SIX DEGREES OF JAZZ

by Robert J. Lewis

Featured artist: CAROL WELSMAN

Granddaughter of the founder of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Carol Welsman’s musical pedigree is about as good as it gets, in a country that, on a per capita basis, produces more top rate female singers than anywhere in the world. But despite the DNA and looks that could have led to a career in modelling, Carol’s decision to become a jazz singer did not immediately translate into success. There were 15 long years of playing into the wee hours of the morning in clubs that produced more second hand smoke than applause, until 1996 when she received a Juno award nomination for best contemporary jazz album. Since then, her career, now based in LA, has been a fairy tale come true.

No matter how upright the piano or your angle to the stage, you’re not likely to miss the 6 feet tall, pulchritudinous, blond Welsman. Backing herself up with understated piano chops that combine swing, Latin, R & B, pop and jazz, an evening with this Canadian for all seasons is a lesson on how the standards, including jazz interpretations of pop, should be sung, as well as a composition or two of her own. A talented wordsmith, the polyglot Welsman has penned lyrics for film and musical luminaries such as Ginette Reno and Ray Charles.

A singer’s repertoire often throws into bold relief that even among the genre’s best critics there hasn’t been sufficient critical condemnation of voices, even great ones, poorly matched to a particular song. Without mentioning names, we have all known of singers belting out ballads meant to be whispered. If one of the unexpected pleasures of listening to Carol Welsman is that she strikes the ear as being deliciously dead-on from one musical moment to the next, it’s because she knows her voice and the songs that are enhanced by it.

Carol’s most recent CD, The Language of Love, was released in 2003. It includes You Take me Away (by C. Welsman), The Man I Love, Taking a Chance on Love, On A Slow Boat to China, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

Listen to Carol sing: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE