She’s been at it for 35 years, but Toni Blodgett’s love of jazz continues to fuel her band’s unique blend of what she calls “more traditional” music.
What it really means is her group has access to a vast repertoire of jazz tunes and has developed the ability to move seamlessly between Boswell Sisters arrangements to New Orleans Jazz and on to gospel, ragtime and pretty much any swinging jazz melody you can imagine.
Blodgett was originally with the Dixieland Express Band for more than 10 years, but formed her own group, the CanUS Hot Jazz Band, in recognition of the fact she’d gathered the best talent she could find from both sides of the border. The band has played to critical acclaim throughout North America and at the 2003 Sun Valley Jazz Festival, where Blodgett was named the “First Lady of Jazz” in recognition of her talented representation of Boswell Sisters arrangements.
Blodgett, a resident of View Royal for more than 30 years, fell head over heels for what the West Shore has to offer. “I could never dream of moving,” she said.
Drummer Don Leppard, a long-time Colwood resident, originally came to Victoria with the Canadian Forces, where he played with and conducted military orchestras.
These days the group performs twice a month at Hermann’s Jazz Club (753 View St.).
Formed as a quartet in 1991, the CanUS Hot Jazz Band travelled throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada and in 2002 played to rave reviews at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts Millennium Stage.
These days the band plays as a sextet, with Blodgett on piano and vocals, Joey Smith on bass and vocals, Mike Broadley on trumpet, Doug Rhodes on alto and soprano sax, Tom Ackerman on sax and clarinet and Leppard on drums.
They blend tight group numbers with stunning individual performances to create a show where their sound meshes into a night of unforgettable music.
Although the band decided to stop touring in 2006, Blodgett still considers the odd out of town gig. “We played in Kelowna a while back and had a lot of fun playing to a packed house. It was fun, but these days a big consideration is whether we get to go home to our own beds,” she said with a laugh. “We’ve travelled enough for a lifetime.”
The group, however, is stoked about the opportunity to play at the Olympia Jazz Festival in Washington State in June. “It’s always great to see the fans who follow us and bands you’ve played with before. It’s like getting together with family.”
The group’s regular gigs at Hermann’s are always a favourite and the family friendly venue is conducive to children joining their parents and grandparents to learn to appreciate the music.
Blodgett said seeing a child on the dance floor, grooving to the tunes with their parents, is about the most satisfying aspect of her performances.
“I want to share tunes like ‘Mississippi Rag’ and ‘Sit Right Down’ with a generation that maybe has never heard some of these great songs,” she said. “These are fabulous pieces and they can take your breath away given the chance.”
The CanUs Hot jazz Band plays Hermann’s this Sunday (Jan. 8) and Jan. 22, with tickets available at hermannsjazz.com.
– with files from Rick Stiebel
editor@goldstreamgazette.com