Deanne Matley - Because I Loved (2018)

Deanne Matley’s voice and passion for jazz have taken her from her Alberta home to New York, France, Mongolia, and back. She sings standards, her own songs, and an impressive variety of covers with combos large and small, including Calgary’s Prime Time Big Band. Her previous four albums, with songs ranging from jazz standards to pop covers and Christmas favourites, have garnered her Top 10 radio play across Canada and fans around the world. She divides her time between Calgary and Montréal, and is excited that Because I Loved will be launching in both cities.

Canadian jazz vocalist Deanne Matley’s fifth album, Because I Loved, is a tour-de-force, taking the listener on an emotional journey from despair to quiet contentment, with stops at red-hot passion and the excitement of new love along the way. Deanne recruited some of Montréal’s premier jazz talent for the project, including drummer Jim Doxas (who also produced the album), pianist Paul Shrofel, bassist Adrian Vedady, and guest vocalist Ranee Lee. Because I Loved features four new tunes of Deanne’s to round out a song list that includes saxophone legend Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar,” the haunting “Forget Me” (written for the great Shirley Horn), and remarkable covers of songs by Journey (“Open Arms”) and Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors (“The Wine We Drink”). Throughout, Deanne shines as a first-rate vocal stylist, deeply rooted in the jazz tradition but unafraid of pushing the envelope. Her seen-it-all authority permeates every cut. “This is an album about love, melancholy, and starting again … about relationships,” says Deanne. “It’s the album I’ve always dreamed of making,” Official release performances are in April in Montréal and May in Calgary, with an extensive Canadian and international tour to follow.