As the Thanksgiving weekend is upon us, I wanted to share a few words about a couple of ladies in Niagara I have had the pleasure of knowing for awhile now, and whose music brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people - myself included.
TiannaH and her group, Jazz with a Twist, perform throughout the Niagara area and beyond throughout the year, doing everything from private and corporate functions to open-air performances in the summer and clubs throughout the year. TiannaH is a jazz singer who has her musical roots firmly entrenched in the gospel and spiritual music of her ancestors. For several years, in fact, she was the featured soloist with Laura Thomas' Choralis Camerata choral group, who would perform a tribute to Black History Month each February at a church or two in some part of Niagara.
I know the concert well because I was always honoured to be asked to be the narrator and as such, I had a ringside seat to some of the best spiritual singing you'll hear in Niagara. Last summer, I took myself down to Charles Daley Park to hear the other, more familiar side of TiannaH, as a jazz singer with her group at the amphitheatre. She was back again this summer but alas, I missed the performance in August.
If you ever get a chance to catch a performance with TiannaH, do so; you will not be disappointed. In fact, although it is really short notice, you can tonight at one of her regular haunts, the Jordan House Hotel in Jordan, right where Regional Road 81 (otherwise known as Old Highway 8) turns left and heads down into the Jordan Valley. She'll be there from 9 to midnight tonight; if you miss that performance there will be many more in the months to come, so keep an eye out for her at a nice bar near you!
The other lady I love to hear is Juliet Dunn, who has made her home in St. Catharines for some time now with her husband Peter Shea, after spending several years living in Paris and travelling the world. In fact, to this day the pair spend part of the winter months performing on cruise ships in the warmer climes, a gig many other singers would kill for, I suspect.
Juliet's years in Paris have inspired her most recent CD, titled "C'est Si Bon", recorded with her group known collectively as Le Trio Parisien. The disc covers a lot of musical ground, ranging from the familiar title track to the Piaf classic, La Vie En Rose and Padam, among others. The disc actually came out about a year ago now, but Juliet told me on the phone this week she had been so busy, they just hadn't had a chance to celebrate the release before now.
Celebrate they did last evening in downtown St. Catharines as Juliet and Peter and their musical friends held a CD release party at Stella's on James Street. I unfortunately had to miss the event, since it was a busy election night and my more serious job too precedence last evening. The evening provided a chance to hear music from the disc, of course, and also to find out more about Juliet's ambitious "Twilight Jazz" series, to be held every Thursday night at Stella's featuring performances by some of Niagara's best jazz musicians. When I get the lineup I will be posting it on the calendar page of my website, at www.finemusic.ca.
Also on my website, on the Mike's Picks page in the jazz section, you'll find Juliet Dunn's newest disc for sale. It is a fine recording and I encourage you to give it a try. You can order it through my website or just email me directly at music@vaxxine.com and I will take care of it for you.
There is another opportunity to hear Juliet in an entirely different venue each weekend now, too, as she has nicely settled in to the early morning 6 - 9 am spot hosting the weekend morning jazz programme at Toronto's JazzFm, 91.1. I caught a bit of her show last Saturday, and she sounded great on her first time on the air there. Juliet sounded absolutely giddy about the regular gig when I talked to her this week, but of course, let her get used to those cold January mornings driving to Toronto early in the morning and we'll see how she feels! I know; I do it every day on my way to work down at CKTB Radio here in St. Catharines.
Happy Thanksgiving, and let's give thanks for some of the great talent we have right here in Niagara!
October 7th, 2011.
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