25th Annual Women's Blues Revue

The Toronto Blues Society www.torontobluessociety.com has been producing this popular event for the past 25 years. The evening is nothing short of spectacular. A combination of an all female band, supporting talented female vocalists and moderated by CBC host and an Officer of the Order of Canada Shelagh Rogers is an affair of grace and charm, almost unusual for the blues. The blues that I have studied is often delivered by talented and  worn male musicians with challenging lives. This event had the grace of  a Jazz dance show done to blues rhythms.

The all female band was composed of attractive young musicians led by Donna Grantis, the musical director and guitarist, who dressed in black leathers with stilleto heels, and played guitar like a mix between Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The horn section had sax played by Carrie Chestnutt and Colleen Allen and trumpet by Rebecca Hennessy. Sadly, there was no harp! I wonder is this the male influence of the blues? In fact I have never known of any majour female harp players.  In my world, harp is the foundational instrument of the blues. There was a stand up bass played by the attractive Brandi Disterfheft, and keyboard played by Lily Sazz to round out the sound.

The show opened with Treasa Levasseur, who sang from her new album Broad, and told her various life tales. From  raising her 16 year old daughter, and stressing out about the clothes she wore, to  the words from her parents and lover on how to how to pursue her art. She was elegant as she told her stories and danced flowingly to the sound. She really awoke our senses.

Following Theresa there was Emma-Lee a tall blond singer wearing a gold sequence dress, who spoke softly but sang rough. She called out for her mother in the stands, who happened to be sitting next to me. She was so overjoyed to be playing Massey Hall. Her sound was powerful and moving as she explained how she had recovered from a difficult period in her life and bounced back and was now giving the performance of her life. She is compared to K.D.Lang but she is really her own style.

The other singers included Suzie Vinnick, Shakura S'aida and Kat Danser. Each were fantastic. However, the show stopper was a small dimunitive lady with a large voice by the name of Ada Lee. She charmed the crowd with stories of her life, and started to drift into her own world as she spoke about being the only black person in Peterborough. She showed her strength by arriving on stage with little help, even though she had been in an accident recently. She confessed her age of 85 years young, and coined the phrase from Tina Turner, what's Age got to do with it. She showed her might of character in the way she held the audience's attention as she got back to singing after the band started revving up to get her show back on schedule.

For an evening of grace and charm, check out the Women's Blues Revue next year.

Enjoy Blues with that Female Feeling,


The Adventure Guy