DAWN
OF THE BLUES
Dawn Tyler Watson makes her way from Montreal to play the Southside Shuffle (Saturday, September 11, 9pm, Main Stage) and returns to Toronto for the
TBS Women's Blues
Revue at historic Massey Hall on Saturday, November 27. She will be sharing the stage at that time with
Rita Chiarelli, Sue Foley, Ndidi Onukwulu, Jackie
and Serena Ryder backed by the popular Women's Blues Revue Band -
Lily Sazz (band leader, keyboards), Suzie
Vinnick (bass), Margaret Stowe (guitar),
Michelle Josef (drums), Sarah McElcheran
(trumpet), Carrie Chesnutt (sax), Colleen Allen
(sax).
Singer and songwriter Dawn Tyler Watson got her first big break after Preservation Records approached her in 1997 and asked her to contribute to a blues compilation it was putting together.
Almost overnight, Watson, who up until then hadn't had much confidence in her songwriting ability, wrote two songs.
When the Preservation CD was released, the two tracks, along with a Leadbelly tune she had recorded, received rave reviews. Within six months, Watson and her band, the Dawn Tyler Blues Project, moved up to the next level, from playing clubs, corporate parties and weddings to performing for larger audiences at concert halls and opening for other acts.
"It was an affirmation as a songwriter," says Watson over the telephone from her home in Montreal.
In 2001, her critically acclaimed debut CD, Ten Dollar Dress, was released on the Preservation label. Most of the songs on the recording, blues, R&B, funk and jazz tunes, were written by Watson. "You Can't Be True," from the Preservation compilation, was included. It's a song that has a story behind it.
For 12 years, Watson has been visiting seniors' residences and community centres, doing music therapy with seniors.
She says she has sung to someone who was dying and to people suffering with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. "It's a challenge to get someone who's not responding, to get them to smile or react. It's amazing to see how music affects them." Those who can, sing along, she adds.
At one seniors' residence, Watson used to harmonize with a woman on "You Can't Be True, Dear," a song from the late 1940s. The woman was blind, suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia, and wheelchair bound. "She would sing at the top of her lungs," Watson says. "She was pretty confused, but she had a great voice."
Out of the experience of singing with her, Watson says she wrote the scintillating and sultry blues song "You Can't Be True."
Although "You Can't Be True" falls into the category of relationship songs, Watson often ventures out of that tried-and-true territory, tackling subjects such as depression, suicide, spousal abuse, drug abuse and safe sex. "Shoot the Devil," on both the Preservation compilation and Ten Dollar Dress, about addiction and teenage suicide, came out of her experience working with teenagers in Montreal, she says.
Watson is a strong storyteller whose songs are richly populated with different characters. "I like to write about things that affect us. I like stories; I'm moved by people's legacies and what they've been through."
Not surprisingly, Watson feels that lyrics are important _- her excellent band does the arrangements of her songs, for which she also writes the melodies — and so she tries to keep her diction sharp when she performs. "I don't care how beautiful your voice is," she says, "I want to hear the message of the song. The words and melody can only move you so far."
Watson's powerful voice, as well as her performance style, stage presence and her versatility as a singer, has brought her critical praise.
In the Toronto Star, Geoff Chapman wrote that "this utterly assured performer has you believing she's a front-ranking country singer, a soul diva, a jazz warbler, a new adult contemporary specialist, a swing siren — as well as a basic blues belter." The Journal de Montreal has dubbed her the "Queen of the Blues in Montreal."
While Watson was enrolled in the jazz program at Montreal's Concordia University — she graduated in 1994 — she acted, and had several small parts in movies. She decided to concentrate on singing, and dropped acting, she says, because she can express herself in singing more than she can in acting.
So Watson was surprised when she got a telephone call about playing the lead role of the singer Curly Brown in the movie Jack Paradise, which chronicles the Montreal jazz scene from the 1930s to `70s. "They said they wanted a singer before they wanted an actress," she says. Watson took the part, playing a character similar to Billie Holiday who is in love with her white piano player.
Released in February in Quebec to favourable reviews, the movie, directed by Gilles Nöel, is now out in DVD, with English subtitles, in the rest of Canada.
Born in England, Watson grew up in London, Ont., and has made Montreal her home since her days at Concordia. She has toured across Canada and in Europe.
She was introduced to Toronto at the Harbourfront blues festival in 1998, guesting with Big Daddy G (she is also on his 2000 CD, Topless). She has been nominated for several Maple Blues Awards, has appeared at the 2002 Women's Blues Revue, and is part of this year's Women's Blues Revue at Massey Hall on November 27.
In her home province, Watson has been nominated for Lys Blues Awards in three categories. She performs in and hosts an annual women's blues show in Montreal, which this year contributed $2,000 to a women's shelter. "It's a chance for me to do my songs that are based around women's issue," she says.
Watson is currently finishing her sophomore CD. She is considering recording an acoustic CD, and people are asking her to do a jazz recording. Since the release of Jack Paradise, Watson has been in demand to sing jazz in Montreal.
"I'm not sure of the direction of my music," she says, "but it will always have a roots and blues feel."
For more information about Watson, visit www.dawntylerwatson.com.
- Ruth Schweitzer