Preview
CORAL EGAN QUARTET
TD CANADA TRUST JAZZ FESTIVAL CALGARY
Thursday, July 1
Brew Brothers
Coral Egan believes there is power in the music. Given the fact that she was able to sell 10,000 copies of her debut album, The Path of Least Resistance, in 2003, it seems as though there is a power in Egan as well. Spreading her wings outside her native Quebec, she was deservedly nominated for a Juno award. Despite the fact that it was independently released, the album showcases Egan’s vocals with a number of familiar tunes (Van Morrisons’s "Moondance" and Charlie Chaplin’s "Smile"). However, it’s her unique interpretation of the music that draws you in and won’t let go. It also doesn’t hurt that she has something to say.
"Music is a powerful tool," says Egan, explaining the impetus for her latest disc, this year’s My Favorite Distraction. Lyrically challenging and meaty, the album allows Egan to wrap her gutsy and passionate voice around subjects that are important to Egan: responsible consumerism and the fragile state of the earth.
"I have a hard time believing that we can just keep going on this way, yet I know that for centuries people have been saying that and yet we’re still here," she says. "My fear is that I won’t be able to see some great change in how people consume and how we abuse the planet."
Driven by a long musical history, Egan is obviously influenced by her mother, Karen Young – one of Quebec’s finest jazz vocalists with whom she performed at age 11 – but Egan’s current musical approach is inspired by another well-known female vocalist – Joni Mitchell.
"Joni Mitchell produces albums that you obsess over," says Egan. "I would listen to Joni’s albums over and over and discover something new every time."
Mitchell’s cross-genre musical approach has guided Egan’s goal of avoiding expectation by applying her lyrics to all sorts of music.
"If you create something early like jazz then it becomes your stigma. I don’t want to belong to any one style or just one thing," she says.
While jazz purists may be disappointed, Egan’s style is distinctly her own. It’s a tough act to juggle in an industry ready to peg an artist into one slot. Egan’s incorporation of folk, R and B and soul into what might be "filed under jazz" was an intentional plan of attack. She knew she needed to branch out of the pocket of jazz and incorporate other styles of music and not because she wanted the album to be more marketable.
"I waited a long time to do this album. But the best aspect of doing this album was that there weren’t very many restraints (put on me) to produce this album. I wrote the majority of the songs... It’s original and it’s what I’m most proud of – it’s me.
"My voice is the only connecting element with my music. The business is one thing and the art is another. I will find the appropriate community for my music. I’m not thinking about world domination. I focus on what I do and try my best to keep it real."
Delivering an album that was far more eclectic than her debut, in keeping it real, Egan looked to another outside influence when making My Favorite Distraction – a group of young girls who live on her street making crafts and living their art.
"I’m inspired by the momentum I see in young people and seeing them do what they love. They don’t let ambition get in the way of doing what they love." |
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