Another wonderful show awaits jazz fans at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday when Toronto’s Andrea Superstein Group takes the stage at the Avalanche Bar (275 8th St., Courtenay).
Super, as she is affectionately known, is an award-winning vocalist with lots of heart. Her unique approach to songwriting and performance heralds powerful vocals exemplifying both the gentle and the strong, the light and the dark. They lithely navigate the colours of the emotional spectrum from despair to joy, deep blues to trip-hop confection, often in the same song.
Superstein will be featuring music from her latest offering, Worlds Apart, allowing her to showcase her true gifts as vocalist, composer and arranger. The album consists primarily of original music in three languages, rounded out by unique arrangements of classic jazz standards. With jazz luminary Elizabeth Shepherd as producer and arranger, the new record brings Superstein’s fresh, modern ideas to the forefront. She breathes the here-and-now into the classics, while brushing authenticity into every note she writes.
Her stylistic range is only surpassed by her masterful ability to use dynamics to create a lush musical experience rife with emotion: deep, raw and always heartfelt. The album’s themes explore the nature of relationships in the modern age. In a world where we are becoming more and more disconnected from each other, where reliance on technology is simultaneously increasing our accessibility to reach each other and decreasing our access to impactful human contact, the album begs the question: how can we come closer together?
“With Worlds Apart I wanted to deliver something personal by examining the timely issues we face in being connected in a modern world,” she said. “We simultaneously exist in conflict and in symbiosis – a concept that fascinates me on a sociological level. This contrast is not only explored in the lyrics but also reflected in the harmonic structure and the songs’ arrangements.”
Superstein enlists the talents of other A-list Canadian musicians including: Michael Occhipinti (guitar) John Roney (piano, organ), Remi-Jean Leblanc (bass), Jacques Kuba-Seguin (trumpet), Mark Nelson (drums), Eveline Rousseau (harp), Erik Hove (saxophone) and Bryan Deans (cello).
On stage is perhaps where Superstein shines the brightest. The Courtenay concert marks the westernmost venue of her national tour between here and Quebec City. Super commands every room she plays, conducting an unforgettable musical experience with a combination of humour, charm and a sincere connection with her audience – a truly interactive experience.
Admission to this show is $10 for members, $12 for non-members. Please visit www.georgiastraightjazz.com for more information about upcoming shows between now and the end of May.
