| Jazz, Pop, Soul |
Kicca, the Italian Soul of Bayou Blue Radio
Kicca is one of only two Italian artists featured as residents on Bayou Blue Radio, the other being the legendary Paolo Conte. And yet, while both share a Mediterranean flair, Kicca’s latest album feels like a counterpoint to Conte’s world: vibrant, surprising, and profoundly different from her earlier works.
Kicca brings with her a universe, one that shines the full warmth of the Italian sun the moment she steps on stage or begins to sing. Her music dances between jazz, soul, and funk, but this new record is perhaps her most intimate yet, one that feels deeply personal, stripped of artifice, and truer to her essence than ever before. Since her 2004 debut Bollente (Kick Records), she has charted an unwavering artistic journey, sidestepping trends and comparisons, forging instead a sound entirely her own.
Lesser known to the public but no less vital is pianist Oscar Marchioni, Kicca’s collaborator and accompanist for the past two decades. This album is very much the fruit of their four-handed symbiosis, a culmination of years spent creating together. Their discography reads like a travelogue of artistic growth: Ssschh (2009, ADN/ Universal France), Senso Contrario (2011, Cristal Records/ Harmonia Mundi), Kicca (2015, Cristal Records/ Sony), I Can Fly (2019, Cristal Records/ Inouïe Distribution), and Call Me Sugar (2022, Cristal Publishing/ Inouïe Distribution).
With this new opus, Kicca embraces an international scope that resonates both in Europe and across the Atlantic. The album is luxuriously arranged, rich in texture, and never lingers in the same place for too long. At moments, it evokes the charm of musical theater; at others, it showcases Marchioni’s subtle, intuitive piano work, each note infused with elegant clarity.
Beneath the groove, the lyrics, most of them penned by Kicca, speak to a quiet discontent: of social inequality, complex relationships, and imbalanced power dynamics. And yet, they also pulse with a desire for rebirth, for forward movement. Tracks like the ska-tinged “Stop and Go” or the reggae-inflected curiosity “Ie Nun Te Reggae Chiu” burst with vocal fire and highlight the duo’s eclectic instincts. “Alegre Me Siento” tells the story of a resilient Mexican migrant who refuses to surrender. “Ultimo Caffè” sketches the beginning of a love story born when two pairs of eyes meet across a café table.
Having studied under some of the greats, Manuela Matteazzi, Bob Stoloff, Sheila Jordan, Kicca now electrifies audiences around the globe, performing in multiple languages and leaving no soul untouched.
Incomparable and unmistakable, Kicca’s voice is a singular force, flamboyant in its artistic conviction, and utterly enchanting. There is a traveler’s spirit hovering over this new album, a sense of motion, of stories gathered along winding roads. And with such masterful production, one can only hope that Kicca finds the wider audience she so richly deserves, those weary of the factory-churned pop that dominates the airwaves, and hungry instead for something real.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 2nd 2025
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Musicians: Kicca – voice, Oscar Marchioni – piano
Tracklist:
Alegre Me Siento
Woo You
Just Wanna Be Your Girl
Stop And Go
The Way To Be Fine
Ie Nun Te Reggae Chiu’
Sing About Heaven
See Where Love Goes To Die
Ultimo Caffé
You Can’t Stop
Shows:
+ May 13 – Le Son de la terre (Paris) – Release party
+ June 6 – Sunside (Paris 1er)
+ June 8 – 38Riv Jazz Club (Paris)
+ August 6 – Festival Jazz au Phare (Île de Ré)
+ September 16 – Festival Jazz en Touraine