John Labelle was born in Montreal, Canada and has been a jazz fan for as long as he can remember. From an early age, he listened to the great big band vocalists, including Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra, who would later become one of his greatest influences. John's smooth as silk vocals are often compared to Harry Connick Jr., Mel Tormé and Frank Sinatra.
John has been performing as a professional singer for over 25 years. One of John’s first public performances was at the age of 19 at the famous Biddle’s Jazz Nightclub in Montreal. While working there John came into contact with many of Montreal’s top musicians, and quickly gained a good reputation on the Montreal jazz scene. While still in his teens John went on to secure a summer contract singing in a four-star golf and ski resort in Bromont, Quebec with more work to follow. In 1995, John produced his first album ‘If You See Her’ released on his own label. This recording of standards and one of his own original songs resulted in an invitation to perform at the 1995 Montreal International Jazz Festival, where he was heard by the President of Jazz Inspiration Records who immediately signed him to a recording contract. ‘If You See Her’ was re-released on the Jazz Inspiration label and distributed by MCA Canada. In 1997, John released his second album on the Jazz Inspiration label ‘Don’t Say No’ an album of widely praised original compositions. Produced by Radio Canada's Alain De Grosbois and featuring the arranging talents of New York's Bob Parsons, this recording and the tour that followed resulted in John being named 1998 Male Vocalist of The Year by Toronto’s The Jazz Report Magazine, a highly sought after Jazz award. Beginning in 1996, John began a successful collaboration with guitarist Greg Clayton, and when not performing elsewhere John's dedication and love for his music, as well as the enthusiastic support of loyal fans, kept Labelle and Clayton performing six nights a week at the Modavie Jazz Bar and other venues in the Montreal area for the past fifteen years. With over 400 standard songs and over 2000 performances to date, Labelle and Clayton are well established favourites on the Montreal Jazz scene. John has performed numerous concerts throughout his career. For eight years he was the male vocalist with the Montreal Big Band. He has performed to audiences of 100,000 at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004, sharing the same stage as many legendary vocalists including Tony Bennett, Diana Krall and Michael Bublé. From 1998 to the present John has continued to hone his craft while touring on three continents. A few of his many shows and appearances have included performances in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Chicago, the Blue Note in New York and the Smithsonian Jazz Café in Washington, DC. More recently since 2011 John has been performing in venues across Europe and United Kingdom. John's recordings are constantly heard on Jazz Radio throughout Canada, the U.S. and more recently Europe. In 2003 after three years of preparation, John released his third CD album 'Too Close For Comfort' and the results speak for themselves. Critically acclaimed as one of the finest voices of the new millennium, elegant and to the point, his singing brings a new focus to a well-chosen repertoire of American Jazz Classics. A further two recordings followed with 'A Montreal Christmas Collection', featuring two new Labelle compositions sure to become Christmas standards, and 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' John's unique interpretations of many standards. John has appeared on many TV and Radio shows, across Canada and North America including a live in-studio concert presented in full on COOL TV, Canada in promotion of the successful 'Here Come The Boys: A Canadian Crooner Collection' for Universal Music Canada. More recently he has performed in England for BBC and SKY TV. In 2013 John Labelle recorded three tracks with the North America Jazz Alliance for the album ‘The Montreal Sessions’on Challenge Records (Europe). The top-ten selling album reached number 9 in the Jazz Week Album charts 2013. John has eight studio album releases and continues to perform his show all around the world. In 2014 John released two new recordings including 'Love Should Swing' a collection of standards in John's inimitable style and the 'Best of John Labelle', both beautiful examples of Labelle's range as a performer. John Labelle's 'Theme For Montreal' is continually played to this day on Canadian Jazz Radio stations, and is a timeless classic that sums up all that is unique and wonderful about the great City of Montreal. |
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