In the opening episode of the latest season of the hit AMC TV series Mad Men, millions of North Americans were introduced to a little-known French pop song from the 60s. But at least one person knew Zou Bisou Bisou, sung by French-Canadian actress Jessica Pare, immediately.
Ive always loved that song, says Jill Barber, reached at her West End home. I was shocked to hear it. I thought it was totally obscure. It was a pretty big moment.
Perhaps Pares rendition of Zou Bisou Bisou will pave the way for Barbers next album. A record of French pop songs from the 50s and 60s, the project will detour somewhat from the direction of her last two releases, Chances and Mischievous Moon, on which the Toronto-raised Barber reinvented herself from a coffeehouse singer/songwriter to a torch singer. Both featured mostly original material.
The upcoming record, which Barber begins recording this summer in Toronto, has its origins at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
A couple of years ago, wanting to impress the audience at the world-renowned event, Barber performed a French translation of one of her songs. A chanteuse was born.
It was this pivotal moment, says Barber. I felt like I had braved singing onstage in a different language for the first time, and I made a public declaration there onstage: I was determined to get my French back.
If that performance marked her acceptance by a French-speaking audience, her upcoming shows (two on June 30) signifies another kind of welcome.
I have to say I was really, really pleased to be invited to perform at it, says Barber. Im still really new here in Vancouver, I still feel like an outsider. Now Im not only being welcomed to the jazz festival but also the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»jazz community.
