“I learned along the way that organization is key, key, key, because then you allow yourself to relax, and be in the moment,” says Emilie-Claire Barlow one of Canada’s premier jazz vocalists, and if anybody should know how important that quality is, it would be her. In addition to her singing, Barlow writes all her own arrangements, produces her albums, acts as her own tour manager and oversees virtually every aspect of her music career. As if those are not enough responsibilities to keep the midnight oil burning, Barlow has also carved out for herself a successful career as a voice actor, and is the voice behind Chrissy in the cartoon 6Teen and plays the role of Courtney on Total Drama Island. 

The past year has been perhaps the most successful of the singer’s career, as two of her albums, the Christmas CD Winter Wonderland and her current project The Very Thought of You, kept jockeying between first and second place on the I-Tunes Canada jazz charts, during December of 2007. The Very Thought of You has remained in I-Tunes Canada’s top ten jazz purchases since its release. On SoundScan a tool used to measure retail sales, and one on which the Billboard Charts are based, The Very Thought of You, has remained in the top twenty sales in Canada for jazz. 

During the Christmas season last December, Barlow made her first tour of Japan, with several concert dates including a performance at Tokyo’s The Cotton Club. “It really didn’t feel like Christmas, because I was away from my family and the snow. I was away from the last minute shopping, and the whole mood which exists here (in Canada), which frankly I didn’t miss at all. Although, it didn’t feel like Christmas it was (still) easy to get into the mood for singing Christmas songs,” says Barlow, while explaining that she drew upon another experience in her past, “When I recorded the Christmas album, it was the middle of the summer. (At that time), I able to take a step back, and recognize the songs for just being good songs, instead of being in the mall, and hearing “Frosty The Snowman,” for the seventy-second time that day, (to the point) where you don’t even hear it anymore.”

When Barlow performed before her Japanese fans, she adopted the attitude, “Songs like “Winter Wonderland,” are all swing tunes, and their form is that of a jazz standard. It was natural to look at them in that (light). I sang a song about summer, and I looked at it in the same way. To sing them and really feel the lyrics was just like singing “Autumn Leaves.”  We were singing the things that we did last summer, only this time it was winter.  

Although this may have been Barlow’s first tour of Japan, her music has been appreciated in that country for several years. Barlow, the business manager, had negotiated her own deal with JVC Victor to distribute her music in Japan.

Barlow talks about her Japanese tour, “The thought of the language (differences) was a little daunting at first, because I do like to chat on stage, and tell the stories behind the songs. I wondered if when I told silly jokes, there would just be the sound of crickets. (she laughs)  I also wanted to make sure that I was just being myself and that I was not getting too caught up in (the language differences).”

With both Winter Wonderland and The Very Thought Of You distributed in Japan, Barlow dedicated approximately fifty percent of the content of her shows to songs from each album.

As the title track, “The Very Thought of You,” opens her CD, it is abundantly clear that Emilie-Claire Barlow is anything but a minimalist. Barlow’s phrasing is emotive, smooth, and effortless, as she is accompanied by Nancy Walker’s elegant piano playing, Kieran Overs’ gentle bassline, and is serenaded by Kevin Turcotte’s flugelhorn. Barlow’s songs have many wonderful layers, and as you peel them back, you appreciate just how carefully this album was put together, and how talented she is, as both an arranger and singer.

Barlow says that while she was in the studio recording “The Very Thought of You,” I knew that something good was going on, while I was still singing it. It was not just about my vocal performance, but it was with the whole track. Sometimes I can agonize over tempos, but the tempo is perfect on this track. I had the lights down in the studio, I sang it through, and I felt that I gave it my all. It was nice to listen back and hear that coming out.”

She reaches back to 1947, for her second track, a Frederick Loewe / Alan Jay Lerner tune, “Almost Like Being In Love,” and although she is too humble to say this herself, Barlow’s interpretation of the song ranks up there with any of the great singers who have previously recorded it.