There is a star on the piano at the long -term care house of St. Vincent: Langara.
Once a week, Eve Duke performs for his colleagues residents at Jazz Café.
“It makes me feel good, because it means that I do something they like, and that’s good,” said Duke.
Born in Washington, DC, Eve was at the beginning of the twenties when she obtained her big break, discovered by the famous jazz composer Duke Ellington who wanted her to sing in her orchestra.
“I could barely get up,” Duke said about the nerves she felt during her first concert with Ellington.
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“He thought I was good and I sang most of his songs because he wrote beautiful songs.”
She turned and recorded with Ellington under her stage name Yvonne Lanauze, while connecting with many musical legends in the years that followed.
“She met a lot of famous people on whom she shared stories, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson,” said music therapist Wendy Solloway, who plays with Duke to the jazz coffee.
Finally, moving to Canada and settling in Vancouver, Eve continued to perform in the city. Now, after celebrating its 100th anniversary, the show must continue.
“It brings her back to life,” said Lucy Thomas, who is also playing jazz coffee. “When she starts to play, she is back in the moment, she is back in the club.”
A talented artist whose greatest honor was to share his gift with anyone appreciates good music.
“I had so many people who would say how much they appreciated,” said Duke.
“It made me feel really good.”
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