Roberta Brenza has long been a supporter of the arts, always a jazz fan who loved to sing, growing up in a household filled with the songs of Ella Fitzgerald and other vocalists from her father’s record collection. While raising her two sons, Roberta spent two decades involved in volunteer work, including membership on nonprofit performing arts boards in Boulder, Colorado. All the while, she quietly nurtured a secret, long-held dream to make jazz a leading focus in her life.
One of her first forays was organizing a private youth jazz combo for her then middle-school-aged sons. This inspired Roberta to enroll in a jazz combo class of her own and later, private lessons and workshops. Roberta’s naturally adept ear, rich tone, and visceral feel for swing soon led to local gigs as well as private lessons with her first jazz mentor, Boulder-based pianist Art Lande. Additional training and inspiration came from a number of iconic female jazz mentors, including Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Ellyn Rucker, Tina Phillips, Marguerite Juenemann, and Dawn Clement. Eventually, with encouragement and zeal, Roberta took to immersing herself into the New York jazz scene where she was on occasion accompanied by the late Roy Hargrove at Small’s and Harold Mabern at Smoke, as well as many other of New York’s great musicians. Getting heard at jams led to invitations to contribute her voice on the gigs of some of the world’s finest jazz artists, including Johnny O’Neal, Patience Higgins, Anthony Wonsey, and Jon Davis. A CD project began to take root as a possibility.
To Roberta’s enormous delight, highly respected drummer Matt Wilson joined as the producer. And so her debut release, It’s My Turn to Color Now, was recorded in June, 2019, with a stellar, largely New York-based band: producer Matt Wilson on drums, musical director Dawn Clement on piano and fender rhodes, Cameron Brown on bass, and Stacy Dillard on soprano and tenor sax. With masterful Mike Marciano of Systems Two at the recording helm, Roberta could not have asked for a more swinging, experienced, and supportive team. A dream came true for Roberta when her dear mentor of a number of years, National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master and vocalist Sheila Jordan, agreed to record with Roberta, an honor she treasures immensely. It was indeed Sheila who had years earlier been the inspiration that helped Roberta return to the mic after a two-year pause, a crash in confidence.
To be able to perform with Sheila their two duets will be the absolute highlight of Roberta’s burgeoning singing career.She looks forward to sharing her first offering of a wide selection of unique arrangements of well-loved tunes and two original compositions including the title track that tells the story of Roberta’s path to becoming a dedicated musical and visual artistic. Origin Records will be releasing the “It’s My Turn to Color Now” on August 19th, 2022.
Matt Wilson, CD producer on drums
Dawn Clement, Musical director on piano
Cameron Brown on bass
Stacy Dillard on soprano and tenor sax.