Twenty-five years ago, jazz singer Edie DaPonte and her husband asked themselves a powerful question that spurred their move from London, Ontario to Vancouver Island: “What are we waiting for?”
After her husband fought and won a battle with cancer when she was 40, the tenacious optimist with a love of music decided to follow her dream and move to the West Coast.
“My husband’s illness was our wake-up call,” she says. “We spent so much time in and out of hospitals and we finally said, ‘Let’s just go!’ And we did. It was the best thing we have ever done.”
Getting Her Start
DaPonte says she has been singing as long as she can remember and used to perform at weddings when she was in high school.
“I don’t know who would have ever hired me back then!” she says with a laugh.
After becoming a pharmaceutical rep in Ontario, she ran out of time to follow her passion. It wasn’t until about a decade after her move to BC that she rekindled her love of music.
“Around the age of 50, people started asking me to sing at parties in their homes, at wineries and at weddings,” she says.
When she started experimenting with singing in French, she says the audiences responded strongly and her passion transitioned from a hobby to a career.
“I was so on fire and excited about that music,” she says. “It was intimidating to learn but the things that are most difficult are often the ones that are the most worth doing.”
She recorded her first of five albums in 2011. DaPonte’s Under Paris Skies show, featuring the music of Edith Piaf, proved to be a fan favourite with sell-out shows throughout British Columbia.
With support from Creative BC, DaPonte released two new studio albums in 2019: her globally inspired Alegria and Under Paris Skies. Under Paris Skies was nominated at the Independent Music Awards 2020 for Best Tribute Album.
On Stage
Anyone who has seen her perform knows that DaPonte brings the element of surprise to every show. Her range and repertoire travel far and wide crossing genres and spanning multiple decades and languages.
She describes her style as “classic jazz with global influences.” She’s equally at home in an intimate lounge setting or on an outdoor festival stage, having established a reputation in the music scene of Vancouver Island and Western Canada as a dynamic and engaging performer. DaPonte brings passion, playfulness and an evident love of performance to her live shows.
Vancouver Island Music Awards awarded her with Jazz Recording of the Year in 2017 for her original song “Island Rain” and nominated her as Vocalist of the Year in 2016. DaPonte’s original song “Ride the Wind” was nominated in the Traditional category for the 2017 International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA). Young at Heart was nominated in 2016 for Best Album – Jazz with Vocals by the Independent Music Awards.
Emotive, playful and passionate, her voice lends itself perfectly to the wide range of music she loves to feature in her shows. She moves seamlessly from jazz to bossa nova, blues to fado, switching between English, Portuguese, Spanish and French numbers with ease.
DaPonte has performed at festivals including the Victoria Jazz Festival and the Vancouver Latin Festival and toured theatres across Vancouver Island and BC.
You’ll find her accompanied by the finest Victoria musicians, including bassist and arranger Joey Smith. Together they create a wonderful atmosphere, engaging audiences large and small, drawing them in and rewarding them with classic numbers they love to hear.
“Joey is my number one collaborator and friend,” she says.
“We have done thousands of shows together. He cares about the music and the audience and we just ‘work.’”
Smith toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for two-and-a-half years and has written numerous arrangements for the Victoria Symphony. Currently, several of his arrangements appear on recordings by The Bills and The Marc Atkinson Trio.
Creative Process
DaPonte says although she is still performing gigs, she is concentrating more on writing songs of late.
“I sit down with a guitar and let the songs come to me from personal experience,” she says.
“The one I am working on now is called ‘Sliver of Time’ and I think people can really relate because it’s about looking back at how far you have come but also staying in the moment.”
She adds that the process of writing is incredibly personal and most rewarding when people connect with a song she has written.
“My favourite would probably be a song called ‘Little Town by the Sea.’ The Deep Cove Music Society uses it on their website, and it really resonates with people,” she adds.
“People request it at shows and connect with it because it is about loving the place you live.”
She says feeling the satisfaction of connecting with people through music in this way reminds her of the importance of “just saying yes.”
“The old adage that it is never too late to follow your passions, whatever they are, couldn’t be truer. Trust that you have something of value to share because when you feel passionate, you inspire other people.”
She adds that her inspiration comes from her fans, including a 97-year-old woman who makes the effort to follow her performances.
“She’s getting out there and getting inspired so what is anyone else waiting for?” says DaPonte.
“We are wired to fear failure as humans but what have you got to lose? What’s the worst that could happen? Shine your light because doing what you love will allow you to stay forever young in your heart.”
DaPonte invites readers to get inspired at her performance A World of Song at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre on May 9 at 7:30pm.
“It will be an unforgettable evening of music that spans continents and cultures,” she says.
Learn more about DaPonte, her work and her upcoming shows at edie.ca.
