Jim Rotondi & Dena DeRose: Out of the Past

CELLAR MUSIC (RELEASED AUGUST 21, 2026)

If Geoffrey Chaucer were reviewing Out of the Past, he might borrow the phrase he first used in The Canterbury Tales in 1386: “better late than never.” This 2024 session featuring trumpeter Jim Rotondi and pianist/vocalist Dena DeRose is finally seeing the light of day, thanks to Cellar Music.DeRose and Rotondi were in Vienna teaching at the Jazz Institute of Graz when they recorded this studio session, following a successful residency at Vienna’s legendary Jazzland club. The duo is joined by bassist Danny Ziemann and drummer Mauro Gonzi. Recorded just two weeks before Rotondi’s unexpected passing, Out of the Past is a welcome addition to their discography that began in 2000. Like those early releases, this album mixes jazz standards, movie themes and originals, all delivered with a no-nonsense, swinging approach. Tunes such as “Blue Gardenia,” “Charade,” “Moon River” and “You Say You Care” provide ideal vehicles for DeRose’s musical storytelling and sensitive piano accompaniment, as well as Rotondi’s crisp, lyrical trumpet solos. On Benny Golson’s “Out of the Past,” the 1930 classic “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” and the original blues “Blues for Axel,” DeRose shifts her focus entirely to the piano, providing inventive and supportive comping for Rotondi while contributing several exceptional solos of her own. Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” receives a solid funk treatment, driven by Ziemann’s strong bass lines and Gonzi’s steady pulse. There are also moments when the rhythm section has a particularly compelling presence. The opening of “Charade” is one example, while on “The More I See You,” DeRose adds a brief scat passage, singing her intricate vocal line in unison with the piano. Thinking about Rotondi and this final session, I am reminded of another line attributed to Chaucer: “Life is short, art is long.” In the case of Out of the Past, Rotondi’s art—and the musical chemistry he shared with Dena DeRose—remains very much alive.

BOTTOM LINE: Trumpeter Jim Rotondi and pianist/vocalist Dena DeRose first recorded together in 2000. Recorded just two weeks before Rotondi’s death in 2024, Out of the Past is their final session and a fitting testament to the musical chemistry they developed over more than two decades. It is an album rooted in their mutual belief about the importance of melody, swing and an unfussy approach to jazz.