Candice McMahon
For the Morning Star
Get ready for Kootenay fever!
Vernon Jazz Club patrons are in for a treat as Melody Diachun and her band members (all currently residing in the Kootenays) perform Saturday, Nov. 12.
With influences from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell to Prince, Diachun has been hailed as “a jazz singer of the first order,” by Joseph Blake, with Victoria’s Times Colonist.
Born in Montreal, Diachum has lived and grown as a singer in the Annapolis Valley, N.S., Brooklyn, N.Y., Banff and Vancouver. She now resides in Nelson, where she teaches singing and songwriting at Selkirk College.
Her third album, EQ (Cellar Live), earned great reviews and secured her a nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year at Canada’s 2009 National Jazz Awards.
“Diachun’s controlled, sometimes breathy, centered sound is a perfect foil for the interplay between the other musician and it all adds up to a tight, cohesive whole,” wrote Cathy Riches in WholeNote Magazine.
Clinton Swanson, on saxophone, has been a professional musician for 27 years. He has performed with show bands, big bands, blues bands, club bands and jazz ensembles on cruise ships, nightclubs, ballrooms, jazz festivals, and concert halls. Over his long career, Swanson has shared the stage with Fred Stride, Ricky Martin, Tower of Power, and many others.
Guitarist Doug Stephenson has been at the heart of Western Canada’s jazz community for more than 30 years. Born in Calgary, he has performed with a wide range of artists including Charlie Rouse, Bob Murphy, Les McCann, Jay Thomas, John Stowell, Tommy Banks, P.J. Perry, Altered Laws, Barry Romberg, Bob Brough and Campbell Ryga.
Bassist Mark Spielman has a career that expands back 30 years. He is a member of The Circle (a contemporary jazz group out of Florida) and with them has given opening concerts for Hall and Oates, Chicago, Rod Stewart and George Benson. In studio sessions, he has worked on jingles, a live broadcast on CBC, plus numerous album productions. Nowadays, Spielman is a music instructor at Selkirk College in Nelson.
Drummer Tony Ferraro grew up and still resides in Trail. He was awarded percussionist of the year at Humber College in Toronto, where he received his music education. Ferraro has studied with some of the most accomplished drummers in the world, including Dave Weckl, Steve Smith and Horacio Hernandez. He is known for bringing his passion and intensity to the music he is performing.
Diachun is at the Vernon Jazz Club (3000-31st St.) Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Cash only bar. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Expressions of Time and at www.vernonjazz.com, with a $5 rebate at the door for VJS members.