Heather Christine revisits the past in more ways than one with her spirited and splendid cover of C’est Magnifique — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
When Mississauga jazz-pop vocalist Christine graduated from college, she set out for a solitary backpacking trek to France. That adventurous trip has come full circle with her rendition of this Cole Porter standard. A preview of her forthcoming EP Heather Christine with the Bill King Trio, the single is a trip down memory lane for the singer.
“C’est Magnifique was the first cover song that I have ever recorded,” Christine says. “It’s a song that sweeps me away to my happy place. Traveling solo gave me the chance to push through my fear and revel in the delight of a dream come true. We captured the essence of this experience for me personally with C’est Magnifique.”
Christine, who felt “overwhelmed” by the architecture, food, and music France had to offer, says C’est Magnifique is a song of “joy and beauty” in a world that increasingly has dark clouds brewing. For the vocalist, a deeply personal issue with fertility proved challenging. However, music served as an emotional and spiritual balm to the situation. “Even though my husband and I were battling with this heartache behind closed doors, creative and musical opportunities kept coming for me, lifting me up and taking me to new places,” she says. “Music reminds me to keep the faith.”
That faith served as the catalyst behind recording C’est Magnifique, which appeared in Porter’s 1953 musical Can-Can. After wrapping up work with husband Matt Zaddy under the moniker River North, Christine visited Toronto’s Kensington Sound in the summer. King (who produced C’est Magnifique and played piano), bassist Paul Novotny and drummer Mark Kelso helped her reimagine the song, something difficult for such a signature piece of the Great American Songbook.
“King’s approach to C’est Magnifique wasn’t one of mere nostalgia,” Christine says. “Instead, he sought to honour the song’s French cabaret roots while infusing it with the vibrant, percussive heartbeat of Cuban rhythms.” That rhythm is executed to perfection thanks to Kelso and Novotny, who give the song a warm, punchy, and vivacious energy. “In their hands, C’est Magnifique transformed from a classic show tune into a mesmerizing dialogue between culture and eras,” King says.
Christine describes King’s arrangement as “a beauty… a unique balancing act of Cuban rhythm and contemporary cabaret sensibility. The trio’s interplay allowed the song to breath in new ways, offering listeners a journey through time and place, where café society met the heat of the tropics.”
C’est Magnifique is one of three covers on her forthcoming EP. Christine previously worked with King on her 2023 single Walking With You, a track heard internationally. Also in 2023, Christine performed with the iconic Liberty Silver as part of Isn’t She Lovely, a concert celebrating women in music. That same year, she received the Music Artist of the Year Award during the City of Mississauga’s Ward One Community Excellence Awards.
Check out C’est Magnifique above, sample more from Heather Christine below, and cruise by her website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
