Howlin' At The Moon

Carmela Rappazzo's sixth release "Howlin' At The Moon" is now available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and Louisiana Music Factory. 

Recorded in New Orleans at The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music with the help of superb local musicians and arrangers, this album is heavily influenced by the  sounds and sights that make The Crescent City what it is.

The eight original songs written by Carmela and cover of "Lullaby Of The Leaves" written by Joe Young and Bernice Petkere range the spectrum from Second Line to the Blues and everything in between.

It can be sampled at 

https://soundcloud.com/carmela-rappazzo/sets/howlin-at-the-moon?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email

Reviews for "Howlin' At The Moon" 

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"The songs themselves are short story-poems, telling tales of voyeurism (“Keyhole”), loss (“State of Grace”) and revenge (“Revenge”). Rappazzo showcases her talent for the written word with crystal-clear enunciation and no excessive flourishes. She sticks to the script lyrically but takes liberties with melody, singing around notes almost as often as she hits them. This technique is not immediately pleasing to the ear, but it makes for moments of tension, surprise and rare beauty, the kind only a blue note can evoke."

Raphael Helfand OffBeat Magazine 

http://www.offbeat.com/music/carmela-rappazzo-howlin-moon-independent/

"Throughout this album Carmela draws on her huge wellspring of influences, from her New York background where she grew up in, ‘a rather large and crazy Sicillian family’ (her own words) with her father and 5 uncles being swing musicians, her theatrical connections, her Los Angeles big band experiences and her love of New Orleans where she now lives and imbibes the music like a sponge. This album is one of different colours, hues and tones. It has heartache, love and overall a deep, deep affection and understanding of the music that is jazz- influenced and the listening is so enjoyable. There are a lot of ear worms and little riffs which stick in the mind, yet there is enough textural depth and complexity to make the listening both interesting and connective. It is a sure bet the listener cannot but sing along or tap the feet to many of the songs and the lyrics in nearly every case are crystal clear. But then, Carmela, as she says herself, ‘loves to spin a good story – and she does."

Sammy Stein Jazz In Europe

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"Carmela Rappazzo's a little different than most contemporary jazz singers. First of all, she writes most of her own material. Her lyrics have that quick yet conversational tone that sometimes borders on something you might hear in a Sondheim musical, a rush of words that cuts through the melody and provides you with an additional dense plot to consider. 

So much of jazz is focused on supplying personal emotions to lyrics that hundreds have sung before, but in this case you have an expressive, intelligent singer who is also an expressive, intelligent songwriter who is telling you about her life in a truly unique way. " 

.Marc Phillips The Vinyl Anachronist

http://thevinylanachronist.blogspot.com/2018/08/carmela-rappazzos-howlin-at-moon.html

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'Vocalist Carmella Rappazzo shows impressive flexibility and emotional range on this collection of originals plus one. Her voice has an attractive growl that she uses instead of vibrato, and it works well in adding emphasis as she teams with a wide ranging team of Oscar Rossignoli/p, Jasen Weaver/b, Gerald T. Watkins Jr/dr, Mahmoud Chouki/lutar, Pete Snell/g and a mix of horns, percussionists and background vocalists used as extra seasoning.

She’s crystal clear yet still quirky over the military drums of  “Genie in a Bottle” and luminously tells stories by the campfire on “Keyhole.” Her attractive groan works well with Rossignol on the nourish “Rush of Heat” and with Chouki during the mystical “State of Grace” and the dimly lit haunted “Haunted” while showing her swing chops as she swaggers on “Howlin’ At The Moon.” Musical moods and shadows galore'

George W. Harris Jazz Weekly

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"Howlin’ At The Moon rolls like a beautiful, topsy turvy jazz travelogue of Carmela’s fascinating life, which has found her living in New York, Los Angeles, New Mexico and now the Crescent City, which she pays sprightly homage to via the album’s centerpiece, the wildly rambunctious, stomping parade tune “Howlin’ At the Moon.”"

Jonathan Widran  The JW Vibe

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"Carmela’s vocal intro to “Rush of Heat” may deceive you into thinking it’s “just another croon”, but I can tell you right now, this SWINGS with life well-lived; when the sax kicks in at the 1:35 mark, you’ll think you’re in one of those late-night “cellar clubs”, like I used to hang out in during the ’60’s.

Of the nine tunes offered up for your hip jazz vocal enjoyment, though, it is the 5:55 “Haunted” that’s my personal favorite… the voice/piano interaction on this song is superb; definitely one of the most memorable jazz ballads I’ve listened to (yet) in 2018."

Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews

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