Melody Diachun has a voice and a personality that team up to make a new listener a fan before the first chorus even comes around.
Personable, confident and utterly accomplished, she is just plain fun to listen to. When she's offering up time-tested material backed up by seasoned sidemen like Rob Fahey (bass) Tony Ferraro (drums) and husband Doug Stephenson on guitar its enough to make you wish one hour were three.
Diachun's show had been scheduled for Kinnaird Park on July 24, part of the summer-long Concerts in the Park series on Wednesday evenings, but Mother Nature had too much moisture to deliver so plan B (the Castlegar Community Complex) was utilized for the roughly one-hour set.
Diachun's theme for the evening was well-loved popular music of Brazil, alternating with equally, maybe even more popular classics by the Fab Four. With so many gems to choose from in the Beatles catalogue, where would a tremendous singer start? Think in terms of Hard Days Night and Yesterday and you're getting the idea.
Pictured below: Diachun with drummer Ferraro and guitarist/spouse Doug Stephenson.
On the Brazilian end of things the primary focus was the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, whose name is synonymous with languid rhythms and pleasing melodies of South America's largest country. According to Wikipedia, Jobim was a:
"Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within Brazil and internationally.
"Widely known as the composer of "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema), one of the most recorded songs of all time, Jobim has left a large number of songs that are now included in jazz and pop standard repertoires."
On the topic of standard repertoires Diachun explained that whatever genre a song may be from, if it is well crafted and stands on its own merits, the jazz community will likely take in on and interpret it... giving it the jazz treatment, if you will.
Melody Diachun is a Juno nominated songstress, a vocal instructor at Selkirk College who had relocated to Nelson from Vancouver a couple of years ago. She said they love it here in the Kootenays and that's great... for them... and for us.