Diana Panton

Panton and Thompson performed together for the first time at the famed “Blue Room” during a jazz workshop at the Banff Center for the Arts.  “She really knocked me out that night,” Thompson said.  “She was so young, but she had a lot of depth and real feeling.  It surprised me right away.”  Following that performance, Thompson told Panton to contact him when she was ready to record – which resulted in their first outing (some 10 years later), “…yesterday perhaps” (2005). 

As a result of that debut release, Panton appeared on the covers of NOW Magazine (Toronto) and VIEW (Hamilton).  Her debut album, “…yesterday perhaps,” was selected for The TOP 10 discs of 2005 by Tim Perlich (NOW magazine) and Len Dobbin (Montreal Mirror).  The album also won Best Jazz Recording and the publicly-voted Best Live Performance at the 2005 Hamilton Music Awards. 

Her critically acclaimed sophomore release “if the moon turns green ...”(2007) was a TOP 10 Canadian Recording of the Year on a number of year-end lists.  It earned her recognition as the Best Female Vocalist at the 2008 Hamilton Music Awards and a nomination in the same category at the National Jazz Awards along with Best Jazz Album of the Year.  The album was a first place jury selection which allowed Diana to perform at the prestigious Jazz à Juan Révélations 2008 (Juan-les-Pins, France) where she was voted Premiere Dauphine by the Juan public.  “if the moon turns green …” was also nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2009 Juno Awards.

Diana’s third release, “pink”, is a narrative concept album about the twists and turns of new love.  It features superb accompaniment once again from Reg Schwager and Don Thompson along with a highlight appearance from Canada’s premier horn player Guido Basso. It was selected as a Favorite of 2009 by Tim Perlich (The Perlich Post), Graham Rockingham (The Hamilton Spectator) and CBC’s Brent Nielsen (The Afternoon Edition). Massey Hall’s Daniella Lagiglia (Soundboard: The Scene) placed Diana on her Forecast for 2010: Musicians to watch (and Listen) For. The album earned Diana a nomination as the Favorite Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2010 Canadian Independent Music Awards (The Indies). She was a triple nominee at this year’s Hamilton Music Awards (2010) and winner for Best Female Vocalist and Jazz Album of the Year.  Most recently, “pink” won the prestigious Silver Disc Award for Best Vocal Jazz Recording of 2010 in Japan’s Jazz Critique Magazine.