Diana Panton to Release 11th Album 'soft winds and roses'

With a career spanning nearly two decades, two-time JUNO Award winner Diana Panton has established herself as one of the brightest lights on the international jazz scene, praised by listeners, musicians, and critics alike for her ethereal vocals, exceptional song selection, and emotive nuance. Panton has announced the October 25 release of her eleventh album, soft winds and roses.

A departure from Diana Panton’s more recent albums, soft winds and roses features modern classics composed from the 1960s onward, including songs by Lennon and McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Gordon Lightfoot, Don McLean, Ron Sexsmith, Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and more. Diana’s signature sound, which Jazz Times called “arrestingly beautiful,” makes every song her own, and the feather-light intimacy of each track is so direct that the lyrics feel like a secret passed between Diana and her listener. The album’s arc follows a relationship, beginning shyly with hard-to-declare feelings, continuing through a deeply emotional connection, and finally separating, with lingering traces of love. 

Why songs from the ‘60s onward?  Diana Panton explains, “Through the years, I have recorded several compilations for the Asian market, and I was often asked to include a bonus track that was a bit more contemporary and well-known in that market than some of my more obscure song choices. Fast forward to the present: I decided to assemble a selection of modern standards composed from the 1960s onward. It was a fun challenge to bring our trio’s distinctive sound to these modern classics, mixing well-known songs like Elton John's 'This is Your Song' alongside some new jazz standards, such as Fred Hersch's 'A Wish (Valentine).'"

On soft winds and roses, Diana Panton’s evocative vocals are backed by the artistry of two longtime musical colleagues – both former members of George Shearing’s ensemble – who have made significant contributions to the beauty and passion of Diana’s previous albums: pianist/vibraphonist/bassist/arranger Don Thompson (Officer of the Order of Canada) and guitarist Reg Schwager (Member of the Order of Canada). The minimalist instrumentation on soft winds and roses enhances the raw emotion of Diana's vocals. Thompson plays as though he is in conversation with Diana, hanging on her every word, sensing her every breath, and responding in kind. Schwager dazzles with shimmering runs, yet is always understated, playing in full support of the lyric.

ABOUT DIANA PANTON:

In command of a keen aesthetic sense, Diana Panton has attracted the attention of some of the jazz world’s most respected masters.  When legendary multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson first heard the nineteen-year-old Diana sing, he enthusiastically urged her to audition for the renowned Banff Centre for the Arts Jazz Workshop. It was there that she studied under Norma Winstone, and, in subsequent visits, with Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton.  When the time arrived for her to go into the recording studio, award-winning guitarist Reg Schwager was invited to join Don Thompson in laying down a collaborative sound that has proved to be, on all of her albums, the perfect setting for the delicate nuance of Diana’s pure vocals. The late, great jazz critic Len Dobin called the product of that first session, …yesterday perhaps, one of the finest debut albums he had heard in years. 

Since the release of that first album in 2005, Diana Panton’s career has gathered astounding momentum, drawing international acclaim for her ten albums and the impressive variety and consistent quality of her catalogue of songs. The numerous honours garnered include JUNO Awards for RED in 2015 and I Believe in Little Things in 2017, three Silver Disc Awards in Japan, eight JUNO nominations, nine Hamilton Music Awards, and a host of National Jazz Award nominations and Canadian and American independent music award nominations. I Believe in Little Things charted simultaneously on Billboard’s Jazz and Children’s Music charts and went to #1 on Amazon’s “Movers and Shakers” chart, following an interview on NPR. The album received a four-star review in DownBeat magazine and was one of their Best Albums of 2016. Diana’s albums have also made the year-end lists of ICI Musique, NOW Magazine, Jazz Critique Magazine, The Montreal Mirror, The Ottawa Citizen, HiFi Trends, and DownBeat, among others, and, in addition to reaching #1 on Amazon and iTunes in Canada and the US, have made bestseller lists in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.