Violinist and vocalist Hanna Mignano returns with her second release, Interplay, featuring Pete Roze on guitar and Roy Brenc on bass. Her first record, which was reviewed in OffBeat in December 2019, featured a quartet with different supporting players.

Interplay opens with “Diggin’ With Spade,” a western swing song dating way back to the mid-20th century from the pen of Spade Cooley. Roze and Mignano dig right into the melody with superb backing from Brenc. The leader takes a sweet solo that has just enough edge to get Brenc fired up as Roze comps in the background. Roze follows up with a winding solo of his own before trading licks with Mignano.

The second cut, “Blowtop Blues,” puts Mignano’s voice front and center. She sings with a certain world-weariness as she announces she has “bad news baby, and you’re the first to know.” She makes the song, which was recorded by Dinah Washington, her own by switching out New York references for local ones. “Broadway” becomes “Frenchmen” and the “A Train” becomes the “streetcar.”

The centerpiece of the album is a languid version of Serge Gainsbourg’s classic, “La Javanaise.” Singing in French, Mignano inhabits the song. When her violin comes in you can feel yourself settling into a café as you moon over a lost love. Both Roze and Brenc are understated, allowing the mood to center on the vocal and the violin.

The album closes with “You Take Her,” an up-tempo instrumental that serves as call-and-response vehicle for the violin and the guitar. They trade licks and play in unison in a strong display of the classic “jazz manouche” style.

The short album is a calling card for Mignano who plays numerous private parties, weddings and events. It’s an exhibition and an audition of sorts for all three players I’m looking forward to hearing more from in the near future.