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Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Cleo Laine, singer, actress and British ‘national treasure,' dies at 97
Published Jul 25, 2025 • 7 minute read Cleo Laine performs at the Jazz Festival at Confederation Park in Ottawa is this file photo. Photo by file photo / Postmedia Network Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Cleo Laine, an English singer who moved easily among musical genres with a dazzling vocal range of almost five octaves and who nurtured a dual career as an actress, performing in musicals and dramatic roles during a career of more than six decades, died July 24. She was 97. Her death was announced in a statement from Monica Ferguson, the chief executive and artistic director of the Stables, a British arts centre founded by Laine and her husband, John Dankworth. Laine began performing in London jazz clubs in the early 1950s, working alongside Dankworth, a saxophonist. After they married, they formed Britain's royal couple of jazz, winning acclaim for performances that combined bebop with baroque music and the blues. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Nothing if not eclectic, Laine remains the only female singer to be nominated for Grammy Awards in the pop, classical and jazz categories, which she accomplished in successive years in the 1970s. She was the first – and still the only – British singer to receive a Grammy for best jazz vocal performance, when she won for her 1983 album 'Cleo at Carnegie: The 10th Anniversary Concert.' Her repertoire encompassed the saucy lyrics of British playwright and composer Noël Coward, the poetry of John Donne and T.S. Eliot, standards by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, and even Shakespeare's sonnets, which were worked into jazz compositions by Dankworth. A concert by Laine was likely to have a 19th-century German art song by Robert Schumann followed by a tune by Stephen Sondheim or Fats Waller. Laine, who rarely appeared without Dankworth at her side as her musical director, made dozens of recordings, including albums with classical guitarist John Williams and flutist James Galway. She recorded songs from 'Porgy and Bess' with Ray Charles. Her parallel career as a theatre actress informed the dramatic flair she brought to her singing. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'm a cabaret singer wherever I am,' she once told The Washington Post . 'I think it's a part of me that the words are very important, much more so than improvisation. I think that the drama of a song is a lot more important than oobly-shoobling all over the place.' In 1961, she had a song in the Top 5 on the British pop chart ('You'll Answer to Me'), appeared as a nightclub singer in the film 'The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone' and received glowing reviews for her performance at an Edinburgh arts festival when she filled in at the last minute for Lotte Lenya in 'The Seven Deadly Sins,' a theatrical piece with music and dance by Lenya's husband, Kurt Weill. The following year, Laine – who identified herself as Black and biracial – appeared in two plays on the London stage, including in Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin's 'Cindy-Ella, or I Gotta Shoe,' an all-Black musical based on the Cinderella story. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She had dramatic roles in other British productions, including a modern adaptation of Euripides's 'The Trojan Women,' Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and the title role in a 1970 staging of Henrik Ibsen's 'Hedda Gabler.' Laine had a showstopping role in a long-running 1971-1972 London revival of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's 'Show Boat,' playing Julie, a mixed-race singer whose story ends in tragedy. Her songs, including 'Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man' and 'Bill,' invariably brought the audience to its feet. In 1972, after Laine made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, New York Times jazz critic John S. Wilson called her one of Britain's 'national treasures … with a remarkable voice that ranges from an exotically dark, breathy quality to high-note-topping exclamation.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Despite her undeniable vocal dexterity, other reviewers were unmoved by the commanding theatricality she brought to the concert stage. 'She has a frighteningly accurate ear and a teasingly infallible sense of rhythm,' Times music critic John Rockwell wrote in 1974 of Laine's performance at New York's Carnegie Hall. 'But for this listener, admiration stops a good deal short of real affection. Miss Laine strikes me as a calculating singer, one whose highly perfected artifice continually blocks communicative feeling. To me, she has all the personality of a carp. But then, obviously, I'm just a cold fish.' Nonetheless, Laine maintained a large and loyal following for both her singing and her theatrical work. Dankworth wrote a musical play for her, based on the life of the French writer Colette, that premiered in 1979 and later moved to London's West End. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 1985, Laine developed the role of Princess Puffer in the original Broadway production of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' (later called 'Drood'), based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens, and earned a Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical. In 2000, she played a singer in 'The Last of the Blonde Bombshells,' a joint U.S.-British TV movie about a latter-day reunion of an all-female band from the Second World War, also starring Judi Dench, Olympia Dukakis and Ian Holm. 'Whatever I'm doing at the time is my favourite thing,' Laine told The Post . 'A lot of people would say I'm too eclectic, diversifying far too much, but I think that because of that I've worked longer and had a much more interesting life.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Clementina Dinah Campbell was born Oct. 28, 1927, in the Southall district of London. She had a Black Jamaican father and a White English mother who were not married to each other when their daughter was born. In a 1994 autobiography, Laine called her mother 'a bigamist' who had not obtained a divorce before marrying Laine's father. The family moved frequently, and her parents held a variety of jobs, including running a cafe and boardinghouse. Her father also worked in construction and 'would sing at the drop of a hat,' Laine told The Post . 'He was a busker, singing on street corners in the Depression,' she said. 'It was a matter of need, dire need, in those days. Being Black, it was difficult for him to get work, so he busked. I wasn't really aware of this until much later, when I realized that he used to bring a lot of pennies home and count them.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Young Clementina was strongly influenced by her father's interest in jazz and was encouraged by her mother to study music and acting. She left school at 14 and became an apprentice hairdresser, always hoping to break into show business. 'I would sit in the cinema,' she later told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, 'watching Lena Horne and Judy Garland and think: 'I want that for me.'' At 19, she married George Langridge, a roofer, and had a son. Five years later, in 1951, Laine had a tryout with Dankworth, then emerging as one of England's leading jazz musicians. 'I think she's got something, don't you?' he told his bandmates after the audition. 'Something?,' a trumpeter answered. 'I think she's got everything.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Her name at the time was Clementina – or Clem – Campbell Langridge. After some brainstorming, the band members decided to call her Cleo Laine. 'They decided my real name was too long and sounded like a cowboy,' she told the Chicago Sun-Times. Her sister raised her son while Laine devoted herself to her career. She impressed Dankworth and his band not just with her voice but with her ability to match them, glass for glass, in drinking ale during their tours of British nightclubs. By the mid-1950s, Laine was anointed Britain's top jazz singer by critics and music magazines. She divorced her first husband, from whom she had grown apart, and she married Dankworth in 1958. They had two children, who were raised by nannies and attended boarding schools while their parents were on tour. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They lived about 50 miles from London in the village of Wavendon, where they established a theatre and an educational foundation. In the 'show must go on' tradition, Laine gave a performance at Wavendon on Feb. 6, 2010. Only at the end did she announce that Dankworth had died earlier that day. Dankworth was presented with a fellowship of the Royal Academy in 1973 and the following year appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was knighted in 2006, the first British jazz musician to receive this honour. Survivors include a son from her first marriage, Stuart Langridge; two children from her second marriage, singer Jacqui Dankworth and jazz bassist and composer Alec Dankworth; and several grandchildren. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Laine wrote two volumes of memoirs and received the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1997. Her voice remained supple and precise well into her 80s. In 1983, she told The Post how she sought to connect with her listeners: 'I like to imagine when I'm singing that it's not thousands of people but one person, and a love affair can be created that way. I ignore my husband in the background: This is a love affair going on.' Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. Hockey Sports Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Columnists
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Montreal In 48 Hours: Your Ultimate Weekend Escape
Old Montreal in the summer getty Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec, is a brilliant city for a weekend break at any time of the year but the summer is really a special time to visit. If you're there in late June/early July, the fantastic ten-day Montreal International Jazz Festival is a musical extravaganza with hundreds of gigs, many outdoors and free. For an introduction to the city, a walking tour of one of the neighborhoods and a boat tour around the harbor are both highly recommended. Or rent a bike for a more active tour of a city that has more bike paths than anywhere else in North America. Drinks on one of the numerous terraces in Old Montreal is blissful way to finish the day. And squeeze in an excursion outside of the city if you'd like to experience a less urban vibe too. The spacious roof terrace at Hotel Monville, Montreal Hotel Monville Hip Hotel Monville, a 4-star hotel with 269 spacious rooms, housed in a sleek glass and concrete high-rise, is within an easy stroll of both Old Montreal and the shops of rue Sainte Catherine. The chic public spaces include a ground floor lobby bar, a cafe, various meeting areas and a spacious outdoor rooftop terrace. The cafe serves an excellent breakfast that includes proper (not runny) scrambled eggs, local cheeses and the famous Montreal bagels. Montreal artist Valerie Jodoin Keaton's commission to create a mural for the ground floor space features vintage black-and-white photographs of Montreal's history. Guest room at Hotel Monville, Montreal Hotel Monville Design is by local architects ACDF Architecture, known for their sleek, contemporary aesthetic. Rooms have a cool urban vibe, with floor-to-ceiling windows for stellar city views. A double room is from $270 per night, depending on the room type and dates of the stay. Firmly committed to innovation, in addition to a regular check in desk with a staff member, Hotel Monville offers a self-check-in option, allowing guests to receive their room keys in moments. And a fun techie feature is the hotel is the first and only hotel in Canada to offer room service via an autonomous delivery robot. This robot delivers orders directly to guests' rooms quickly and efficiently. You'll see the cute robot hanging about in the bar area waiting to help. Complementing their efforts in innovation is sustainability which has been recognised with a Gold certification from GreenStep Sustainable Tourism, a Canadian organization that evaluates and supports tourism businesses in their sustainable development efforts. Le Germain Hotel Montreal Le Germain Hotel Hotel Le Germain is a wonderful 5-star, just off St. Catherine Street, in the heart of Montreal's shopping district. Awarded a coveted Michelin Key last year, Le Germain has 136 rooms with the space, chic design and ultra comfort you'd expect from a boutique hotel. A queen room is from $400. Always keen to support local talent, works by Montreal artists are displayed in corridors, elevators, and rooms. And of course, the famous mural "Dazzle My Heart" by Canadian artist Michelle Hoogveld covers the hotel's facade and beckons you to enter. The mural features 80 different colors and geometric shapes and can be spotted from miles away which is handy if you get lost on your way back from sightseeing. Sustainability is certainly not just a buzz word at Le Germain. From the opening of the family-run business's very first hotel 36 years ago (in Quebec City), long before sustainability became a standard practice, sibling founders Christiane Germain and Jean-Yves Germain took concrete steps to protect the environment with sustainable practices: water and energy management, prioritizing local suppliers, partnering with local artisans, and choosing high-quality, durable materials. Today, they have Green key certification, a global standard of excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry. They've managed to almost eliminate single-use plastic water bottles with a water fountain on each floor where guests can refill their own water bottles or the carafes found in every room. Sustainable materials have been used throughout the property, including custom furniture manufactured by Renova, a Canadian supplier renowned for its low-toxicity materials. Unusually, instead of single-use slippers, they use washable and reusable slippers made by Kotmo, a Quebec B Corp company. Restaurant Le Boulevardier, Hôtel Le Germain Montréal Le Germain Hotel The food and drink offering at Le Germain is stellar from the chic Bar Flaneur on the ground floor serving excellent cocktails to all-day dining upstairs in Le Boulevardier where hotel guests can order breakfast a la carte to the classic French gastronomic menu in the evenings. The food, inspired by French brasseries, features fresh, local fare, with a French-influenced wine list. What to See and Do The Catholic Church of St. Michael, Montreal Wikimedia/Jean Gagnon A walking tour, or even better, a food tour is a great way to get the taste of a city. Secret Food Tours offer a few super options, including one in Mile End, a journey through Montreal's hippest foodie neighborhood ,with stops at five places and history of the area thrown in (including a stop outside of the Catholic Church of St. Michael, modeled after Istanbul's Hagia Sofia). Mile End, named after London's Mile End, was the birthplace of many creatives including writer Mordecai Richler, musician Leonard Cohen and the band Arcade Fire. The tastings on the food tour can change but generally include a delicious sweet pastry to start, 'street gnocci,' a famous Montreal bagel, a moreish cannoli and of course, the French Canadian classic, poutine. Jean Talon market in Little Italy, Montreal getty Spade & Palacio also offer brilliant foodie walking tours. Started by two native Montrealers, the small independent tour company prides itself on offering non-touristy tours. Their 'Beyond the Market Tour' visits the famous Jean-Talon Market (the largest in North America) as well as lesser known venues in Little Italy. Basilica of Notre-Dame of Montreal and Place d'Armes - Montreal, Quebec, Canada getty Picturesque Old Montreal is a must. Start with a visit to the historic Notre-Dame Basilica, followed by an exhibition at the contemporary arts center, Phi. Currently on show is Bingo , the first solo museum-scale exhibition for artist Nico Williams, winner of the 2024 Sobey Prize. After your cultural fix, wander the cobbled streets of the Old town and and stop for lunch at one of the pretty outdoor terraces. French brasserie Gaspar is a good choice with a menu offering a superb tuna tataki, cassoulet and croque madame. Daytrips Near Montreal Strom-Saint-Hilaire Bianca Desjardins If you can fit in a day or afternoon excursion outside of the city, there are plenty of options. Just 30 minutes south of Montreal is the glorious Strøm Spa Mont-Saint-Hilaire, in the heart of the Gault Nature Reserve. This thermal spa is a little piece of paradise, surrounded by nature, with views of Mont Saint-Hilaire. There are a series of pools in different temperatures, a Finnish sauna, Eucalyptus and essential oil steam rooms and plenty of indoor and outdoor relaxation areas with fireplaces. The Nord restaurant at Strom Spa Mont Saint-Hilaire Bianca Des Jardins The Nord restaurant at Strom Spa Mont Saint-Hilaire is alone worth the excursion, brilliantly showcasing the products and flavors of the region. Smoked duck breast with Jerusalem artichoke; Trout gravlax with fennel confit and a fine Artisanal platter with local cheeses, meat and fish are among the menu highlights. A blissful visit to Strom Mont-Saint-Hilaire anytime is $99 CAD; Monday- Thursday $74 CAD ($64 CAD after 5PM). Le Mas des Patriotes Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Another wonderful excursion close to Montreal is a vineyard tour. There are three wineries close together in or around in the Vallée-du-Richelieu, 30 minutes south of Montreal. Le Mas des Patriotes is an essential visit both for its lovely rural location, pretty tasting room and its superior products. Established in 2003 by France Cliche, who owns the vineyard with her husband, the winery specialises in organic wines. Madame Cliche is passionate about organic farming and focuses on producing high-quality, elegant wines that reflect the terroir of the Richelieu Valley. This winery really feels like an insider secret but it deserves to be better known as the quality of the wines (especially the whites) and keen prices (all bottles are under $30) are excellent. The wines from Le Mas are currently only available in Quebec so a tasting at the winery ($20 for 5 wines) and a nosey around the attached antique shop make for a great afternoon out of the city. Getting There Air Canada offers 12 direct flights a week to Montreal from London Heathrow and direct flights from Miami, LA, San Francisco, New York and Atlanta.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Putting the jazz in jazz festival: Genre's influence focus of Halifax music fest
Jazz festivals across North America regularly feature artists whose music falls outside the genre, but some musicians at this year's Halifax Jazz Festival are highlighting jazz's influence on the rest of pop music. Headliners for this year's festival stretch across various genres such as folk, rock and hip-hop. Jazz can be heard in each one of those styles of music, according to one musician who specializes in the genre. "Jazz inspires pop music and pop music inspires jazz," said Quebec jazz bassist Carl Mayotte, whose band the Carl Mayotte Quintet performed at the festival this year. Mayotte, who completed a master's degree in jazz performance at McGill University, hosted one of several "jazz labs" that are part of the festival's year-round educational programming. The labs offer the public an interactive look at how a musician works on their craft and produces music. Despite peaking in the 1920s, Mayotte said jazz has had a lasting effect on different types of music that have been popular throughout the decades since. Folk, prog-rock, R&B and hip-hop are just some examples of types of music that have borrowed elements of jazz, he said. "Rap is like the [child] of jazz," Mayotte said. 'Jazz is for everyone' The Halifax festival's mandate has always included an educational component, said one organizer. "We like to do a lot of our workshops prior to the concert so people can come and learn from the artists and then go see them perform later in the day," said Andrew Jackson, the festival's artistic director. "That's a really special way to just get more out of the music as well." Several jazz musicians are part of the festival every year but typically perform at venues away from the main stage on the Halifax waterfront. Jazz is not as represented as other genres, Jackson said, which is why it's important to have education be part of the annual event. "[Jazz] music is for everyone. And so being able to, like, unlock some of those mysteries is really important to us," he said. For Mayotte, an event that has the word jazz in its name should be promoting jazz music in some way. There are a lot of talented young jazz musicians in Canada who just want the opportunity to perform live and events like the Halifax festival should be making space for them alongside the larger mainstream acts, he said. Mayotte, who also teaches music in schools, said there will always be an interest in jazz because young people are naturally drawn to it. "Because there's this kind of child play in jazz and there's this kind of feeling to be free in it, like how this concept of liberty is really implied in jazz," he said. MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Putting the jazz in jazz festival: Genre's influence focus of Halifax music fest
Jazz festivals across North America regularly feature artists whose music falls outside the genre, but some musicians at this year's Halifax Jazz Festival are highlighting jazz's influence on the rest of pop music. Headliners for this year's festival stretch across various genres such as folk, rock and hip-hop. Jazz can be heard in each one of those styles of music, according to one musician who specializes in the genre. "Jazz inspires pop music and pop music inspires jazz," said Quebec jazz bassist Carl Mayotte, whose band the Carl Mayotte Quintet performed at the festival this year. Mayotte, who completed a master's degree in jazz performance at McGill University, hosted one of several "jazz labs" that are part of the festival's year-round educational programming. The labs offer the public an interactive look at how a musician works on their craft and produces music. Despite peaking in the 1920s, Mayotte said jazz has had a lasting effect on different types of music that have been popular throughout the decades since. Folk, prog-rock, R&B and hip-hop are just some examples of types of music that have borrowed elements of jazz, he said. "Rap is like the [child] of jazz," Mayotte said. 'Jazz is for everyone' The Halifax festival's mandate has always included an educational component, said one organizer. "We like to do a lot of our workshops prior to the concert so people can come and learn from the artists and then go see them perform later in the day," said Andrew Jackson, the festival's artistic director. "That's a really special way to just get more out of the music as well." Several jazz musicians are part of the festival every year but typically perform at venues away from the main stage on the Halifax waterfront. Jazz is not as represented as other genres, Jackson said, which is why it's important to have education be part of the annual event. "[Jazz] music is for everyone. And so being able to, like, unlock some of those mysteries is really important to us," he said. For Mayotte, an event that has the word jazz in its name should be promoting jazz music in some way. There are a lot of talented young jazz musicians in Canada who just want the opportunity to perform live and events like the Halifax festival should be making space for them alongside the larger mainstream acts, he said. Mayotte, who also teaches music in schools, said there will always be an interest in jazz because young people are naturally drawn to it. "Because there's this kind of child play in jazz and there's this kind of feeling to be free in it, like how this concept of liberty is really implied in jazz," he said.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Mostly Jazz Festival generates £1m for economy, say organisers
An annual jazz festival in Birmingham generates £1m for the city's economy every year, according to its Jazz, Funk and Soul Festival brought 3,000 music lovers to Moseley Park from 11 to 13 July as they watched headliners Ezra Collective, War and Maribou manager John Fell said a record number of people attended the sold-out event this year, which supported a range of local businesses from hotels to food traders."We always try and promote the local economy, and businesses always say that over this weekend their revenue streams really go up," he said. The event has been held since 2010, starting off as a two-day spin-off from Moseley Folk Festival with headliners Sun Ra Arkestra and Courtney aimed to provide a platform for local talent alongside international acts, with between 1,000 and 1,500 people attending each day. Director Gerv Havill said he never expected it to become so popular as audiences travelled from the UK, Europe and the US to attend the festival every year."Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival is now firmly cemented in the city's cultural calendar," he said. One of the traders selling food at the festival was Sean McCabe, who runs the meatball food stall The StreetBaller. He described the event as one of the "highlights" of his year."Being a local lad where the population of Kings Heath and Moseley are there, it's a fantastic place to be," he Mr McCabe set up his business in 2024, he has sold food at venues across the Midlands and hopes to expand his customer base in the said that there was a real "sense of community" while selling food at the festival, as local traders supported each other and worked together."I had good sales over the whole weekend and lots of people visited who hadn't come before," he said. The Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath has been hosting official parties after the festival finishes each night most years since the event began in Matt Leftfoot said the pub always sees hundreds of people attending, with tickets sold out on the afterparties are held at its club venue upstairs, other festival-goers come in late at night for a casual drink the years, the pub has hosted DJs like Goldie, Herbert, Gilles Peterson and Craig Charles at its afterparties."We can wholeheartedly say it has a really positive impact on the local economy. It's very much a family affair, community-driven event," he said. The Bournbrook Inn in Stirchley said that the festival was a "good thing" to have locally, as it brought in extra customers to its hotel every has 53 rooms which are "always full" during the event, as the hotel sees a 10% rise in bookings compared to a normal weekend. "We get in more staff to look after the hotel; there are definitely benefits of the festival," the pub like Ezra Collective stayed at the hotel over the weekend while performing at the festival while other rooms were open so artists could use the showers in between performances."We're happy to host any guests; it's nice for the staff to have the artists but it's also quite low-key," the pub Jazz, Funk and Soul Festival is set to run in 2026 from 10 to 12 July, and artists could be announced at the end of the year. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
