A jazz note, a sultry tone

Chandelle Rimmer is the rarest of birds, a singer that scats naturally. She can take what appears to be one note and a couple of similar sounds and turn them into an improvised melody.

Tonight the modern jazz vocalist makes one of her infrequent appearances at the Edmonton Petroleum Club backed by three of Edmonton’s most eulogized musicians – Chris Andrew (piano), John Taylor (bass) and Jamie Cooper (drums).

For most jazz artists, scatting is a learned skill. For Rimmer, like Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin and Sarah Vaughan, scatting is an inborn instinct.

“I’m at home in the art. I never think of myself as a singer but as an instrumentalist. I do songs that don’t have words and I do lines with other instruments that are non-traditional,” says Rimmer.

During her 70-minute show, the St. Albert resident will tackle a variety of signature charts. Reflections, an instrumental Andrews wrote is high on her list of favourites.

And then there’s a few standards not as well known in the traditional sense such as Steven Kuhn’s The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers, an uptempo jazz waltz that draws on harmonies.

Swinging into a diverse style, Rimmer also tackles Jack Van Poll’s Quiet Now, a ballad she discovered after listening to a Deborah Brown record.

“Very few people know it and I wanted a gem of piece no one had ever heard of.”

The rest of the program is filled with tunes from her recent album Perspect-ism, a release that blends traditional and contemporary jazz into a cosmopolitan anecdote of our times.

And of course, she will sing Flight, a tune dear to her heart. Her daughter Jolie Hamel wrote the free verse poem as part of a Grade 8 assignment.

“When I saw it, I was inspired by the poem and it was the perfect poem for me to construct a melody.”

In her day life, Rimmer is head of the MacEwan University’s hectic vocal program. And this concert is as much about taking time to sing with friends as it is about sharing jazz charts.

“These guys are my first call. Chris and my playing style align quite a bit. Jamie is so flexible and plays with great energy. I love the complexities he plays. And John is a master of a musician and a wonderful person.”

Opening the concert at 8 p.m. is Mars Hill Trio comprised of three MacEwan music students. Drummer Josh Miller, guitarist Brian Raine and acoustic bass player Andreas Wegner meld head-bobbing grooves with improvised jazz.