Beverley Staunton
Her 'Here's To You' Album engages the mind and seduces the heart very much in the Diana Krall vein but Staunton is dead set on travelling down all the genre's not just Jazz. We chatted with the Vancouver vocalist.

John Beaudin - Hi Beverley, thanks for joining us here on Smooth Jazz Now.com. I haven't touched base with you since your album release concert.

BEVERLEY STAUNTON - YES AND THAT WAS A YEAR AND A HALF AGO ALREADY, IT'S AMAZING HOW TIME FLIES!

John - That was a fun night. It must have been cool looking out into the audience that night and seeing so many of you musical colleagues out there. It was a great turn out.

BEVERLEY - THAT NIGHT WILL ALWAYS MEAN A LOT TO ME. WHEN I FINISHED THIS RECORD, I HAD NOT ORIGINALLY PLANNED ON DOING ANY KIND OF RELEASE PARTY. SO, WHEN I FINALLY DECIDED THAT I WOULD DO AN OFFICIAL LAUNCH I WAS EXCITED, NERVOUS AND PROUD. IT WAS HEARTWARMING TO SEE SO MANY COLLEAGUES THERE AND I COULD HAVE BROKEN INTO TEARS A FEW TIMES JUST BECAUSE THE RECORD TOOK ME A WHILE TO DO. THERE WERE SOME UPS AND DOWNS IN TERMS OF WHERE I WAS AT WITH IT, SO, TO ACTUALLY GET TO THAT POINT FELT LIKE I HAD ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING.

John - Let me just say that the dress you wore was, how can I put it; inspiring! You did warn me that it would be daring! By the way, I'm the guy who's stalking you (laughing).

BEVERLEY - (LAUGHING) I HAD IT IN MY HEAD THAT I WANTED TO WEAR SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION AND I GUESS IT DID! I FELT GOOD IN IT.

John - Jazz is a tough game in Vancouver since there are so many artists doing it here. On some levels it's the best place in the country to do Jazz but off and on I hear complaints that there could be more venues. How are you finding that atmosphere, are there enough places to play? Are you still doling the jazz thing?

BEVERLEY- UNFORTUNATELY, I AM NOT DOING MUCH JAZZ IN VANCOUVER. YES, I THINK THERE ARE ENOUGH PLACES TO PLAY AND THERE CERTAINLY COULD BE MORE BUT I GUESS IT TAKES GETTING INTO THE RIGHT CIRCLES AND TRYING TO FILL YOUR CALENDER WITH THE FEW PLACES THAT HAVE JAZZ. I COME FROM A BACKGROUND OF POP, R&B AND JAZZ, I LIKE TO MIX UP MY GIGS AND DO A VARIETY. I RECENTLY DID A GIG WHERE I WAS HIRED TO DO BOTH JAZZ AND POP THAT IS FAIRLY COMMON FOR ME.

John - Beverley you are a busy gal. Everyone seems to know you in the Vancouver industry. You've worked on a lot of projects? Let us know about some of the people you've worked with?

BEVERLEY - WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE IN '94, I DIDN'T KNOW A SINGLE PERSON BUT I WAS DETERMINED THAT I COULD EVENTUALLY WORK AS A SINGER FULL TIME. SO, I GOT MY DEMO OUT THERE AND TRIED TO MAKE AS MANY CONNECTIONS AS I COULD. I FIND THE SCENE FAIRLY SMALL BUT I TRY TO STAY BUSY. I'VE DONE JINGLES AT VARIOUS STUDIOS, DONE A LOT OF SONG DEMOS FOR SONGWRITERS, SUNG BACKGROUNDS FOR PEOPLE'S RECORDS AND JUST WHATEVER COMES MY WAY!

John - How old were you when you were accepted at the Hamilton Music Academy in L.A. and were you kind of scared at first? It's a prestigious school.

BEVERLEY - I WAS 14 WHEN I WAS ACCEPTED. NO, I WASN'T REALLY SCARED. I WANTED AND NEEDED A NEW CHALLENGE, IT WAS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY.

John - Tell me about Balligomingo?

BEVERLEY - BALLIGOMINGO IS A PROJECT STARTED BY PRODUCER/WRITER GARRETT SCHWARZ FROM L.A. HE CAME UP TO VANCOUVER WITH A SINGER IN MIND FOR HIS RECORD AND AFTER THAT DIDN'T PAN OUT HE WENT ON THE SEARCH FOR OTHER LOCAL SINGERS. IT'S AN ETHERIAL/ELECTRONICA PROJECT WHICH FEATURES MANY TALENTED FEMALE SINGER/SONGWRITERS. THE CD IS NOW RELEASED WORLDWIDE ON BMG/RCA. I HAD TO OPPORTUNITY TO SING ON FOUR TRACKS AND WRITE THREE OF THEM.

John - You started really young with your family band in Quebec. Tell us about that?

BEVERLEY- YES, I STARTED SINGING WHEN I WAS SEVENTEEN WITH MY THREE OLDER BROTHERS. WE ARE FROM QUEBEC ORIGINALLY AND TOOK IT PRETTY SERIOUSLY. WE RECORDED THREE RECORDS BY THE TIME I WAS THIRTEEN WITH SALES OF CLOSE TO 100,000 UNITS IN QUEBEC ALONE. THE BAND WAS TOGETHER FOR SEVEN YEARS AND IN THAT TIME WE DID A LOT OF TELEVISION SHOWS, INTERVIEWS, CONCERTS AND IT WAS A REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCE AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE.

John - Do you ever work with anyone with the family these days?

BEVERLEY- ONE OF MY BROTHERS IS STILL IN THE INDUSTRY AND IS A GREAT SONGWRITER BUT WE DON'T WORK TOGETHER ANYMORE.

John - I heard from someone that you were going to do some shows with Amanda Marshall?

BEVERLEY - YES, I WENT ON HER PROMOTIONAL TOUR IN NOVEMBER OF 2001. IT WAS NICE TO BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE PERFORMING AT A HIGHER LEVEL. JUST IN THE SENSE OF HAVING EVERYTHING TAKEN CARE OF, BEING ON A TOUR BUS ETC. IT REALLY PUSHED ME TOWARDS MY OWN WRITING AND MADE ME THINK ABOUT WHAT IT IS I REALLY WANT.

John - I think you and Torben (Oxbol) did such a great job on the album. It has that Diana Krall big money sound quality. It sounds like you spent a fortune on the album. How was it working with Torben?

BEVERLEY - WORKING WITH TORBEN IS GREAT. I THINK WE BOTH WANTED THE SAME THING IN TERMS OF SOUND AND HOW LUSH THE RECORD IS. HE WOULD DO HIS PART AND I WOULD DO MINE AND THERE WAS NEVER ANY CONFLICT. WE ARE BOTH PROUD OF WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED.

John - 'All Night Long' to me is such a wonderful track. When you sing that song you own it. It's very intimate and very sexy. Tell me about it?

BEVERLEY - ALL NIGHT LONG WAS THE FIRST TUNE TORBEN AND I DID. FROM THERE WE WERE GOING TO DECIDE WHETHER TO CONTINUE WITH THE RECORD OR NOT. I DON'T REALLY THINK OF IT AS A 'JAZZ' TUNE WHEN I SING IT, IT'S JUST A GREAT SONG AND I SING IT JUST THE WAY I SING. I FIND IT TO BE A VERY INTIMATE TUNE AND I THINK IT SORT OF SET THE BAR FOR THE REST OF THE RECORD.

John - What's coming up for you?

BEVERLEY - WELL, IN TERMS OF THIS RECORD 'HERE'S TO YOU' IT IS SELLING WELL IN STORES ACROSS CANADA AS WELL AS TAIWAN AND HONG KONG. MUSICALLY, I'VE MOVED ON AND AM NOW FOCUSED ON WRITING MY OWN MATERIAL. MOST OF WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW FITS WITH THIS WHOLE NEO-SOUL MOVEMENT. TO ME, IT ECOMPASSES EVERY STYLE I'VE EVER SUNG. IT'S JUST ME WITH ALL MY INFLUENCES COMING THROUGH.

John - Where can your fans buy your CD?

BEVERLEY- IN CANADA, I AM NOT DISTRIBUTED BUT HAVE THE CD IS MANY STORES. IT IS IN MOST VANCOUVER STORES, A FEW IN ONTARIO, A COUPLE IN QUEBEC AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF ASKING I GUESS! ON THE INTERNET IT IS AVAILABLE AT WWW.JAZZPROMO.COM AND WWW.CDBABY.COM

John - Beverley, it's always wonderful connecting with you and keep in touch.

BEVERLEY - THANKS JOHN, IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE.

Interview from January 2003

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