Edinburgh Fringe 2026
5 Dates with Italian Jazz Affair
Anna Vanosi
Genre: Jazz, Live Music
Venue: Jazz Bar
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An hour of iconic Italian and American classics, some from the jazz stable, some arranged neatly into the genre resulting in a nice mix of material. Differing moods – upbeat, reflective, melancholic – and tempos provide interesting variety as the songs keep rolling out from three musicians who are clearly enjoying what they’re delivering.
Review
To Edinburgh’s iconic Jazz Bar for (five dates with) the Italian Jazz Affair featuring the charismatically charming Milano-born, now Edinburgh based Anna Vanosi for an hour of iconic Italian and American classics, some from the jazz stable, some squeezed neatly into the genre via the silky skills of musical arranger in chief (and tinkler of the ivories) David Patrick. Completing the ensemble before what was a sell out audience (not bad for an early Monday evening at the front end of the Fringe) is the urbane Andy Mitchell on bass.
And what a pleasant experience the whole thing was. Not one to waste time nattering, Vanosi whipped through a lengthy, nicely compiled and varied playlist, around a 50:50 split between the Italian side of things and numbers from the other side of the pond. Starting off with Cole Porter’s Night and Day, we then moved to a traditional Italian song Vanosi learned from her grandmother. The familial theme continued with another Italian number, this time learned at the feet of her great-grandmother.
We then flipped the mood (and source continent) to include songs from Porter’s Kiss Me Kate and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess via a nicely arranged version of Mandel and Webster’s Shadow of Your Smile which first saw the light of day in The Sandpiper, released in 1965 for those old enough to remember the swinging 60’s.
Vanosi is a born performer – you just have to see her deliver a song to realise that’s she’s telling a story as much as singing to her audience. So, it doesn’t really matter what language she’s using – you’ll get the tenor of the song, it’s message, it’s meaning just by listening and watching her expressive stage persona. There’s a nice mix of material to enjoy too. Differing moods – upbeat, reflective, melancholic – and tempos provide interesting variety as the songs keep rolling out.
Now, at this point in the review, it’s generally de rigueur to come up with some pretentious piffle to describe the artist’s vocal performance. You know the sort of stuff; “voice of an angel”; “flows like a fine wine”; “pure nectar”; you get the picture. However, rather than subject you lot to another dose of cliche bingo, if I told you that Vanosi’s voice is a perfect fit for the material she delivered, that’s really all you need as a recommendation. Good range, power at both ends, nicely expressive.
As we galloped towards the end of the set, so the narrative breaks got shorter as Vanosi attempted to squeeze the proverbial musical quart into a pint pot. Which she did, thanks to the co-operation of her hard working (and superbly supportive) duet. This allowed us to hear a pleasant take on What A Difference A Day Makes, Watch over Me and Fever, originally a Cooley/Blackwell creation but turned into a hit by Peggy Lee who rewrote the lyrics for her enduring 1958 cover.
This was a great way to spend an early evening. Good music, engagingly delivered by musicians who were clearly enjoying what they were doing. Now if that doesn’t recommend this show to you, nothing will.
