The Rainbow Singers are a vocal ensemble active since 1999 specialized in reworking, through original arrangements, of jazz, gospel and spiritual repertoire, and of Afro-American musical tradition in general.

In 2003 they publish their first album titled On A Journey, where they slide over the genres stated above, jumping between tracks executed exclusively "acappella", i.e. without any instrumental accompaniment, and songs enriched by a precious quartet of players supporting the six voices of the singers.

The original lineup includes Sabrina Olivieri (who also signs the band's arrangements), Beatrice "Bea" Parapini, Anna Vignozzi, Marco Evans, Diego Palazzo, and Piergiorgio Pardo on vocals; the instrumental quartet (which incidentally is also on the road sometimes as the Sabrina Olivieri Quintet, obviously fronted by the singer herself) is composed by Massimo Caracca on drums, Lorenzo Livraghi on piano, Marco Mistrangelo on bass and Alessio Sabino on guitar.

On live dates the lineup may change, due to the eventual unavailability of some of the mentioned players, or simply because that particular show requires a smaller lineup, e.g. with just piano accompaniment or piano and guitar. In case of a missing player the problem is relatively easy to solve, but when they miss a singer it's a different story; and here is my chance...

In the winter of 2003 the group had a rich scheduling, but for some of these dates one of the male vocalist will not be available: it's Piergiorgio Pardo who, like many other members of the group, is involved in many other important artistic projects besides the Rainbow Singers. So I was contacted by Sabrina, that I first met one year before at the NCDM music school, and she offered me a replacement role for three shows; after having understood that the first of these shows is just around the corner, I accepted the challenge (gulp!).

I did a rehearsal session with Sabrina for "tasting" all the songs, then a full vocal rehearsal with the other singers and a final session with the full band just a few hours before the show: only three days had passed since my first rehearsal!

The three shows went good, with me feeling always better on the repertoire just learned, hoping to have another chance like this; and this happened the year after, for two more dates. And the story goes on...

In 2004 Beatrice Parapini is positively forced to stay away from the stage: she has a baby! Her replacement is Sonia Nicotra. In 2005 the new deluxe substitute female vocalist for the band is Simona D'Agostina, who will definitively replace "Bea" in the spring of 2006.