Many consider Edinburgh to be quite a European city and this seems never more so than during the Edinburgh festivals’ month of August. The languages heard as one walks between Fringe shows is a beautiful mixture: French, Spanish, German and many more.

In Edinburgh’s The Jazz Bar yesterday late afternoon, it was Italian language that was prominent in the form of a charming show featuring the favourite Italian songs of Milan-born, now Edinburgh resident actor and singer, Anna Vanosi. She explained that she had learned many of the songs at a young age at the knees of her grandmother and great grandmother, so this was a personal set, expressed with passion and a sense of fun.

Interspersed with the Italian songs (‘Un Bacio a Mezzanotte’, ‘Conosci Mia Cugina’, and others) that the singer clearly was very familiar with and relished performing, were popular Jazz Standards by Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra and the Gershwins. Anna demonstrated her actor’s chops in her highly expressive renditions, holding the audience’s interest right through the whole 14-song, one hour set.

With Anna’s bell-like vocal tone and ability when required to do a belter, together with a strong rhythm section in pianist David Patrick (who arranges the material and feels like the lynchpin of the trio) and bassist Andrew Mitchell, this was a delightful show that drew a sizeable audience on its first night.

 

A final thought. Anna’s rendition of final song ‘Tu vuo fa l’Americano’ for this listener evoked (amongst other things) Weimar-era cabaret, and one wonders if such a direction is something that may lie in the future for Ms Venosi. Certainly, this was, in the very best sense, a multi-cultural show.

5 Dates with Italian Jazz Affair plays at The Jazz Bar again on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 13th August 2026 at 17:30 (5.30 pm).

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/5-dates-with-italian-jazz-affair