisabetta Antonini is the wonderful pianist Dado Moroni, together with super solid Francesco Puglisi on bass and the sublimely elegant Roberto Gatto or Nicola Angelucci on drums. These players provide important contributions in retracing the steps of the legendary O’Day and in rendering conceptually the traditional feel and elegance of her musical process, thanks, in part to their many collaborations on the american jazz scene.