R
ising Toronto jazz vocalist, Linda
Carone, has made a name for
herself in the urban music scene,
recreating the sound of bygone
eras by transporting them into the
present with a contemporary twist.
In a style that is f lirtatious, intimate and
approachable, Carone channels the inf luence
of musical icons from the 1920s, 30s and
40s. She recently debuted an album, Black
Moonlight, that delivers a lyrical repertoire of
beauty and mischievous charm that will leave
you swooning over your cocktail in the back
of a dimly lit lounge.
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Your first album, Black
Moonlight, compiles vintage
jazz and blues classics into
a single collection. Tell us
about the journey that led you
to this debut.
During my most formative years, I was exposed
to old movie musicals and classic rock. But it
was Billie Holiday movies that set in motion
an interest in the vocal jazz genre. I slowly
collected jazz and blues songs that I loved and
would mostly sing when no one was around.
At this time, I also had an interest in eastern
philosophies and practiced kundalini yoga and
Buddhist chanting; I used Indian scales and
ragas to warm up my voice instead of going
the conventional way. I began to find my voice
through vibrations, energy and songs that I
connected with. Taking a few jazz workshops
and learning the basics, I went on to a few open
stages and later started to book my own gigs.
Making an album was not really part of my
plan initially; I had just considered singing and
performing to be means of practice. As a ‘late
bloomer’, I felt that I had a lot of catching up
to do in order to call myself a vocalist.
Due to my love for vintage songs and my
desire to bring them back to life, I already had
a fairly substantial repertoire of songs I was
happy with; it wasn’t too difficult to choose
tracks for this album. After much learning,
practice and listening, the time finally came to
make Black Moonlight.