FAWN FRITZEN Pairings Perfect pairings: wine and cheese, gin and tonic, sun and sand, Simon and Garfunkel. To this list we can add another winner: Pairings, the sweetly sublime new album from jazz vocalist/songwriter Fawn Fritzen. This is the second recording from the award-winning Fritzen, a Whitehorse-based artist who came up with an adventurous concept for the album. As the title suggests, every song features a pairing of Fawn’s voice with one particular instrument. “In a band you communicate, but when it’s just the two of you, it is such intense concentration. You just focus on each other,” she explains. The couplings on different tunes include acoustic bass, guitar, piano, prepared piano, percussion, and a saxophone section, resulting in a rich variety of tones and musical moods. The instrumental formatting means the arrangements are generally on the sparse side, but there is a large dynamic range to Pairings. The settings place a clear spotlight on the vocals, and Fritzen’s warm, strong, and clear voice is certainly up to the task. The album was recorded at sessions in both Whitehorse and noted Toronto studio Canterbury Music Company, and Fritzen recruited the cream of the crop of Canadian jazz instrumentalists to help provide the pairings. That list comprises pianist David Restivo, percussionist Karl Schwonik, pianist Daniel Janke (who co-produced the album), guitarist Reg Schwager, and saxophonists Richard Underhill, Kelly Jefferson, and Shirantha Beddage. Arrangements on the record were contributed by Janke, Restivo, and Steve Jones. The first recording for Pairings took place in Whitehorse, back in April 2014. George Koller was touring western Canada with another singer, and a short gap in that schedule enabled him to fly to Whitehorse and record a few tracks with Fawn in Janke’s studio. Original plans of releasing an EP were shelved in favour of completing a full-length album. The remaining songs were recorded last fall at Canterbury Sound, an experience Fawn thoroughly enjoyed. “It is such a beautiful studio and we all had lots of fun on the sessions,” she recalls. The material on Pairings is a mix of fresh reinterpretations of some jazz standards (plus a rock and R&B tune) and four neatly-crafted original compositions. “I do love to write,” Fawn explains. “I was writing songs earlier in my career that were more in the folk vein, but I’ve been finding it a fun challenge to write in the jazz genre.” She certainly rose to that challenge well here. One original composition on Pairings, 'Make It a Double', is so well-constructed and convincingly retro in style that you’d swear it must be a classic from the Songbook era. It’s a witty story that Fawn describes as “a fun, swingy tune that starts with a woman walking into a bar and ordering a stiff drink. She’s also looking for a willing ear to discuss her romantic troubles.” The jaunty piano imparts a bar-room vibe, while the duet vocals of Steve Amirault add further character. “La tete dans la lune” is another original, a lovely bossa-nova inflected tune written by Fritzen with guitar ace Reg Schwager in mind. “He is so amazing in the bossa style that I wanted to write a tune especially for him,” she says. 'Can’t Find My Way No More' is another striking original song, a full-blooded lament with a strong gospel flavour that shows Fritzen can belt it out convincingly, too, a trait also showcased on her version of Percy Mayfield’s R&B classic 'Please Send Me Someone To Love'. In selecting outside material, Fawn finds the lyric of great importance. “I really want to get inside a song, so I need to relate to it. Why choose something you don’t feel?” she notes. She’d been performing some of these covers in her shows prior to starting the record, she explains. “I came across ‘Do Do Do’ when I was planning a 1920s-themed show, and I knew it would be a great up-tempo song to feature George on bass. I’ve been singing ‘Always’ for years. Irving Berlin wrote that for his wife, and I love that it’s so heartfelt and has such a beautiful melody.” Fawn’s ability to convincingly tell a story vocally is nicely showcased on Francesca Blumenthal’s 'The Lies of Handsome Men', a poignant guitar and voice ballad. Even when covering such familiar Songbook standards as 'Tea For Two' and 'Begin The Beguine', Fritzen brings something fresh to the table. The former features some lyrics in German by the multi-lingual singer, while the makeover of the latter pairs voice and lightly brushed drums. The most unconventional cover choice here is 'Straighten Out', originally a Guess Who song. “That was my husband Michael’s idea,” recalls Fawn. “He suggested we use two saxophones, but we ended up with a sax trio.” Fritzen’s vibrant vocals and the three saxes make for a scatty ‘n brassy treat here. Fawn Fritzen’s prowess as a jazz-based vocalist was first showcased on her 2013 debut album, Bedroom Voice. Produced by Daniel Janke, it is described by Fawn as “a quieter, moodier selection of songs than Pairings. The title came from a comment Daniel made when we were working on ‘Cry Me A River.’ He said ‘imagine you’re having a conversation in your bedroom. Use your bedroom voice.’” The well-received debut enabled Fritzen to win the 2014 Julian Award of Excellence for Emerging Jazz Talent, a major confidence boost for the singer. Fawn came to jazz later than most. After studying piano via The Royal Conservatory through to Grade 11, she indulged her love of singing in musical theatre productions while studying commerce at university in Ottawa. These included such hit shows as Little Shop of Horrors, Chess, and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Her immersion in jazz began in earnest when she joined Whitehorse’s Big Band as a pianist in 2007 (she later became the vocalist, instead) and continued when she starting playing her own jazz vocal gigs locally, often including material sung in her other languages, French, Mandarin Chinese, and German. Fritzen’s talent as an extroverted entertainer also made her a valuable cast addition to long-running vaudeville show, the Frantic Follies, from 2012 to 2014. The loyal following Fawn has earned, especially in the North, paid off big-time when she launched a very successful crowdfunding campaign to help make Pairings. “That was so amazing, not just financially, but for the outpouring of support,” she says. “It felt like being lifted up, like bodysurfing! You can’t ask for more as an artist than to know you’re touching people.” A compelling artist and an appreciative audience. That’s another great pairing.