MUMBAI: When Mississauga, Ontario-based jazz pop vocalist Heather Christine graduated from college, she set out for a solitary backpacking trek to France. That adventurous trip and feeling of empowerment at the time has now come full circle with her latest single, a fabulous rendition of the Cole Porter standard “C’est Magnifique.” Accompanied by the Bill King Trio, and found on the forthcoming EP entitled Heather Christine with the Bill King Trio, the single is a trip down memory lane for Christine while musically having some lovely Latin edge and moxie.
“‘C’est Magnifique’ was the first cover song that I have ever recorded,” Christine says. “It’s a song that sweeps me away to my happy place. Traveling solo gave me the chance to push through my fear and revel in the delight of a dream come true. We captured the essence of this experience for me personally with ‘C’est Magnifique.'”
Christine, who felt “overwhelmed” by the architecture, food, and music France had to offer, says “C’est Magnifique” is a song of “joy and beauty” in a world that seemingly increasingly has dark clouds brewing. For the vocalist, a deeply personal issue with fertility proved challenging. However, music served as an emotional and spiritual balm to the situation. “Even though my husband and I were battling with this heartache behind closed doors, creative and musical opportunities kept coming for me, lifting me up and taking me to new places,” she says. “Music reminds me to keep the faith.”
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That faith served as the catalyst behind recording “C’est Magnifique” which appeared in Porter’s 1953 musical Can-Can. After wrapping up work with husband Matt Zaddy under the moniker River North, Christine visited Toronto’s Kensington Sound studio in the summer, located in the vibrant Kensington Market. From there Christine, Bill King (who produced “C’est Magnifique,” played piano, and has worked with The Pointer Sisters and Janis Joplin among countless others), bassist Paul Novotny, and drummer Mark Kelso reimagined the song, something difficult for such a signature piece of the Great American Songbook.
“King’s approach to ‘C’est Magnifique’ wasn’t one of mere nostalgia,” Christine says. “Instead, he sought to honour the song’s French cabaret roots while infusing it with the vibrant, percussive heartbeat of Cuban rhythms.” That rhythm is executed to perfection thanks to Kelso and Novotny who give the song a warm, punchy, and vivacious energy. “In their hands, ‘C’est Magnifique’ transformed from a classic show tune into a mesmerizing dialogue between culture and eras,” King says.
Christine describes King’s arrangement as “a beauty.” “It’s a unique balancing act of Cuban rhythm and contemporary cabaret sensibility,” Christine says of the song, which brings to mind the work on Gloria Estefan’s 2013 album The Standards. “The trio’s interplay allowed the song to breath in new ways, offering listeners a journey through time and place, where café society met the heat of the tropics.”
“C’est Magnifique” is one of four tracks (three covers and one original) found on the forthcoming Heather Christine with the Bill King Trio. It’s a release which came from just two recording sessions at Kensington Studios and the latest for Christine, who previously worked with King on her 2023 single “Walking With You,” a track heard on Toronto’s Jazz FM and internationally in the United States, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. Also in 2023, Christine performed with the iconic Liberty Silver as part of “Isn’t She Lovely,” a concert celebrating women in music. Christine created and produced the show which was held at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. That same year, she received the Music Artist of the Year Award during the City of Mississauga’s Ward One Community Excellence Awards.
Additionally, Christine is an ardent community advocate for Mississauga, creating the West Vocal Jam musical outreach program whose singers were featured in 4 events in 2024. And she’s performed at Toronto’s Redwood Theatre and Mississauga’s Celebration Square, the latter before a crowd of approximately 25,000. In 2019 Christine released her debut EP Love In Colour. Prior to her debut EP, the musician won the Best New Artist Award in 2018 presented by Mississauga Music.
Now with a new single in “C’est Magnifique,” a new EP and an EP Release concert slated for Mississauga’s Clarke Hall on Feb. 23, things are looking bright for Heather Christine in 2025. She has delivered a song whose playful style, substance, and delivery lives up to its title!
