Big Stuff

SSC1365 2013-09-24

Track List

Sunny Side of the Street - 5:10
Big Stuff - 4:11
What's New? - 5:26
My Man - 3:58
Strange Fruit - 4:04
Stormy Weather - 3:38
You're My Thrill - 5:29
Travelin' Light - 3:09
Involved Again - 3:46
That Old Devil Called Love - 4:55
I Cover the Water Front/ Monks Dream- - 3:46
You Better Go Now - 5:29

Musicians

Venissa Santi - vocals
Tim Thompson - trumpet
Chris Aschman - trumpet
Jef Lee Johnson - guitar
John Stenger - piano
Jasono Fraticelli - acoustic bass
Francois Zayas - drums

"In loving memory of Jef Lee Johnson.
Just what is so special about the vocalastics of Venissa Santi - just what is so singularly unique - is so eminently clear on Big Stuff: Afro-Cuban Holiday, the brilliantly innovative follow-up to her 2009 Sunnyside Records debut, Bienvenida. If at first blush this record appears to be a mere tribute to the great Billie Holiday, it is clear that first impressions can be somewhat deceptive. True, this is Santi's homage to the legendary singer. However the music on this record comes from the very depth of her soul that this is so much more than a tribute: it is more like an anguished cry, rich in the metaphor of Afro-Cuban-Blues, cry of sisterhood that is lifted up in elevation to the celebrated ghost of Ms. Holiday. 
"