Fans of jazz at Sylvan United Church will be able to say a farewell to the series with an amazing concert on Thursday, Nov. 16.
The event will feature cabaret chanteuse Patricia O’Callaghan, who handles the songs of Canada’s favourite troubadour, Leonard Cohen, with a woman’s touch.
The Toronto-based vocalist will perform Cohen’s lesser-known songs as well as his iconic hits, though with new twists, at the church in Mill Bay (right beside Frances Kelsey Secondary School) on Nov. 16.
O’Callaghan will perform with classically trained pianist Robert Kortgaard and jazz bassist Andrew Downing, so the Cohen program will feature several genres coming together.
Billboard Magazine describes her CD, Matador: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, as “a truly exceptional blend of natural expressiveness and masterful coloration, her tender versions of Cohen’s ‘Take this Waltz’ and ‘Hallelujah’ are revelatory.”
During her 15-year career, she has produced six of her own CDs and made many appearances as a guest on other artists’ CDs.
For the past six years O’Callaghan has been resident artist at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company, with responsibilities that included conducting, teaching, mentoring, producing, curating, performing and developing new work.
She has sung with such ensembles as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Don Byron Quartet and performed in such venues as London’s Royal Opera House and New York cabaret Le Poisson Rouge.
The Mill Bay concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $25 at the door.
For more information or to reserve tickets, call 250-324-1900 or 250-743-4659.
The series is ending as long-time organizer Pat Selman is retiring from that position.