Diana Braithwaite

Last updated
Diana Braithwaite
Diana Braithwaite.jpg
Diana Braithwaite, May 2014
Background information
Born Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres Electric blues, country, jazz [1]
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, screenwriter
Years active1990s–present
LabelsVarious including Electro-Fi Records
Website hotblues.ca

Diana Braithwaite is a Canadian electric blues singer, songwriter and screenwriter. She is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner. More recently she has teamed up with Chris Whiteley and they have been acclaimed as "blues icons" by the Toronto Star , [2] and collectively have won nine Maple Blues Awards and had six Juno Award nominations. [3] Although they are little known in the United States, Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley are mainstays of the Canadian blues scene. [4]

Contents

Life and career

Braithwaite is a Black Canadian and a descendant of the Wellington County, Ontario pioneers. Her ancestors escaped slavery in America through the Underground Railroad, and lived in the first African-Canadian pioneer settlement in Ontario. [5] She was born and grew up in Toronto, as the second youngest of six children of Bob and Rella Braithwaite. [6] She began performing professionally as a singer-songwriter in her teenage years, and opened John Lee Hooker in Toronto, before touring as Albert Collins's opening act. [2] In 1999, Braithwaite performed at Lilith Fair. In the same year, she released her debut album, In This Time. [1]

Her solo shows have seen her share the stage with Mel Brown, T-Model Ford and Jeff Healey, and she issued a single in the UK and Europe entitled, "Rollin' and Tumblin'". [2]

Braithwaite performs with multi-instrumentalist Chris Whiteley. [7] The duo recorded live at BBC Radio in London, England, with Bob Hall. Braithwaite and Whiteley have often worked together over the years, and in 2007 they released the album Morning Sun, a collection of original songs penned in a musical styling reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s. [8] It was issued by Electro-Fi Records. [2]

They then toured North America, Europe, and the UK. Night Bird Blues (2009) had a five-week promotional tour in the UK, Russia, and Europe. The album peaked at number 2 on XM Satellite Radio. [9] The follow-up release, Deltaphonic, reached number 1 on the same network. [3] They performed at the Great British R & B Festival in Colne, Lancashire, England in 2011, [10] and the Monaghan Harvest Blues Festival in Ireland, plus the Hudson River Park Blues Festival in New York City, and had appearances on National Public Radio. [3]

Their fifth joint album, Blues Stories, was released by Big City Blues Records in 2014. [4] It contained a mixture of original songs and cover versions of older numbers. [11]

Awards

Braithwaite and Whiteley were named "Songwriter of the Year" at the 13th Maple Blues Awards. [12]

Braithwaite is also the winner of the African-American Women in the Arts Award. [1]

Films

Braithwaite's film, Underground to Canada, aired on national television. [6] Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad, a 1994 film produced by Atlantis Films was nominated for a CableACE Award. Her songs, "Bad Luck Man" and "Blame It on the Bourbon", were featured on the soundtrack Gracie, which won a Gemini Award for Best Short Drama. [1] Survivors was nominated for a Gemini Award and won the Golden Sheaf Award for 'best musical score'. [6]

Family

Her mother, Rella Braithwaite (née Aylestock), has written a number of books on African-Canadian history. [13]

See also

Discography

Albums

YearTitleRecord labelCredited to
1991In This TimeAural Tradition RecordsDiana Braithwaite
2007Morning Sun Electro-Fi Records Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2009Night Bird Blues Electro-Fi Records Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2010Deltaphonic Electro-Fi Records Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2013Scrap Metal BluesElectro-Fi RecordsDiana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2014Blues StoriesBig City Blues RecordsDiana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2016Blues CountryBig City Blues RecordsDiana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2018I Was Telling Him About YouDownload onlyDiana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley

[14] [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Slean</span> Musical artist

Sarah Hope Slean is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. She has released eleven albums to date. She is also a poet, visual artist, and occasional actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shakura S'Aida</span> Canadian singer

Shakura S'Aida is a Canadian blues vocalist, songwriter and actress. She is sometimes credited Shakura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raoul Bhaneja</span> Canadian actor and musician

Raoul Bhaneja is an English-Canadian actor, musician, writer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Goldberg</span> Singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Canada

Eve Goldberg is a folk musician, singer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Musically, she draws from a number of different traditions and influences such as blues, country, bluegrass, jazz, swing, and contemporary and traditional folk music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian blues</span>

Canadian blues is the blues and blues-related music performed by blues bands and performers in Canada. Canadian blues artists include singers, players of the main blues instruments: guitar, harmonica, keyboards, bass and drums, songwriters and music producers. In many cases, blues artists take on multiple roles. For example, the Canadian blues artist Steve Marriner is a singer, harmonica player, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gogo</span> Musical artist

David Gogo, is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and bandleader who is currently signed to the independent Cordova Bay Records label. He was formerly signed to EMI Records. Between 1994 and 2014, he released 12 solo albums. As of 2014, his touring band includes a Hammond organ/piano player, an electric bass player and a drummer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salome Bey</span> American-born Canadian singer-songwriter (1933–2020)

Salome Bey was a U.S.-born Canadian singer-songwriter, composer, and actress who lived in Toronto, Ontario, since 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dione Taylor</span> Musical artist

Dione Taylor is a Canadian blues, roots, soul and jazz singer/songwriter, born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. Dione calls her music the “Prairie Blues”, which is a mixture of Roots, Blues, Gospel and Americana. She is influenced by vocalists such as Aretha Franklin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Son House and Sarah Vaughan. She released her first album, Open Your Eyes, in 2004, and it was nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2005.

Jenny Whiteley is a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. She was a member of the band Heartbreak Hill, and released several solo albums of folk music. She has won two Juno Awards for her music.

The Maple Blues Awards are Canada’s blues awards, "honouring the finest in Canadian blues". They are the only comprehensive national best in blues awards program. The program's goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement. The Maple Blues Awards have been presented by the Toronto Blues Society since their inception in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Kendall</span> Canadian bassist, vocalist and band leader

Gary Kendall is a Canadian bassist, vocalist and band leader, best known for his longstanding association with the Downchild Blues Band and co-creator of the Kendall Wall Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Johnson (blues musician)</span> Musical artist

Bill Johnson is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and music educator. After a long career as a sideman and guitarist in the 1990s, he began touring with The Bill Johnson Band. They released their second album, Live, in 2006, which led to Johnson being nominated for Best Guitarist at the Maple Blues Awards. He self-released his third solo album, Still Blue, in 2010, which was nominated for Blues Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2012. Johnson continues to tour and has hosted blues workshops throughout Canada.

Electro-Fi Records is a Canadian award-winning independent record label founded in 1996, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which specializes in the release of blues records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Carey (musician)</span> Musical artist

Patrick Leonard Carey is a Canadian baritone and tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, vocalist and is best known for his longstanding association with the Downchild Blues Band.

Big Dave McLean is a Canadian blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer and songwriter. A veteran performer, his work has had an influence on many western Canadian blues musicians, including Colin James and Wide Mouth Mason. Notable McLean songs include "She's Got the Stuff", "Kanadiana", "Up On Waverly", and "St. Mary At Main".

Rella Aylestock Braithwaite was a Canadian author.

Kenneth Whiteley is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer. He began performing folk music in the early 1970s, making frequent appearances at the Mariposa Folk Festival and recording and touring with acclaimed children's performer Raffi. Whiteley frequently performed with his brother Chris Whiteley and later with his niece and nephew Jenny Whiteley and Daniel Whiteley. Whiteley has been honoured with numerous awards, including a Genie Award in 2004, and he was inducted into the Mariposa Festival Hall of Fame in 2008.

Angel Forrest is a Canadian folk, blues, rock singer, songwriter, producer and JUNO Award nominee. She is the recipient of ten Maple Blues Awards of the Toronto Blues Society in Canada, including eight as Female Vocalist of the Year. She has been recording under the Quebec label Ad Litteram since 2016.

Layla Zoe is a Canadian blues and blues rock singer-songwriter. Since 2006 she has released a number of albums, both studio and live recordings, and has performed across North America and most of Western Europe. Zoe has been influenced by Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Janis Joplin. Her vocal style has been likened to Joplin by various journalists and commentators. Although hailing from British Columbia, Canada, she has resided in various parts of Europe in recent years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Diana Braithwaite – Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley". Electrofi.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Braithwaite & Whiteley Bio". Braithwaiteandwhiteley.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Big City Blues". Bigcitybluesmag.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. "Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley – The Registry Theatre". Registrytheatre.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Diana Braithwaite". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  7. "Braithwaite & Whiteley". Braithwaiteandwhiteley.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  8. "Chris Whiteley and Diana Braithwaite". Hellodarlinproductions.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  9. "Chris Whiteley". Borealisrecords.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  10. "Great British R & B Festival 2011". Efestivals.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  11. "Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley – Blues Stories – Album Review – Blues Blast Magazine". Bluesblastmagazine.com. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  12. "Toronto Blues Society's 13th Annual Maple Blues Awards 2010 – Winners of the Toronto Blues Society's 13th Annual Maple Blues Awards 2010". Blues.about.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  13. Henry, Natasha L. (7 January 2012). Talking About Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation Day in Canada. Dundurn. p. 46. ISBN   9781459700499 . Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  14. "Diana Braithwaite". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  15. "Diana Braithwaite – Album Discography". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 June 2016.