TORONTO (djc) – “Jazz is cool,” says Matt Dusk, a 24-year-old jazz vocalist from Toronto. What is also cool is his too-good-to-be-true signing with Decca, a major label that is hoping to shuttle Dusk from local crooner to national star.
August 5 was a landmark date for Dusk – his single “Miracle” hit the airwaves from coast to coast, simultaneously fulfilling the youngster’s dream and making jazz singing, well, cool.
“With my type of music, it appeals to people aged 16 to 60,” says Dusk in an interview at Toronto’s luxurious Windsor Arms Hotel. He looks content and confident, smiling quite a bit, no surprise for a 2002 York University graduate who went from grad parties to photo shoots as quickly as a Sinatra finger-snap.
His debut CD Two Shots will hit shelves in January 2004 but music videos will be released in October. There is talk about making jazzy tunes for movie soundtracks. And his second single release, “Two Shots,” was penned by U2’s Bono for the late Frank Sinatra and never recorded until now.
Dusk explains how his 1930s-era music is not just for the older generations. “Two Shots has that swing of jazz but with blues chord progressions, and a rock n’ roll drum beat.” He adds how he funks up the old-timer tunes by incorporating drum programming, a feature he expects will attract younger fans.
But in these days of indie bands marketing through the Internet, fans aren’t that hard to come by. Before Dusk landed the Decca deal, he recorded four independent CDs and became a regular fixture on the charts at MP3.com. For a time, he had three songs on the top 40 list, including his rendition of “I Got You Under My Skin.”
“The Net is required for any musician out there,” Dusk points out. “People can check out free music and get on emailing lists. The Net helped me big time.”
“Big time” is just one of many reminders that Dusk is a young buck plying his trade in a genre known for top-hats and whiskey shots. The 24-year-old lets out his personality by peppering his speech with “dude” and admitting he was a Depeche Mode fan. Dusk is no novice singer, though, having flexed his vocal muscle at St. Michael’s Choir School, then taking his passion into academe by majoring in music at Toronto’s York University. He fronted an eight-piece band, playing as many as 20 gigs a month and modeling his style after jazz greats such as Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan.
To this day, Dusk has been asked, “So, whadya do for living?” He replies, “I sing.” And he is again asked, “No, really, whadya do?” Ignoring the naysayers, Dusk throws himself into his art. His love is evident in the velvet-voiced notes he croons in “Miracle” and his co-written “Five.” The catchy “Two Shots” is alluring in its snapping-finger rhythm, hooking the ears with a wistful chorus. It would be unfair to compare Dusk to Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall, but they both unearth decade-old melodies ideal for close-your-eyes lounging.
The past year has been a rollercoaster for Dusk – “I have to schedule in free time, as crazy as that sounds” – and his CD release in 2004 will bring the Toronto singer a double dose of joy and anxiety: Will the record sell? Will “busy” not adequately describe the upcoming calendar year?
Dusk shrugs it off, like a bad dream buzzing around his ambitions. “If the album fails, then I’ll be back in the clubs, doing what I did. Until the end of my days, I’ll be singing, and there’s nothing that will stop that.”
