creative forces

BLOG # 22…JUNE 2013

I seem to have been in a huge mood for jazz lately and have found  a couple of interesting corners that took me back to being 14 years old discovering Stan Kenton and June Christie. My girlfriend’s older brother had a great collection and we would gather after school, listen to jazz and devour Downbeat, having just outgrown comics.

                                                                   

Skip ahead to a couple of weeks ago when I was introduced to the wonderful Toronto All Star Big Band…as you can see from the photo, they’re a young gang, not even close to being around in the days of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman but they sure have a great grasp of their music. Catch them if you can.

But what struck me as something interesting to blog about was a performance that I caught a few days later by the enchanting young vocalist, Alex Pangman. Known as Canada’s Sweetheart of Swing, Alex performs music from the 20’s 30’s and 40’s, accompanied by the Alleycats… I’m not sure if it’s intentional but her dress and hairstyle perfectly evoke the period and deepen the mood of the music. She takes her enthusiasm for the classical melodic style of early jazz with her wherever she goes, playing around the province and the country. Her first two CD’s They Say and Can’t Stop Me From Dreaming were produced by the late and great Jeff Healey. 

 

Later this week, she’s opening for Willie Nelson, who’s headlining the Toronto Jazz Festival, in a concert at Massey Hall. Willie, that master of western swing and jazz is over 80 but can still handle On the Road Again and Georgia on my Mind like nobody else.   He and Alex both like to blend genres, moving effortlessly from western/swing to jazz in the blink of an eye.

                                                                              

Oh and btw, Alex had a double lung transplant in November 2008. Breath is particularly crucial for singers and every one Alex takes is a miracle…ironically if she had lived in her favourite time - the 30’s - she would have succumbed to her cystic fibrosis before reaching kindergarten. She’s an enthusiastic advocate for organ and tissue donations and has directed proceeds from her recent single Breathe In to the Lung Association.