justTEss

Distant relative of Frank Sinatra, a delicate and ethereal voice, the American singer-songwriter plays tonight at Gattò in Milan.

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Armed with her guitar and an ethereal voice, TEss, a distant relative of Frank Sinatra (her grandfather was a cousin of The Voice), is a singer-songwriter hailing from New York who worked on Wall Street and left everything behind to come and live in Rome.

On May 12, her album, produced thanks to a successful crowd funding project, will come out on the same day she will present it in concert at the Methodist Church of Rome.

In exclusive premiere on Rolling Stone's website you can watch the video for What Is the Journey, a new release off her album, while this evening she'll play an acoustic set at Gattò in Milan. One to watch! - Rolling Stone

"In a way, her music too is Renaissance, beautiful because it's difficult to define. Indie? Folk? Substantially elusive of genre, but extremely enjoyable and capable of transmitting emotion. Accompanied by a voice often compared to the queen of folk Joni Mitchell, and by a band of strings, acoustic guitars and percussion, for a modern sound mixture very different from momentary trends." - The Huffington Post

Imagine yourself in America in the 1960's/70's sitting in a field surrounded by friends and an acoustic guitar: the sensations evoked in "Soul Whisperer" are exactly these. She, TEss, is an American singer-songwriter with strong ties to our peninsula, an extraordinary folk artist with very vintage accents, in a world that, even musically, is evolving in a completely different direction. TEss succeeds at warming the listener's heart using simply an acoustic guitar and string instruments: essential in its solution, precise in its execution and devastating, in a positive sense, in terms of emotional impact, thanks in part to a voice of rare beauty, reminiscent from the first notes, of one of the queens of folk history: Joni Mitchell. At times it seems that you are actually listening to the author of "Big Yellow Taxi", thanks to the warm and soft tone of her delicate and elegant voice. Twelve songs comprise "Soul Whisperer": the introduction is entrusted to the excellent title track, the closing to a decidedly sentimental piece entitled "Fill Me With Your Love". The loving theme is recurrent, the common denominator to the 12 songs is precisely a strong romantic atmosphere: the pieces are pleasant to listen to, the experience is truly enjoyable. Standing out among the rest are "What Is the Journey", "Rock Me" and "My Old Friend", but they are all equally meriting praise. By virtue of barebones arrangements, "Soul Whisperer" could appear a bit repetitive in parts, but it is foolish to look to such details in order to attempt to criticize an album of such tremendous depth. TEss knows how to move against the tide with great strength, paying no heed to the "masks" of the times, finding a personal and authentic style, a product of precise artistic decisions which, without a doubt, have paid off. - Music Map

"Intriguing story and convincing voice"

It seems like one of those stories made for the press: who would have imagined an American graduated in Classical Civilization in Rome, taking on the role of a broker on Wall Street, only to fly back to Italy to reinvent herself as a folk singer?

The fact is, that of Tess Amodeo-Vickery - a distant relative of Frank Sinatra! - isn't the whim of a wealthy little girl playing at "hippy" out of her times. First of all, because "Soul Whisperer" is already her second pass in this direction and secondly because her songs assert themselves in a vein of folk music of noble ancestry (a bit Judy Collins, a bit Regina Spektor) well in line with the indie models of today. - Rockerilla

Her love of theater yielded to college and other matters. “But when my ex-boyfriend – and catalyst for my songwriting – and I quit our Wall Street jobs and moved to Rome in 2009, in order to pay the rent, we had to start performing in clubs and cafes,” she said. “He played piano and I sang old jazz tunes made famous by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra and we became quite the sensation, as two blonde Americans playing the music that made America famous in Europe way back when.” - The Nashua Telegraph (Encore! section)

"When in Rome and abandoned by your boyfriend, do as Sinatra would do— write music. TEss, otherwise known as Tess Amodeo-Vickery ’07, has the advantage of being distantly related to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, which maybe explains her gorgeous and charming voice." - Wesleying

"This American singer-songwriter and jazz vocalist has the talent and beauty worthy of inspiring a Woody Allen film." - Il Fatto Bresciano

"Tess Amodeo Vickery, beautiful, brilliant, and seemingly plucked out of a Gil Elvgren illustration, is an extremely talented American jazz singer." - Sound 36