Diana Braithwaite has performed at Massey Hall as part of the Women’s Blues Review this past November, at the huge Beaches Jazz Festival this past summer, and at the Molson Amphitheatre in 1999 where she opened Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair before 18,000 people.
She has toured throughout Canada, the U.S., Africa, Europe, and most recently the U.K where earlier this month she conducted a week-long blues workshop followed by a concert in Birmingham.
But there’s one very conspicuous place she hasn’t performed at – home! Here in Scarborough where she was born and raised along with five siblings, and where her mother has lived in the same house for more than 60 years (her father passed away last year).
That’s about to change this Saturday, March 17, as the acclaimed singer, who has shared the stage with the likes of Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Tracy Chapman, John Lee Hooker, Jeff Healey and Buddy Guy, will bring some old time blues to Acoustic Harvest’s monthly concert presentation.
Acoustic Harvest is a Scarborough folk-roots club which is celebrating its 10th season, and holding its concerts at St. Nicholas Anglican Church (at the corner of Manderley Drive and Kingston Road, one block east of Warden Avenue).
Braithwaite will be joined by another Toronto blues icon, Chris Whiteley, who himself has a long and impressive resume, working and recording with such artists as Leon Redbone, John Hammond, blues piano great Blind John Davis, country stars Prairie Oyster and folk legend Tom Paxton among others.
The two have been “working together for over 20 years”, said Braithwaite, but have recently partnered into an official duo.
They’ve recently been signed by Electro-Fi Records and released their debut album called Morning Sun.
Braithwaite said the two “had always wanted to work on a recording project together” and decided to do “a tribute to the classic blues sound – which was Bluebird Records, a record company around that time in the Thirties and Forties.”
They started writing songs three years ago, said Braithwaite, and soon “realized that it was really making a good collection of new material.”
So far, she said the acoustic blues album, which is slated to be released in the U.S. in April, has been going “really, really well. We even have a good review with Down Beat Magazine”, which labels itself as the monthly ‘bible’ of jazz, blues, and roots music.
The album will be featured at their Scarborough concert along with plenty of covers of classics from that period “like Memphis Minnie, Bill Broonzy and that kind of style.”
It promises to be a special evening, not only kicking off a busy year of touring in support of the album, but also providing Braithwaite with a rare opportunity to perform on her home turf.
“You know, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve really performed in Scarborough since I was a teenager,” said Braithwaite who good naturedly nixed any discussions of birth dates but did allow that she graduated from Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute in the seventies. “I was in the school band,” she said.
Prior to that she attended Centennial Road Public School.
“I’m looking forward to the chance to sing in Scarborough after all these years.
Those years have produced many memories for the Scarborough blues singer, who also has a single currently released in Europe called Rollin’ and Tumblin’ which features Roger Inniss, Chaka Khan’s bass player.
Obvious highlights are the Women’s Blues Review at Massey Hall last November and Lilith Fair which also featured Sheryl Crow and Prince.
At a festival in France last year, “I performed on the same bill as Magic Slim and the Teardrops which is one of the old blues bands that have been around quite a while.
At a Quebec festival, also last year, “I actually performed with Howlin’ Wolf’s original band.”
Years ago, she added, “I had a chance to sing at the famous Teresa’s Lounge venue in Chicago.”
Braithwaite grew up in a very musical family where she was exposed to many styles – classical, jazz, gospel, blues “and even country.” She recalls looking up to such artists as Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Odetta and John Lee Hooker.
She couldn’t have asked for a better start to her own blues career when she was subsequently given a chance to open for John Lee Hooker at the Brunswick House in Toronto with the Chaser Blues Band. Later that same year, Albert Collins invited her on the road to open his show.
“It was very, very special for me to be able to have that opportunity to be able to work with some of the people that I would listen to, and really respected their work.”
