HAMILTON, ON – Our next Mainstage concert Legends of Swing on April 23 at 7:30pm honours some of the celebrated female vocalists known for popularizing many of the jazz standards we all know today. Award-winning Canadian jazz singer Dee Daniels takes the FirstOntario Concert Hall stage for an animated evening paying tribute to swing legends including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan. Guest Conductor Karl Hirzer leads the orchestra on this live-only performance of beloved swing hits.
Dee Daniels is a unique talent who transcends musical borders bringing her jazz styling, infused with gospel and blues flavoring, to the stage. She performs and records globally with symphony orchestras, big bands, combos and with numerous jazz legends. Daniels has 14 CDs as a leader to her credit, including her 2021 multi-award winning and critically acclaimed The Promise. Daniels’ performances draw critical acclaim wherever she goes, mesmerizing her audiences with her incredible vocal abilities and the personal spin she puts on the hits she performs:
“[Daniels] used the extraordinary range and velvety texture of her voice like an instrument, wrapping its smoky texture around each word of a lyric to give the song added meaning, nuance and expression.” – John Pitcher, Staff Music Critic, Democrat and Chronicle
“No sooner had she delivered ‘There’ll Be Some Changes Made,’ her first number, when she paused to chat with her listeners from the stage – and she soon had us laughing a lot and eating out of her hand. (…) She soon had us trained to respond to her questions with resounding choruses of ‘Yes, Dee.’” – Lindsay Koob, Night of Nostalgia, Charleston City Paper
“Dee Daniels’ voice brings to mind all the most delirious adjectives: Honeyed. Sweet. Low, rich, smooth and slow as molasses. (…) This woman brought the house down. The raucous blues ended with a high note the likes of which I don’t think I’ve ever heard. Daniels held that note until it was thin as ribbon, then fattened it out and pulled it down into the lowlands. That’s the blues! – Mary Kunz, News Classical Music Critic, The Buffalo News
Guest Conductor Karl Hirzer, also, a pianist and a composer, has held the position of Resident, then Associate Conductor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra since 2016. He has led performances with ensembles internationally and works regularly with new music titans Land’s End Ensemble, having collaborated on a number of critically acclaimed commercial recordings. A diverse musician and collaborator, he has performed with numerous renowned soloists including Evelyn Glennie, Chris Botti, Agata Szymczewska, Jonathan Crow and Owen Pallett.
Our Legends of Swing concert begins at 7:30pm, with doors opening at 6:30pm and the evening’s performance ending at approximately 9pm. There will be one empty seat between households and masks are required both in the lobby and in the concert hall. As added measures of safety, there will be no intermission and concessions will be closed.