The International Blues Artis who calls Canada home
Born in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Switzerland. A
long-time Canadian who lives in Toronto.
Signed to a German record company, and with a new CD
produced with a major American
producer. That’s Shakura S’Aida, an international artist
whose involvement in the Canadian music scene has
been ongoing for the past 20 years, enriching the jazz,
blues and classic R&B communities with
her soulful voice, enthusiastic personality and commitment
to music as an art form.
Whether she’s speaking Swiss-German, French or
English, Shakura instantly connects with her
audience, and at the same time richly demonstrates
the multiculturalism that Canada prides
itself on.
And in 2010, her new CD, Brown
Sugar, has
been launched internationally, and will be
released in North America in Spring. The singer already
has two major European tours on her
schedule, on the road with guitar virtuoso Coco
Montoya
and Austrian blues star Meena. Not to
mention festivals from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Calgary
and a gala celebration in Toronto to
launch her new recording.
Shakura S'Aida - pronounce her name “Shack-oora
Sigh-ee-da” - began performing at a young
girl.
Her first steps into music began with a Toronto
community band called Mystique, which
found her belting out tunes alongside Deborah
Cox, and
then became the lead singer in a 13 - piece world music
band, Kaleefah, that would later be nominated for a Juno
Award.
She quickly learned how to own the stage and “perform,” a
skill she has since carried to the
musical stage with roles in such productions as Ain't
Misbehavin' and Momma, I Want
to Sing, and to
the theatre as an actress in the Toronto production of
George Boyd’s Consecrated
Ground in 2004.
She also carried off supporting roles in a number of
Canadian-made films, and she was featured
in an installment of Flashpoint, a major CTV television
series that’s also aired in the U.S.
As a solo artist, Shakura's career has spanned genres
and countries and taken her to some of the
most noted stages in the jazz world. She’s performed
at the Apollo Theatre in New York and has
also been featured with such legendary artists as Jimmy
Smith and Ruth Brown; she’s sung
backup with Patti Labelle, and is equally at home singing
material with a Ray Charles tribute band,
or presenting a one-woman show of the music of Nina
Simone.
Her first CD, Blueprint,
took listeners on a journey through the blues of the
1940's and 50's; the album was produced by James
Bryan
(Nelly Furtado, Divine Essence), a member of the popular
Canadian rock group, The Philosopher
Kings, who also
played guitar on the CD.
She's smart, articulate, funny, and determined to taker
her music to audiences everywhere in the world. "This
music is universal," she says "People
recognize - and identify with - good songs and good
stories, told with passion and honesty."
Shakura’s career moved into high gear in 2008
with a triumph at the International
Blues Challenge in Memphis, when she earned the runner-up
position, competing against more than
100 bands from more than 20 different countries.
2009 prepared her and her sensational guitarist Donna
Grantis for what’s to come. Shakura
played shows in half a dozen European countries on
fxour separate tours that included a major
appearance at a jazz festival
in Tangiers. And she
topped off the year with a show-stopping
performance at home at Massey
Hall at the Toronto
Women’s
Blues Revue.
In between tours, Brown
Sugar was
recorded in Tennessee and produced by Jim
Gaines, has
worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Journey, the Steve
Miller Band, John Lee Hooker, Carlos
Santana and countless more. Crack side musicians filled
out Shakura’s band for the sessions, and
two of her regular players - Donna Grantis and
Lance Anderson on keys - played
major roles. Almost all the songs on the new record
are written by Shakura and her guitarist— they
are powerful pieces that push the boundaries of the
blues; best of all, the songs are delivered with aching,
emotion-laced vocals and powerful guitar and keyboard
work.
"I am truly blessed by all the incredible
opportunities I have had," says Shakura. "My
life has been filled with amazing adventures; I can’t
wait to see what happens next!”
