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Singer Divine Brown grew up listening to Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan and Mariah Carey. But when she was turned away from a theatre audition as a teen and told to go learn the standards, she decided it was her job to master every genre of music. She later joined a fusion band, but it was at Queen Street West’s Rex Jazz and Blues bar where Divine encountered the “old jazz cats” that would let her get up and hone the voice and improv skills that would soon set her apart from all the other young singers in the city. Now a Juno-Award winning R&B/soul star and successful theatre performer, Divine returns to the low-key environs of the Rex to explain how jazz has influenced her pop music career and show her former teachers what she’s learned.
Charles Officer is the award-winning director of Nurse.Fighter.Boy as well as short films, and music documentaries. He has worked with K’naan, DJ Green Velvet and Bedouin Soundclash and when we asked him how he felt about filming Divine Brown for his second City Sonic he smiled a huge grin – turns out he’s known Ms. Brown since she was a very young lady. Another perfect match.
This was our last City Sonic shoot, and it was pouring rain. When the lovely Ms. Brown pulled up in a classic Rolls Royce decked in her vintage finest for the retro styled shoot, there wasn’t a big enough umbrella to keep her from getting soaked. Thankfully the sun shone down on our crew soon enough, and Divine keep the good vibes going on stage at the Rex late into that night.
We’re proud to have a selection of very talented women singers and songwriters in City Sonic, but Divine Brown is unique amongst all genders and genres: surely the only artist we know who has performed with both the Backstreet Boys and Youssou N’dour. This Toronto-born, Juno Award-winning diva has topped charts singing R&B, soul and pop, but it’s her love for jazz that most surprised us, and why we took her back to the Rex to share it with all of you.
