Being Canada day I thought it would make sense to interview one of my favourite male Canadian Crooner and Jazz Singers in the Country Matt Dusk.

His debut album started a big buzz in 2004 which featured “Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad” written by Bono and The Edge. I have managed to get my hands on all his records and became aware of that while he is a singer of the standards he is also a great songwriter and is able to turn what most people would call mainstream “pop” songs into a contemporary new jazz sound.

Two things have always stood out in my mind. Your voice and your style. I want to start the interview talking about The Harry Rosen Diabetes Chair in Stem Cell Research benefit you preformed at. Doing so you helped raise 1.8 million dollars for this cause. Even Harry himself joined you for a number. Tell me about the whole experience and why that charity is important to you.

I always enjoy being a part of fundraising events.  If my music can bring awareness to a great cause then FANTASTIC!  I was originally only asked to perform a couple numbers but I threw out the idea … Hey we can get Harry to sing a duet with me… everyone laughed… they thought I was joking, but the truth is I wasn’t… so I called up Harry and asked him to sing, he laughed and said he couldn’t, however I convinced him to join me, for everyone sings in the shower… I rewrote the words to “They Cant Take That Away From Me” by Gershwin and we had a blast…


Congrats on your latest release “Good News”. Its been a few years since your last album. Tell me about the preparation that it took going into this release.
For me, “Good News” was a way to take great pop songs and put a crooners spin on them.  I went through hundreds of songs… wrote a bunch and ended with the collection that is currently released!


The latest record features a new direction that vocally pays tribute to the style of swing/crooner jazz era (1940s-1960s) however is produced in a modern contemporary way. What made you decide to steer your music in that direction?
A good song is a good song… when Sinatra was in his 20′s he was recording POP music… so I asked myself if Sinatra was alive today and was 25, what would he be recording… POP music… well with a twist… So i hypothesized his direction, and put my own stamp on it.

 
Lets Talk about the writing process for the new album. Did you stick with the same method for the original tracks as the past release’s or try something different?
Writing is a pain in the ass… I just churned out songs… 45 of them and used 4… The best writers in the world have much fewer releases than written works.  



‘Good News’ went Gold in Poland in last year and back in October of 09, and you were the first male jazz artist in Japanese history to reach Number one on the pop radio charts. How much of a difference is the Jazz scene in Europe and Asia compared to the scene in North America?
Cliche as it is… Good music is good music.  It shows you with a great team of people behind you, anything is possible.  There is a lot of hard work involved but without a great team you can accomplish nothing.


Growing up in Canada you attended St. Michaels Choir School for eleven years. What was the most important thing you learned there?
Singing can get you on dates with girls


Who are some of your musical influences you listened to growing up that had an impact on your career and why?
Well the obvious: Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughn… but most people dont know that I’ve been into house music for many years… Jazz and house… figure that one out!  The beats from modern music help me take the “crooning” genre into new directions.  


Do you have a favourite up tempo or down tempo song to sing when you preform live?
Down tempo: MY WAY… done.


What can a fan who has never seen you preform expect from a Matt Dusk performance?
A great band, great music… Most of the songs I sing have been Number one hits at some point, which is why i’m blessed to be in the Crooning genre.  


Last but not least, what’s the best piece of advice you can give Canadian Crooners/Jazz singers starting out?
Work hard… the music business is 10% art and 90% hard work.  Find time for your craft, love it, don’t do it for the money… there’s a big chance you won’t make it… but if you love what you do, there’s no need to “make it”  that comes after when you least expect it.


Not only did Matt Dusk in truth do some great work on this new album, furthermore is a great guy with an excellent sense of humour; it’s a joy to hear him sing. So, if you haven’t by now checked out Matt’s record’s “Back in Town” “Two Shots” or his latest “Good News” I strongly recommend it.