Simona Severini - Under the Stars of Jazz

A refined interpreter and singer-songwriter with a multifaceted background, the Milan-based Simona Severini has made her name above all in contemporary jazz, through collaborations with some of the leading figures on the Italian scene, including Giorgio Gaslini, Enrico Pieranunzi, Gabriele Mirabassi, Enrico Intra, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Antonio Zambrini, and Alessandro Galati. She has performed at major festivals and concert venues in Italy and France (from Umbria Jazz to the Sunset in Paris). And she has collaborated with singer-songwriters such as Pacifico and Ron. In 2011 she made her solo debut with "La belle vie", a collection inspired by the music of Gabriel Fauré, followed in 2020 by "Ipotesi", an EP of songs she wrote and performed herself. The first track of her long partnership with Enrico Pieranunzi, however, is a recording of "Futura" by Lucio Dalla on the album "Dalla in Jazz" (2012). And it was Pieranunzi himself who wanted her alongside him for the live performances of "Il tocco di Piero", the documentary film dedicated to Piero Umiliani. We took advantage of this latest occasion for a wide-ranging chat, spanning the career of one of the most talented voices on the Italian scene.

Hi Simona, I've been following you for a while and have long wanted to do this interview. Let's say your performance in the film about Piero Umiliani was the right occasion. So let's start with this very experience: I know it was Enrico Pieranunzi who recommended you to the director, Massimo Martella. Are you proud of that? And what's your relationship with Umiliani's music?

Yes, that's how it went, in the sense that I took part in the portion of the documentary's soundtrack curated by Enrico Pieranunzi: there are two parts, one arranged by Enrico, the other by Calibro 35. Enrico knows my voice very well, so from Umiliani's repertoire he chose a few songs, one in particular, that suited me perfectly. So for me it was very simple and natural to interpret them. Umiliani's repertoire is extremely vast: he worked on countless things and developed countless interests, there are fans who follow him more for his research on synthesizers, others for the soundtracks, but above all he was a great jazz enthusiast and composed pieces in that field and in that style that are very much in my wheelhouse.

He was also the first composer of a jazz soundtrack for an Italian film, with "I soliti ignoti"...

Right, because jazz was one of his greatest passions. Enrico focused mainly on that phase of Umiliani's career, the one more oriented towards jazz, and for me it was wonderful to support him in the film.

Which Umiliani song did you particularly like?

It's called "Dawn", and it's a song originally sung by Helen Merrill. It was rearranged with a somewhat bossa nova feel that I really appreciated. After all, Helen Merrill is one of my main musical references from that era, I've always adored her.

And then there was that hilarious bit with "Mah Nà Mah Nà", turned into a failed courtship attempt by Massimo Wertmuller...

It was Massimo's idea. To be honest I was a bit worried, because while I love singing, I hardly ever get to do anything that even vaguely resembles acting. But in the end it was a lot of fun!

By now your collaboration with Pieranunzi is thoroughly tried and tested: he also chose you to perform his "Songbook" in 2016 and for an album dedicated to Claude Debussy, released in France. How did your partnership come about, and what do you find most stimulating about working with him?

Yes, it's a very solid relationship - in fact, we've just recorded another album in France, dedicated to Gabriel Fauré, which will come out in spring 2024. It all started almost by chance many years ago. He came to play at a venue here in Milan; I was young, but I had the demo of my first album, which incidentally was dedicated precisely to Gabriel Fauré. I went up to him and said: "If I may, I'd like to give you this", and handed him the CD. The old-fashioned way, basically! He listened to it and liked it a lot. For me that was the ultimate: as a classical and jazz student, I knew Pieranunzi well, and to me he was already an institution. I was a fan of his, really, along with all those musicians who were searching for a different approach to classical, chamber or baroque music. That Fauré album also reflected my interest in a certain strand of European music that I found more original. He invited me to play, to do some auditions using his parts, then we started performing together live... and it's carried on to this day, still doing shows and touring together. He's been a mentor to me in several respects.

Which ones, specifically?

Beyond my career, Enrico has had a profound influence on the musician I am today - I've learned an enormous amount about music from him, something he continues to love passionately. I've also learned to be curious, to never stand still, to keep asking myself questions and to let myself be amazed by new experiences and discoveries. Being in motion also means having a particular approach to how you play and how you position yourself in relation to music.

Let's talk about jazz for a moment. But is it true that... "women hated jazz and nobody knows why", as Paolo Conte sang? After all, even Umiliani's wife said she didn't care for some of his music. Conte even offered a psychological explanation for it ("faced with a car, men are more interested in the engine, women in the bodywork... that's how it was when we were young, monkey-boys"). Is that kind of talk outdated today, or not?

Well... in Umiliani's wife's case, I think that answer probably has more to do with the family dynamic than with any specific disinterest in that kind of music. That said, in Italy the jazz audience, rather than being predominantly male, tends to skew toward an older age bracket. That depends on various factors linked to this country, its culture, its media. But no, I don't think women struggle more with jazz: there were plenty of things seen as the preserve of men back in Paolo Conte's day, and men were convinced women didn't like them, but we know that's not really true. Still, he gets forgiven for everything, of course!

Speaking of women and jazz, who are your favorite jazz singers?

Definitely Helen Merrill, who, as I mentioned, was a big inspiration for me at the start of my career. I'd also say Norma Winston, an English singer I listened to a lot for years, and Jane Lee, an American vocalist who's always been far too little known. Those three above all. Then there's Joni Mitchell, who, although she isn't a jazz singer, has influenced me a great deal with her unique style and her whole artistic journey.

Seemingly less predictable, on the other hand, is your interest in the musical world of Lucio Dalla. The first track of your collaboration with Enrico Pieranunzi is in fact a recording of Lucio Dalla's "Futura" on the album "Dalla in Jazz" (2012). Then in 2017 you also released "Futura&il Coyote", an EP of two tracks performed for the anniversary of Lucio's birth. How did this passion for Dalla develop? He was also a jazz musician himself, incidentally, so maybe it's less surprising than it seems...

The work with Enrico on Dalla came about almost by chance - we were offered the project and we accepted very happily. For a period I was part of Lucio Dalla's label, after he had already passed away, so I got to spend time in the studio, in the environment that had grown up around him. He has a way of writing that interests me enormously: a great freedom with regard to structure and pretty much everything else. So much imagination, so much freedom in building songs and lyrics, so little concern for sticking to convention. He always did exactly what he wanted: some things worked, others less so, but he never lost that freedom to experiment. It's basically the opposite of what happens now, really. Nowadays everyone's worried about writing the right song, with the right structure, the right approach that's already proven to work, and so on.

You've also said that "Dalla's songs are hard to sing because they're very personal, and he's so intense that you're better off listening to him than trying to reproduce him"...

Yes, because when I made "Futura&il Coyote", I actually didn't want to sing those songs - I considered them, as I said, too personal. I told myself: better to just let him sing them. But then it happened anyway, and I found I really enjoyed reinterpreting them in my own way.

In 2020, on the other hand, you released "Ipotesi", your first EP of songs, with a fairly intimate, acoustic approach. What's your goal as a singer-songwriter? Do you see yourself on a stage like Sanremo?

I don't set myself any particular limits. I don't think there are areas that are more or less suited to me. If anything, I like to be selective about the music itself. Lately I've really been enjoying writing lyrics, as well as singing. That said, my idea of sound doesn't really align with the mainstream, with what's dominating the charts these days. Either way, I'm pretty open to any possibility.

In what way has your jazz background helped you write songs?

Actually, I don't know if it's helped me at all. I think of myself first as a singer and then as a songwriter, but my writing has followed a different path, let's say. I also love classical music enormously — as a child I wanted to be an opera singer. I'm not saying it's a coincidence that I sing jazz; maybe the freedom that music gives you has played a part, but I have a free approach to other styles too. So I honestly don't know if jazz has really helped my writing.

You've said that writing helps you "capture feelings that have something inexpressible about them" and "put things in order." Can you explain that a bit more?

It works like this: usually I ask myself a question, and to answer it I write. If I can't understand something, I try to find the answer within my own lyrics.

You mentioned your reluctance toward acting roles. And yet you've actually done some: in 2017 you debuted at the Piccolo di Milano playing Miranda in a concert-performance inspired by Shakespeare's Tempest, directed by Massimo Navone; then you took part in Roberto Andò's "In attesa di giudizio". Don't you see a second life in theatre for yourself at all?

No! In the sense that people have always dragged me into it, like with the duet with Massimo (laughs, ed.). They told me "come and sing," and then I found out I had to do something else entirely... In the end I made the effort and actually had fun, but I was always roped in somehow! Joking aside, they were both wonderful experiences — I learned a lot on stage with fantastic actors in Andò's piece, and also in the experience at the Piccolo with Navone: engaging with a text like that, with an author like that, was an indescribable test, even though it was actually a "concert-performance."

Still, it's undeniable that your performances carry a remarkable expressive charge — not quite theatrical, but close to it.

Yes, but as long as it's about singing, that's fine, that's my style and it works. For me the lyrics are sacred, so I do feel a closeness to acting, but working alongside actors on stage is very demanding work, so I'm grateful to those who gave me these opportunities.

You said you feel like an outsider to a certain segment of the Italian music scene. Are there Italian singers, past or present, you feel closer to?

Actually, there are a lot of current singers I like. From the past, I'd say Nada. And Ornella Vanoni, wonderful all around — I'd love to be like her. I also really like Veronica Lucchesi, the singer of La Rappresentante di Lista.

Tricky question: do you know OndaRock?

Yes, I know the site, even though rock isn't exactly my specialty. In our family we split the roles quite rigidly: my brother, even though he's not a musician, is an extraordinary rock enthusiast and expert on the whole rock world; I cover the classical and jazz side, and because of that he says I'm boring! Truth be told, I do know a bit of rock, just not very well.

But actually we don't just follow rock either... Umiliani, for instance, is one of our long-time favourites. We even reviewed "Svezia Inferno e Paradiso" among our cornerstone albums. And personally I love that lounge sound of the 1960s, suspended between jazz, bossa nova and easy listening.

Me too. And besides, as I was saying, it suits my voice perfectly, this slightly breathy voice of mine that I like to play with, so performing it in the docu-film "Il tocco di Piero" was an inevitable, and wonderful, experience.

Is the live dimension still essential for you?

It's the first thing for me. Everything else comes after. Every night you never know how it's going to go, and that stresses me out and excites me in equal measure. And then the relationship with the audience is always thrilling.

Do you have any concerts coming up?

Right now I'm taking a break for a while, a few things got cancelled, including a concert in Israel, obviously. I'll be playing a concert in Milan, at the Blue Note, in January with the Monday Orchestra dedicated to Nina Simone. That's mainly what I'm preparing for right now.

Ride the wave of great music

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