Originally from Alberta, Blue Moon Marquee is a powerhouse swinging blues duo living in an island cottage on British Columbia's Salish Sea coastline.
Jazz Colette and Al Cardinal's original compositions weave together the swinging rhythms of blues, roots, rock, jazz, honky-tonk and Indigenous storytelling, and are delivered with a poetic lilt.
Unlike no other, the couple's current release, New Orleans’ Sessions is up for Best Blues Album at the 2025 Juno Awards.
“It’s pretty exciting. There’s only been three blues acts nominated twice in a row and nobody won twice in a row. It would be so cool if we were the first,” said Colette.
Blue Moon Marquee won a 2024 Juno for Scream, Holler and Howl.
Immediately after Juno Week, the multiple award-winning duo is setting off on a western Canadian tour with a stop at the Arden Theatre on Saturday, April 5.
Appreciated for their lyrical candour and lively musicianship, they create an unrivalled and timeless sound born from skilfully crafted songs and a decade of hard touring places such as jazz clubs, folk venues, blues haunts, hospitals, prisons, markets, motorcycle joints, dive bars and prestigious festivals.
“We sneak into all kinds of different festivals, but we’re always the odd kid out. We’re too jazzy for blues festivals and took bluesy for jazz festivals,” Colette said.
And yet it’s this very distinctiveness filled with swings, jumps, grooves and a boatload of high energy that keeps fans pressing for more.
New Orleans Sessions is a labour of love inspired by the couple’s passion for the famed Louisiana city.
“We were always inspired by the city," Collette said. "It was enthralling, with its different genres of music and high calibre of musicians. For me, its music was the studio of the world. We have a friend who has a studio in New Orleans and we wanted to capture the energy.”
Close friend and engineer Jon Atkinson of Bigtone Recordings did the technical heavy lifting. To capture the city’s musical vibe, the 10-track is layered with one-half original songs and one-half renditions with improvisations and slight tweaks. A high percentage of the recordings are one or two takes.
“We usually kept the first take. You can feel the energy. You can hear the music communicate. It’s so New Orleans. You are in a room together, not different booths. Every song is filled with love and energy. It’s in the water. People in New Orleans move differently, walk differently and talk differently.”
Cardinal and Collette also brought in Akinson (harmonica), Danny Abrams (bari sax), BC Coogna (upright piano), Nicholas Solnick (drums) and Brett Gallow (drums) to get the right polish.
Cardinal sings his original material. Trickster Coyote, for instance, is based on Indigenous folklore as a storytelling song. Atkinson accompanies the stripped-down song on harp. At the other end of the spectrum, Cardinal also sings What I Wouldn’t Do Now, a slow-burn blues song about love.
Colette honours Memphis Minnie, one of the premiere blues artists of the 1930s and 1940s, with her hit Black Rat Swing, a song of friendship, betrayal and revenge.
“I feel she’s not gotten her due as someone who sings and plays guitar. She was an incredibly talented badass having to hold her own among all these men.”
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and include GST, handling charges and fees. Visit tickets.alberta.ca or call 780-459-1542.
