After the chaos and destruction of World War II and the conservative musical environment Italian leaders promoted, the Italian public was ready for a more relaxed sound. Jazz, swing and boogie-woogie were achieving worldwide popularity and, in Italy, merged with the Italian crooner tradition. The musical rebirth of the 1950s and ’60s was like a second liberation. What’s old is new and Putumayo’s Italian Café captures the music and attitude from that era and from current singers whose musical DNA follows that lineage.