album rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Jazz vocal / chanson française / bossa nova / torch song / world music. Chansons — full title Chansons: Chiara Civello Sings International French Standards — is the seventh studio album by the Roman singer, songwriter and pianist Chiara Civello (born Rome, 1970s), one of the most internationally cosmopolitan and musically wide-ranging Italian artists of her generation. Described by Tony Bennett as 'the best jazz singer of her generation', Civello trained at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and built her career across Italy, New York and Brazil, recording for Verve Records (becoming the first Italian artist to do so), collaborating with Burt Bacharach, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Ana Carolina and James Taylor. Chansons is her second album produced by Marc Collin (founder and director of the Kwaidan label, known for Nouvelle Vague), following Eclipse. Their collaboration is described as creatively frictionless: Collin said of her, 'I have the impression that I'm an American producer with Julie London or Dusty Springfield!' The album consists of twelve songs written by French composers between 1945 and 1975 — Michel Legrand, Charles Aznavour, Charles Trénet, Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Gilbert Bécaud, Francis Lai — many of which became world standards without their French origin being widely known. The album's central revelation is that 'Feelings', 'The Good Life', 'My Way', 'Yesterday When I Was Young' and 'What Now My Love' all have French authors. The album was recorded live in Bari with Italian musicians, with very few overdubs.
Label: Kwaidan Records, released 19 November 2021.
Producer: Marc Collin.
Recording studio: Recorded live in Bari, Italy, with Italian musicians.
Critical reception: Chansons was received as an elegant and revealing project, praised for Civello's vocal interpretations and the intelligence of Collin's production. The Horizons Music catalogue notes describe the production as characterised by 'a little retro' feel across multiple styles: piano bar ('I Will Wait for You', 'My Way', 'The Good Life'), swing ('Petite Fleur'), Cuban rhythms ('Feelings'), drum and beat with vocal and piano improvisations ('La Vie en Rose') and soul ('What Now My Love'). The album features guest saxophonist Anat Cohen on 'I Will Wait for You'.
Commercial success: Chansons was appreciated by Civello's international following and received positive attention in Europe, particularly in France and Italy, as well as in Brazil where she has a dedicated audience. It reinforced her reputation as an artist at home across languages, genres and cultures, and who — in her own words — 'will never mould herself after marketplace demands.'
text generated by artificial intelligence — claude, sonnet 4.6 — free version, liable to contain errors
Recording studio: Recorded in studio (Fixing wrong info).