Deanne Matley - The Alberta Lounge (2022)

Welcome to The Alberta Lounge, where National treasure Oscar Peterson was discovered in Montreal. Alberta, the province where Deanne grew up and started her full-time music career ten years ago!

Inspired by the great Canadian jazz legend, The Alberta Lounge features two new tunes of Deanne's ("The Alberta Lounge" and "If You Were Here Today"). She also made sure to include two of Oscar's originals, the haunting ("Hymn To Freedom") and tender ballad ("When Summer Comes"). The rest were chosen from his vast repertoire, such as Lionel Hampton and Jeri Jones's tune ("Je ne Sais Pas,") for which Deanne had the utmost honour of writing original French lyrics. The album also has a remarkable jazz-funk cover of Jorge Ben Jor's ("Mas Que Nada" ), which Deanne sings in Portuguese and adds vocal harmonies for extra fun.

Deanne recruited some of Montreal's premier jazz talent for the project, including pianist Taurey Butler, bassist Morgan Moore, and drummer Richard Irwin. Also guesting on the album are long-time Canadian pals pianist Paul Shrofel and guitarist Steve Raegele.

Throughout, Deanne shines as a first-rate vocal stylist. Her contemporary style is still deeply rooted in the jazz tradition but is unafraid of pushing the envelope. This anniversary album is a dedication to all Canadians. To quote Oscar, "People are Canada's greatest resource."