May 10th 2018 at 7:30pm

Edie Daponte

Members $10, non-members $12

Edie Daponte appeared eight months ago as one of our first acts of the season. The show was so successful and there were many requests for her to return as soon as possible. This Thursday was the first open date available, and we're really excited to welcome Edie and her musicians back.

Equally at home in an intimate lounge setting or an outdoor festival stage, Edie has established a reputation in the music scene of Vancouver Island and Western Canada as a dynamic and engaging performer. She brings passion, playfulness and an evident love of performance to her live shows.

Vancouver Island Music Awards awarded Edie with "Jazz Recording of the Year" in 2017 for her original song "Island Rain" and nominated her as "Vocalist of the Year" in 2016. Edie's original song 'Ride the Wind' has been nominated in the Traditional category for the 2017 International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA). Her album "Young at Heart" was nominated in 2016 for Jazz Album of the year by the International Music Awards.

Emotive and passionate, Edie's voice lends itself perfectly to a wide range of jazz standards, seamlessly moving from jazz to Bossa Nova and back again, switching between English, Portuguese, Spanish and French numbers with ease.

This time you'll find her accompanied by the talented, very experienced, and oh-so-polite Southern gentleman Joey Smith on guitar and bass, and Jan Stirling on piano. Together they create a wonderful atmosphere, engaging audiences large and small, drawing the audiences in and rewarding them with classic numbers they love to hear.

Joey Smith toured for two-and-a-half-years with the Glenn Miller Orchestra as bassist and arranger. After he was married in Victoria, he moved to Rochester, N.Y. to study for his Master's degree at the Eastman School of Music. For the past 25 years he has been bassist for many local groups and collaborated with various artists during their stops in Victoria. Joey has written numerous arrangements for such the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Victoria Symphony, as well as arranging some of the music for the Commonwealth Games in 1994. Currently several of his arrangements appear on The Bills, Marc Atkinson Trio and Edie DaPonte's latest CD, "Young at Heart".

Although Jan Stirling is best known as a jazz, classical and pop musician, performing as a soloist or in duos, trios or quartets, she is also a teacher, a composer, an energy worker and a writer. She has entertained in Victoria, Vancouver, Thailand, Japan, Australia, Penang and on cruise ships. She continues to perform uplifting music in Victoria for events at Government House, the Empress Hotel, and Butchart Gardens.

GSJS showcases jazz live in the Comox Valley, giving music lovers an opportunity to enjoys local, regional and internationally-known jazz musicians.