adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

• PRESS RELEASE
Prodotto da Dodicilune, distribuito in Italia e all’estero da IRD e nei principali store online da BELIEVE DIGITAL, mercoledì 8 aprile 2026 esce “Snapshots“, il nuovo, quinto album della cantante, compositrice, autrice e arrangiatrice americana Vicki Rummler accompagnata da Francesco Bearzatti al clarinetto e sassofono soprano e Nico Morelli al pianoforte, nomi prestigiosi e tra i più riconosciuti del comparto jazzistico internazionale.
Una originale e gioiosa fusione di folk statunitense e jazz europeo, nato come omaggio a Ed Rummler (padre di Vicki), clarinettista amatoriale, appassionato di canto a cappella barbershop e, per oltre trentacinque anni, dirigente della Kodak, l’industria gigante della fotografia. Tra brani originali firmati dai tre artisti e riletture di standard del repertorio jazz, il disco, registrato in alta qualità presso lo Studio Artesuono di Stefano Amerio - già nominato ai Grammy Award - contiene diverse istantanee di note ed emozioni, proprio come un album fotografico. 

“The curtain went up on this trio with Francesco Bearzatti, Nico Morelli and myself around ten years ago in Paris, and I had often thought of recording us. Something about the combination of two single-note instruments (Francesco’s clarinet/sax and my voice) and Nico’s lush piano always felt free, fun, and edgy. I was particularly drawn to Francesco’s clarinet work since my dad, Edgar “Ed” Rummler III, was a fine amateur clarinetist (who also sang barbershop quartet music with a passion), though he ultimately chose business over music in order to raise us. Ed’s nearly 40-year career with the former photography giant, Kodak, meant that our childhoods were peppered with countless photos, slides, Super 8’s, and red and yellow merch including t-shirts, umbrellas, glasses - you get the picture! Yet we also grew up with Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, and The Sound of Music. When Ed passed away in November, 2024 at the age of 93, it was time to go into the studio at last. The ten tracks that emerged at Stefano Amerio’s award-winning Artesuono Recording Studios near Udine, Italy, blend European sensitivity with echoes of the USA, Kodak and Ed. I added lyrics to Francesco’s pieces “Nirvanina” and “Okemah,” and “Snapshots” is a series of disjointed images that illustrate the bittersweet, mysterious memories of childhood. Other tracks feature the two instrumentalists, such as Nico’s “Fields and Clouds” and “Fake Brown” and Hans Olding’s “For Milton.” “Taiwan Pijio” and “Woman in the Moon” pay tribute to the artist’s penchant for travel to faraway places, and “It Had to Be You” is a playful take on the vocal jazz standard made famous by Doris “Dodo” Day. “Song for My Father” closes out the set, as the home movie whirs to an end. Here’s to you, Pop!” Vicki Rummler, 2025

• PRESS RELEASE (English)
Produced by Dodicilune, distributed in Italy and abroad by IRD and in major online stores by BELIEVE DIGITAL, “Snapshots” is set to be released on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, the new, fifth album by American singer, composer, songwriter, and arranger Vicki Rummler, accompanied by Francesco Bearzatti on clarinet and soprano saxophone and Nico Morelli on piano—prestigious names among the most recognized in the international jazz scene.
An original and joyful fusion of American folk and European jazz, conceived as a tribute to Ed Rummler (Vicki’s father), an amateur clarinetist, a lover of barbershop a cappella singing, and, for over thirty-five years, an executive at Kodak, the photography giant. Featuring original compositions by the three artists and reinterpretations of jazz standards, the album—recorded in high quality at Studio Artesuono owned by Stefano Amerio (a Grammy Award nominee)—contains a series of musical snapshots and emotions, much like a photo album.

• BIO
Vicki Rummler (voce, testi, musiche, arrangiamenti). Nata nei pressi di Detroit, Michigan (USA), la cantante cosmopolita Vicki Rummler ha vissuto in Germania, Francia e Italia. La sua voce, naturale e immediata, si estende su quattro ottave e attraversa con disinvoltura jazz, folk e funk. Tra le sue influenze figurano Bobby McFerrin, Joni Mitchell, Shirley Horn, Maria João e Mel Tormé, oltre a Feist e Billie Eilish in anni più recenti. Il suo primo album da leader, Twinkle, esce nel 2004, seguito da am I am nel 2011 (con Emmanuel Bex, Olivier Ker Ourio e Nico Morelli), Take Two nel 2017 (con Lionel Loueke, Nguyên Lê e Federico Casagrande) e Leaps and Bounds nel 2022, progetto solista per voce, pianoforte e chitarra. Si esibisce in oltre venti paesi, come solista o con prestigiosi gruppi vocali quali Les Grandes Gueules e Les Voice Messengers.

Francesco Bearzatti (clarinetto, sassofono soprano, musiche, arrangiamenti). Cresciuto nella provincia friulana, Francesco Bearzatti condivide con i suoi coetanei i primi amori musicali attraverso ascolti rock: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, quindi il punk dei Ramones e dei Sex Pistols. Diplomato in clarinetto al Conservatorio di Udine, studia composizione con il maestro Daniele Zanettovich e approfondisce la propria formazione alla Jazz Mobile di New York con George Coleman. Il suo percorso artistico lo porta a Parigi e in numerosi altri paesi, collaborando con musicisti come Aldo Romano, Henri Texier, Emmanuel Bex, Louis Sclavis, Simon Goubert, Enrico Rava e Stefano Bollani, tra molti altri. Dotato di una curiosità musicale senza limiti, incide un numero considerevole di dischi e riceve numerosi riconoscimenti, tra cui la nomina a miglior musicista europeo da parte dell’Académie du Jazz francese.

Nico Morelli (pianoforte, musiche, arrangiamenti). Nato a Taranto, Nico Morelli si diploma presso i Conservatori di Taranto e di Bari. Stabilitosi a Parigi nel 1998, si afferma come uno dei jazzisti più significativi della sua generazione. Pianista molto richiesto sulla scena internazionale per il virtuosismo e la sensibilità del suo suono, collabora con Paolo Fresu, Mark Johnson, Roberto Gatto, André Ceccarelli, Glenn Ferris, Sylvain Beuf, Stefano Di Battista, Flavio Boltro, Aldo Romano ed Emmanuel Bex, solo per citarne alcuni. Definito dalla stampa italiana «il pianista più promettente del jazz italiano», Nico Morelli ha realizzato oltre trenta dischi come leader e collaboratore e ha vinto concorsi quali «Viva il Jazz», «Piano Jazz à Vanves» e «La Défense», a Parigi.

• BIO (English)
Vicki Rummler (vocals, lyrics, music, arrangements). Originally from Michigan, USA, globetrotter vocalist Vicki Rummler has lived in Germany, France and Italy. Her smooth, spontaneous style is steeped in jazz, folk and funk and covers nearly four octaves. Her influences include Bobby McFerrin, Joni Mitchell, Shirley Horn, Maria João and Mel Tormé, as well as Feist and Billie Eilish. Vicki’s first album as a leader, Twinkle, was released in 2004, followed by am I am in 2011 (featuring Emmanuel Bex, Olivier Ker Ourio, and Nico Morelli), Take Two in 2017 (with Lionel Loueke, Nguyên Lê and Federico Casagrande), and Leaps and Bounds in 2022 (solo vocals, piano and guitar). She has performed in more than twenty countries as a soloist and with the cutting-edge a cappella group, Les Grandes Gueules, as well as the prestigious Parisian “vocal big band,” Les Voice Messengers.

Francesco Bearzatti (clarinet, soprano sax, music, arrangements) needs no introduction. On his artistic path from Friuli, Italy to New York and Paris, he has collaborated with Aldo Romano, Henri Texier, Emmanuel Bex, Louis Sclavis, Simon Goubert, Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani, and Roberto Gatto, to name only a few. Influenced by classical as well as rock, funk and jazz, Francesco’s boundless curiosity makes him a unique and authentic figure on the European jazz scene. His numerous accolades include best European musician by the French “Académie du jazz,” best new talent and best ensemble by “Musica Jazz,” and best tenor sax player by “Jazz It” magazine.

Nico Morelli (piano, music, arrangements) Raised in the sunny south of Italy, Nico Morelli is among the finest jazz pianists of his generation. Trained at Siena Jazz, the Berklee School and the Manhattan School, he enjoys a long-standing collaboration with Paolo Fresu and has also worked with Mark Johnson, André Ceccarelli, Glenn Ferris, Sylvain Beuf, Stefano di Battista, Flavio Boltro, Aldo Romano, and Emmanuel Bex. Among his countless recordings as a leader and accompanist are two albums (UnFOLKettable and UnFOLKettable Two) that blend his harmonically rich hard-bop style with the traditional “pizzica” music from his native region. Nico is winner of the Milan “Viva il Jazz,” “Piano Jazz à Vanves” and “La Défense” competitions.

Track List

• TRACKLIST
1) Nirvanina
2) Snapshots
3) Fields and Clouds
4) Fake Brown
5) Okemah
6) Taiwan Pijio
7) Woman in the Moon
8) For Milton
9) It Had to Be You
10) Song for My Father
11) Let Me Call You Sweetheart

• COMPOSITIONS BY
Compositions by Francesco Bearzatti (1, 5), Victoria Rummler (2, 6, 7), Nico Morelli (3, 4), Hans Olding (8), Isham Jones (9), Horace Silver (10), Leo Friedman (11). All lyrics by Victoria Rummler, except 9 by Gus Kahn, 11 by Beth Slater Whitson.

Personnel

Recording Data

• PRODUCTION DATA
Total time 48:03 STEREO DDD
? 2026 DODICILUNE (Italy)
© 2026 DODICILUNE (Italy)
www.dodicilunedischi.it
CD DODICILUNE DISCHI Ed617
8059772566179

• RECORDING DATA
Produced by Victoria Rummler and Maurizio Bizzochetti, Dodicilune. Recorded 22 May 2025, mixed and mastered 8 June 2025 at Artesuono Recording Studios, Cavalicco (Ud), Italy. Sound engineer Stefano Amerio. All photographs by Claudia Sportelli. Contact: victoriarummler.fr; contact@victoriarummler.com; facebook.com/VictoriaRummlerOfficial/
Nico Morelli plays a Fazioli F278 mk III

• EXTRA NOTES
I’d like to thank Nico and Francesco for their solid spontaneity, Claudia & Michele, Stefano, Brenda and the fam, Marcene, Scott, Anne, Denise, Pierre, the Knolls, Clara, the Ducs, David, Amandine, Patricia, Isabelle, Marie, Diego, Christophe & Anne, Henri, Brigitte, Karine, Shannon, Kathy H., Cathy S., Eric, the Pugliese family, Christine, Bernhard, Hermine, Amanda, Mariel, Molly, Kathy C., Althea, Debbie, Megan & Stephen, Todd, Barbara and Maurizio at Dodicilune.

This album is dedicated to Ed Rummler.