"Few recordings have as interesting a back story as I am here - Songs of Kathryn Cooke & Jo-Anne Belvedere. Fortunately, the music is as good as the tale is unique. . . a pleasant on-the-ears blend of roots, folk, and even R&B".
Mark Rheaume
CBC Radio
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Rocky Mountain Outlook
Thursday, April 21, 2005
NEAR TRAGEDY LEADS TO TRIUMPH FOR LOCAL WOMEN
Carol Picard - Editor
When Canmore pediatrician Dr. Kathryn Cooke fractured her neck while mountain biking in 2003, little did she know, or one of her colleagues know, that the mishap represented a huge turning point in their lives.
In heavy traction with a halo brace screwed into her temples for three and a half months, dependent on her young children and husband for the most basic of assistance, the fiercely independent Cooke found herself in unfamiliar territory on many fronts.
Had her break been even a millimeter more severe than it was, she would have lived the rest of her life like Christopher Reeve, a complete quadriplegic on a ventilator. But the Fates were there for her that day in Moab, Utah, with guardian angels in the form of fellow bikers and complete strangers who knew exactly what to do within seconds of her crash.
She felt a huge, overwhelming need to write about the experience, about how it changed her life, strengthened her faith and reinforced her overwhelming love for her family.
But rather than setting those emotions down in prose or poetry, she chose to write them as songs, even though she had never done such a thing before.
"I know nothing about music. I have no musical experience - none at all."
Nonetheless, she set to work. She knew that her office manager, Jo-Anne Belvedere, was an accomplished musician, and she turned to her for help.
Belvedere's immediate reaction, oddly enough, was "We're making a CD", even though she, too, was in unfamiliar territory. Trained and educated as a musician, she'd walked away from an uncompleted degree 25 years earlier and let music become a passionate hobby rather than a profession.
For the next year, the two pooled their talents, and the result, released this month, is "I am here", a compilation of 11 slow, jazzy songs, that harken back to the early sounds of Diana Krall.
With Cooke writing the words - sometimes in a flash, sometimes agonizing over each and every one - and Belvedere setting it all to music, they spent a year bouncing ideas and songs off each other.
Belvedere touched base with George Doxas, a friend in Montreal, the city she left 25 years ago and where she first studied music. He immediately offered up his studio and talents as a sound engineer and mixer. His two sons, Jim and Chet, signed on as studio musicians, bringing horns and drums to the mix. Vocalist Sienna Dahlen came on board, along with another assortment of musicians on guitar, piano, and strings, and before they knew it they were in business.
Last September Cooke and Belvedere travelled to Montreal and spent 10 days recording. Belvedere supplied both electric and acoustic guitar on the tracks.
The 1000 CD's arrived last week, and next month (May 7) the two are throwing a CD launch party at the Radisson Hotel in Canmore, open to all.
"It's an opportunity for all of our friends and people we know to celebrate with us," Belvedere said.
Their journey has been shared by many, both here in Canmore and in Montreal, said Cooke.
"It's a wonderful example of how different individual strengths have come together in a synergistic way. It's been a big part of our lives, for more than a year, and a lot of people have been there with us," said Cooke.
"This was a life altering event for everyone, especially me. Some people want to forget, it's a painful thing for them. I didn't want it swept under the carpet of my life. I wanted a record of it. I wanted to learn from my experience."
As a musician, Belvedere said she feels a huge sense of accomplishment, and satisfaction, from the effort. She'd like to shop it around to see if any other artists are interested in recording the songs.
"This was a year and a half in the making. How many bottles of wine, how many tears, how many people have put so much into it?"
April 27, 2005
CANMORE MUSIC PROJECT TELLS AN INSPIRING STORY
Mary Anne Moser
CANMORE - A Montreal-born guitarist and a Canmore pediatrician are launching a remarkable CD that emerges from the story that nearly took the physician's life.
The Canmore doctor and mother of four was mountain biking with a fellow physician when she fell and broke her neck. The neck fracture could have been fatal, or paralyzed her, but for a series of fortunate events. After three months in a halo apparatus, she started to write about the experience.
"I needed to make sense of what happened, to document what I had been through, and what it taught me," Dr. Kathryn Cooke says. She gave the words to Jo-Anne Belvedere, a co-worker who has studied and played guitar for almost four decades.
The result is 11 introspective and distinctly unique songs performed by Sienna Dahlen, a Montreal vocalist, who has opened for bands such as Blue Rodeo and the Barra Macneils. The soulful combination of jazz-infused pop/rock tells a moving story about finding personal strength in the midst of a life altering event.
The CD was recorded at Boutique de Son in Montreal with the help of some of Canada's finest pop/jazz musicians. The project was engineered, mixed and mastered by George Doxas.
