Jazz Chanteuse Diana Panton Sings of New Love

The music industry is an arena where egocentricity and “divas gone bad” behaviour is often the order of the day in the interests of revenue over artistic achievement.  Happily for music fans who value genuine creative talent, there is always refreshing exceptions. An interesting case in point would be Canadian jazz chanteuse Diana Panton, whose growing reputation among both her fans and some well-known names in the field (among them jazz statesmen Yusef Lateef) has not altered a personal approach to creativity characterized by genuine modesty and a strong work ethic.

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Jazz CD reviews: How would you like your jazz standards sung today?

Many CDs are shooting for at least a bit of the classic burnished beauty and heartfelt lyricism that's abundantly audible on Pink. For whatever reasons, they fall short. For Panton, it just seems to come naturally.

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For the Love of Jazz: Diana Panton is now one of the top singers in the country

Panton is now one of the top jazz singers in the country. Her first album, Yesterday Perhaps, won Panton praise from jazz aficionados across the country. Last year, her second CD, If the Moon Turns Green, earned her a Juno nomination. Tonight, at a sold-out concert at the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas, Panton introduces her third CD, Pink, to her local fans. It promises even better things for Panton.

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Wholenote: Jazz and Improvised

Panton has carefully chosen a collection of well-crafted songs that she can mine for lyrical gold. She is foremost a story teller - not a flashy or emotionally overwrought singer - Panton simply and deftly presents the songs so the listener can take them in without being distracted by vocal pyrotechnics. With her soft, sweet voice and sincere delivery you can really believe it when she sings “This is my first affair” on Please Be Kind and on Wouldn’t It Be Loverly when she pines for “a room somewhere, far away from the cold night air” you just want to run right out and find her one!. . . . . click to read full review.

In Retro Magazine: Practical Timing is Everything

"... Diana has an innate sense of timing, because from the time she began recording, a steady growing success has followed.  Practical timing is everything.  But it will be the genius behind it all that will lead this talent to the standalone, successful music career she so deserves.". . . .

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Hamilton jazz singer up for Juno 'a complete original'

Since her debut "Yesterday Perhaps" was released in 2005, acclaim for Panton has been steadily growing, with local raves turning to national attention -- and now, the nomination for this Sunday's Juno Awards in Vancouver (CTV, check local listings). The singer, who functions as her own manager, booking agent, publicist and record label, has maintained control over virtually every part of her career. Though she was caught off guard by the nomination, her peers weren't. "She's a complete original. She doesn't do anything like anybody else," says veteran Canadian jazz musician Don Thompson, who has frequently collaborated with Panton. . . . more

Hamilton Magazine : High Notes

Since being discovered as a teenager, flame-haired jazz vocalist Diana Panton has had no trouble finding the spotlight.  She might not naturally seek it out, mind you.  The retiring Westdale Secondary School teacher is more interested in performing with inspired musicians in a studio or small club than playing to a huge room.  But a huge room is what she’ll get when she appears this July as part of the legendary Juan-Les-Pins Jazz Festival in Antibes, France. . . . more

Wholenote Magazine Discoveries : Jazz and Improvised

There has been a lot of buzz around Diana Panton since her first CD was released in 2005, and as all of us cynics know, sometimes buzz is justified and sometimes it isn’t.  In Panton’s case, I am happy to add my voice to the chorus of praise and report that the buzz is utterly justified.  Her second CD “If the Moon Turns Green” is a gorgeous collection of star-and –moon-themed standards . . . more

July View Magazine Article

At the early age of 19, Diana Panton was turning heads. Becoming a stand out with early appearances with the Hamilton All-Star Jazz Band and concerts with pianist David Braid, it took nearly a decade but Panton realized her first CD in 2005 with …yesterday perhaps. Acclaimed by the national media as one of the year’s best jazz works, it’s now taken two years for Panton sophomore CD, but it was well worth the wait . . . . more

Steeltown produces a smouldering-hot jazz singing sensation

Could the hottest young jazz singing prospect in Canada be a high school French teacher in Hamilton? Sure, it seems crazy, and having grown up in the Steel City myself just increases my skepticism. But once you hear Diana Panton breathe new life into familiar standards and make Frank Sinatra's closing-time classic In The Wee Small Hours into her own private lullaby, you'll realize, as I have, that there's something very special about this Westdale Secondary School staffer. . . . more

This Hamilton jazz vocalist’s stunning debut disc will knock your socks off

Diana Panton. If you don’t know the name, you should (and will). But more importantly, you want to get to know the voice. As jazz vocalists’ instruments go, hers is unique, though you’ll find hints of the past there too, if you listen—the girlishness of Ella Fitzgerald, the authority and skill of a Sarah Vaughan, occasionally even the world–weariness of a Billie Holiday. Those are some pretty big names from which to draw comparison, but the correlations are apt and free of hyperbole. Diana Panton is just that good . . . more

"Her name is Diana Panton and she has one of the loveliest voices I think I've ever heard ..."
Tim Tamashiro, weekend host of the CBC Radio 2 jazz show Tonic