Margot Roi

Artist Information

Biography

Margot Roi creates a new jazz sound to cross-pollinate pop/roots/jazz artistically arranged with rich, full vocals creating a unique distinctive approach.

Toronto’s Margot was awarded: The Admiral Entertainment New Music Best Jazz 2012. Canadian Music Week 2012 selected Margot Roi for a showcase during CMW's first Jazz Festival. She was also awarded The Best Female Jazz Artist 2008 by the Toronto Exclusive On-line Magazine and nominated for a New Music 2011 Award Best Jazz Vocals- Barrie.
OurStage selected her to compete in the Artist on the Verge contest which she placed top five. She has also placed top 10 and Top 40 for the Jazz and Blues categories.
Margot has been given an award by Billboard World Song for one of her original songs and has also been included in the CD compilation Songs of Canada 2010: (Anthology of Canadian Songwriters).

Margot's current CD release A Place For Me is an eclectic collection of jazz, pop, roots and original songs that approach the subject of love from every possible perspective. Margot arranged traditional and contemporary standards including the Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot, Cole Porter to reflect her diverse musical nature. Accompanying Margot’s vocals are: Kelly Jefferson, Reg Schwager, William Carn, Mike Downes, Ted Warren, Brian O'Kane, Mark Kelso, Ted Quinlan, John Johnson, Alan Hetherington, Will Jarvis and Anthony Panacci.

"This vocalist possesses an authoritative delivery that is counterbalanced with sincerity and her emotively generated lyricism..." -Glenn Astarita -ejazznews.

Margot has studied music at the University of Windsor and vocals at The Academy of Canadian Vocals. She has also studied with The Toronto Singing Studio, Bob Mover and Mitch Seekins.

Vocalist Margot Roi delivers a pronounced and powerful performance with an exuberant, unfettered approach.
"When I perform vocally, I want the audience to experience a little fun. I choose lyrics that intensify the emotive colourations of my interpretive style, to further inhabit the textured atmosphere laid down by the other musicians."

Instrumentation

I will perform as a duo, trio, quartet or quintet
Margot Roi: vocals
Ross MacIntyre, Jordan O'Connor: acoustic bass
Mark Kieswetter : piano
Jeff Halischuck, Glenn Anderson: percussion
Kelly Jefferson, Richard Underhill: Saxophone
Trumpet: Brian O'Kane

Discography

A Place For Me

Many tracks from this album have been streaming and on radio rotation internationally.

Official Website

http://www.margotroi.com

Links

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Last.fm
• Twitter
• Official Website Margot Roi

Audio

• Cool Baby
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• Pussywillows, Cat-Tails
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• Black Coffee
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• A Place For Me
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• All or Nothing at All
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• Things We Said Today
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• What is This Thing Called Love
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• Can't Buy Me Love
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• Let's Get Lost
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• Decisions
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Lyrics

• Pussywillows Cat-Tails
• A Place For Me

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• CD Review- A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  “Canadian jazz diva Margot Roi approaches the topic of love via jazz and pop standards that accentua...“Canadian jazz diva Margot Roi approaches the topic of love via jazz and pop standards that accentuate her graceful and irrefutably, optimistic mode of delivery. And she garners the very best out of the several musicians appearing on this amiable studio date, augmented by a get-up-and-go vibe that features lush phrasings amid brisk swing vamps and more.
  The vocalist possesses an authoritative delivery that is counterbalanced with sincerity and her emotively generated lyricism. Here, Roi sparkles through jazz waltzes and sultry late-night blues vamps, where the instrumentalists are quite diligent when it comes to providing the requisite contrasts. Nonetheless, the artists’ thriving momentum serves as an accelerator during many of these standards.
  On “All Or Nothing At All,” Roi casts a dream-laden edge atop an oscillating swing. In addition, she perpetuates a democratic mindset as the alternating personnel are afforded room to breathe and expand while often counterbalancing the leader’s spirited vocalizations. No doubt, Roi is one who has a realistic shot at becoming a household name among the horde of up and coming female jazz vocalists. She injects panache, pep and a noticeable mark of distinction into the roads previously traversed”.
  

• CD Review- A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  "The most recent release by Margot Roi is wonderful. The repertoire is first class and the backing f..."The most recent release by Margot Roi is wonderful. The repertoire is first class and the backing features the cream of Toronto musicians. She has an excellent sense of swing and phrasing. All in all a great CD."

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  “A Place For Me is beautifully crafted. Margot’s sweet and slightly sexy vocals riding high on a won...“A Place For Me is beautifully crafted. Margot’s sweet and slightly sexy vocals riding high on a wonderful band’s backing with super charts make it a fluid trip from beginning to end.”

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  "Even though it is a Margot Roi album she has wisely let the musicians show their stuff. The CD fe...
  "Even though it is a Margot Roi album she has wisely let the musicians show their stuff. The CD features top notch Canadian Jazzers and they seem to have been given the green light to blow. Margot has a smooth voice and good control. Selecting which tunes to play on my jazz show could prove difficult as there are many strong tracks to choose from. There is no doubt, Margot is a fine vocalist."
  

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  “This is a magic CD. Not only is the vocalist excellent, but the arrangements which accompany her ar...“This is a magic CD. Not only is the vocalist excellent, but the arrangements which accompany her are brilliant too – I noted down ‘beefy’ at one point. Much enjoyed!

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  “A Very good album from a very talented singer. The only problem is, there are so many really good t...“A Very good album from a very talented singer. The only problem is, there are so many really good tracks that it is hard to choose which ones to play. Well done!”

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  "Margot's vocals are crystal clear, relaxed and effortless. Her timing and phrasing perfect. She sho..."Margot's vocals are crystal clear, relaxed and effortless. Her timing and phrasing perfect. She should be arrested after singing Black Coffee!"

• CD Review -A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  " Excellent voice, rich and INTERESTING arrangements, good taste! The Special 1 hour show was dedica..." Excellent voice, rich and INTERESTING arrangements, good taste! The Special 1 hour show was dedicated to this album. Thank you and keep singing!"

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  "A Place For Me, Margot Roi's current album release is provocative, timely and tight. Margot Roi com..."A Place For Me, Margot Roi's current album release is provocative, timely and tight. Margot Roi comes at the jazz world with an intense and fine tuned approach to the musical style.
  
  Her beautiful voice puts the icing on this insanely on point jazz band and brings Jazz to the forefront of cool. As her name implies Margot Roi is indeed royalty in the Jazz circle.
  
  Catchy and attractive lyrics simply further the special listening experience of Margot Roi's "A Place For Me" and has found her some key radio exposure .
  
  Quietly making her presence felt in this time tested and honored musical genre Margot Roi appears to be a Jazz force on the rise. "

• CD Review-A Place For Me [+ Show ]
  

  “Rather like a full bodied shiraz with good bottle aging, Margot Roi is totally satisfying with ever...“Rather like a full bodied shiraz with good bottle aging, Margot Roi is totally satisfying with everything she does. From "Cool Baby" as an opener, (check out the trom solo from William Carn), through the pell mell of Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love", to the smoky double shot delivery of "Black Coffee" she sets the bar high and clears it with room to spare. With backing by a bunch of class musicians punching far above their weight, "A Place For Me" ends up being more in the player than out. Margot's take on Cole Porter's "Love For Sale" is an immediate back to the future trip with Ella, Billie, Eartha and Mel, while Anthony Panacci's work on "Let's Get Lost" is both evocative of far away places and totally atmospheric of boulevard cafes. "A Place For Me" is on rotation on my "Jazz Infusion" show. "

Setlist

For jazz club appearances I perform 2 or 3 one hour plus in length sets. For concert or festival performances, sets can be tailored to fit any given schedule. My repertoire includes staight-ahead jazz standards re-arranged by myself along with intrepretations of pop/roots and blues standards and originals.
A typical set list all arranged by Margot Roi:

Cool Baby (Otis Blackwell)
What is This Thing Called Love (C. Porter)
Things we Said Today (J. Lennon, P. McCartney)
All or Nothing at All (A.Altman, J. Lawrence)
Pussywillows, Cat-Tails (G. Lightfoot)
How High the Moon (Hamilton, Lewis)
A Place For Me ( M. Roi, G. MacDonald)
Black Coffee (S. Burke, P.Webster)
What a Little Moonlight (Harry Woods)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore (D. Ellington)



Detour Ahead (L.Carter, H. Ellis, J. Frigo)
Can't Buy Me Love (J.Lennon, P. McCartney)
That Old Black Magic (H. Arlen)
Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller)
Moanin' ( Bobby Timmons)
If I were a Bell (Frank Loesser)
Sorry Seems To Be The Sadest Word (Elton John)
Our Love is Here to Stay (Cole Porter)
Sway (N. Gimbel, P. Rodriguez)

Basic Requirements

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