Lady may sing the blues ... but these ladies have the voices and the chops to sing the blues and everything else too.
Clela Errington sings directly to the reflective heart, creating a mood of intimacy, at once reserved and passionate. Her material vibrates with emotional insight. Born in Montreal and raised in the 1000 Islands, Clela gained much of her professional experience playing harmonica and singing in a string band and vocal duo in Prince Edward Island. Clela has performed in dance halls, clubs, and concert venues throughout the Maritimes, Quebec, and Ontario. Settling in Toronto in 1985, Clela began formal training in jazz and vocal technique. Her repertoire combines the sophistication of Duke Ellington and the raw honesty of Hank Williams. Her performances all over Ontario and the Maritime provinces include Toronto City Roots Festival Concert Series Peterborough Folk Festival, and the Folk Harbour Festival, Lunenburg. NS. Clela's three independent albums, Lace Curtains, In The Eddy and Corazon produced by Juno award winning engineer Ed Hutchison aka Eddie Baltimore and featuring many fine Toronto musicians showcase her soulful voice, unique harmonica sound and her original compositions. Listen to 10 tracks on radio3.cbc.ca
Joanne Crabtree, in her own words ... I am a city singer. The people who lit the darkness for me were the anonymous creators of the ballads in Dr. Child's literary collections, the Kingston Trio, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Len Chandler, Martin Carthy, and a long line of torch singers from Ruth Etting to Doris Day. And even though I was born on Ilkla Moor (without a hat, I'm told), and even though my father was a Yorkshireman who sang me Widdicombe Fair while I was still a babe in arms, my artistic roots took hold in the poetry-filled coffee houses, the after-hours jazz clubs, the earnest folk venues of Toronto in the late fifties and early sixties. My career as a solo folk singer began in 1960 at a Grey Cup party at Toronto's Park Plaza Hotel and ended in 1966 at Toronto's Riverboat in Yorkville. In between were many coffee houses and campus concerts in Ontario, Western Canada and the British Isles. During that time I sang hundreds of songs on a regular basis. After the birth of my first son, my folk-rock band, Hard and Soft, kept me busy enough musically until 1978. (pause for parenthood and other pursuits) In 2006, the collaboration between Joanne and Juno nominee, Paul Mills (aka Curly Boy Stubbs), provided an outlet for decades of pent-up songs. The offspring of this musical union include "All the Good Times", showcasing Joanne's warmly vibrant voice and Paul's playfully elegant guitar, followed by an exciting, new album that is being crafted in the Millstream Studios as we read this. Joanne says, "From the working relationship between Paul and me have come two exciting album projects, a performing duo, and the inspiration for most of the best songs I've ever written". website : www.joannecrabtree.com |
