Joanna Borromeo
“Borromeo’s stunning vocals are what really catch the ear; she sings with enough soul to drop your jaw.”
“Joanna is the kind of artist that stops you dead in your tracks.”
Biography
Joanna Borromeo is a treasure of Calgary's soul/jazz and R&B music scene, a vocalist, pianist, and Juno-nominated recording artist influenced by some of the deepest, most beautiful musicians in history. Dynamic, heart-felt, undeniably groovy, and a natural entertainer, Joanna Borromeo delivers a captivating performance wherever she goes. A musician with outstanding versatility, colleagues in the community know and appreciate her for her unique improvisational style, her musical spirit, and candor. Joanna has toured music festivals and clubs throughout the UK, the Caribbean and North America, working with established Canadian acts such as the Redline Trio, Sanah Kadoura, Dione Taylor, Kalabash, Divine Brown, Slakah the Beatchild, and folk-jazz crooner David Myles. Additionally, she has shared stages with international artists including Madeleine Peyroux, Jeremy “Passion”, and Jools Holland and His Blues Orchestra. Adding to her wide array of talents, she is a respected songwriter/composer, music producer, and music educator.
To date, Joanna has produced two albums: Through the Dark (released in 2010) and Kaleidoscope (released in 2014), a record that earned her a Juno Award nomination for Soul/R&B Recording of the Year. She has also collaborated as a featured artist and keyboardist on numerous recording projects. When she isn’t performing as a solo artist, Joanna keeps up a steady gigging schedule as a jazz and post-modern classical pianist for acts including the Redline Trio, Toronto-based drummer Sanah Kadoura and her Duality project, and the contemporary classical collective, Calgary Without Patriarchy. In between performance dates, Joanna teaches private music lessons through her studio, Forum School of Music.
Origins
Joanna is a trained pianist in both classical and jazz music, having formally studied at the University of Calgary and Humber College in Toronto. She’s drawn creative inspiration from a myriad of sources, but points out that classical music taught her the most about musicality. The cascading layers of Bach fugues, the painterly characteristics of Debussy preludes, the supreme emotional power inherent in Rachmaninoff compositions, and Bartok’s daring approach to 20th century music - those particular hallmarks of creativity were what influenced Joanna the most and it was her experiences with classical music that served as a saving grace when she was accepted as a student at Humber College. At the time of her enrolment, Joanna was quite new to the jazz genre. By graduation, she had made impressive leaps and bounds with jazz and was awarded the President’s Medal, a prestigious accolade that recognizes one graduate for their outstanding artistic and academic achievements. While at Humber, she was mentored by two of Canada’s top jazz pianists, David Restivo and Don Thompson.
While she is undeniably rooted in traditional styles of music, Joanna is ultimately a true artist of the genre of soul/jazz music. What has always captivated her about the genre is how it continues to propel the true spirit of jazz forward. A focus on innovation and boundary-pushing by way of integrating elements of soul, R&B and hip hop with jazz, soul/jazz music has been both a mode and a home for Joanna. Since her childhood and up until now, Joanna has always been that faithful listener to the pioneers, influencers and contributors to soul/jazz, plucking valuable musical insights from influential artists like Stevie Wonder, Prince, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, Amel Larrieux, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, J Dilla, and Robert Glasper.
Awards & nominations
2014 Juno Award Nomination for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year - Kaleidoscope
2013 Western Canadian Music Award for Urban Recording of the Year - Kaleidoscope
#9 on the National Jazz Charts (Canada; March 2013) - Kaleidoscope
Winning Finalist for R&B Song Category - John Lennon Songwriting Competition (2010) - Through the Dark
Winning Finalist for R&B Song Category - Great American Song Contest (2009) - Through the Dark