I have been lucky enough to have had the great pleasure of experiencing Kimberley Beyea’s soulful and delicious vocals and flute-work at a number of live engagements over the past couple of years. She always brings a warm… No, make that a ‘hot’ and tasty depth to her interpretations of plenty of the best jazz standards, luring her audience into the heart of each one. Never leaving well enough alone, she is at once able to extract the soul from a song, make its tempo warp and flicker, and then hand it back its tonal center on a firm but shifting ground.

Whether keeping an arrangement pristine or curving it into something woolly, she courts both with full commitment, sometimes within a single phrase. This can be especially evident in ballads like her haunting rendition of “Autumn Leaves”, which she sings like she owns it… as if she had written it herself. Her austere and lugubrious interpretation of “Black Coffee” is seriously captivating, as she uses the stripped down and clean electric guitar sounds of Barry Turner, and Matt Cabana’s well-oiled and precise backing on bass guitar to secure a very firm lock on the listener. And, just to ensure her arrow hits home, her delivery of classics like “Take the A Train” and “Corcovado” always sends her audience into a swaying, and even foot-tapping trance.

With a smattering of original material well-blended within her sets, her talents at song-writing and arranging her own bittersweet numbers shows clear respect for the relationship between old and new… as if transported through time via a jazzy ‘worm-hole’ into the thick air of a small, smokey Harlem club on a cool Autumn night in 1954.

Do I enjoy Kimberley’s performances? Absolutely! Do I recommend her for your listening pleasure? Without a doubt! Do yourself a big favour and be there to hear her soon!

Alex Sandor Csank

“What a night!!!”
I went to see a performance there last week and what a great night!!! Kimberley Beyea was performing and what a talented trio they are… their Summertime got me from the get go and Kimberley’s original song, Moving On, I believe had my feet tapping, my fingers snapping and my head all bopping along to the same beat.

But Upstairs is a splendid venue in itself with its jazz cover menus and decor. The small intimate space harks back to the older jazz clubs and seems to be missing a thick fog of smoke and fancy ladies wearing long satin gloves. The food is also delicious, the cheese plate was wonderfully pungent and sated my friend’s love of all cheeses. As for the Litchi Martini, it had a delicious punch that made me yearn for more.

My goal is now to go back to Upstairs for a full sitdown meal with some jazz….

Unknown traveler (tripadvisor.com)

I didn’t think of myself as a fan of jazz until I started going to see The Kimberley Beyea trio, with KImberley Beyea singing, accompanied by Barry Turner on guitar, Mark Rief on bass, and as a guest on trumpet, Andrew Cabana. Always a great date night! Their recent album, Love Stories, is a nice reminder of that magical night when they launched the CD at Montreal’s Rialto Theatre. It was an entertaining show that had us tapping our toes from beginning to end. There’s a great mix of older songs and original pieces on the album, but my favourite is one that gave me and those I was sitting with goosebumps that night: St. James Infirmary.Kimberley Beyea’s husband Andrew Cabana Piano Tuner/ Musician plays trumpet on this piece, and the combination is perfection. Buy the album. Go see a show. Don’t miss the experience of hearing one of Montreal’s best jazz groups live!

Heather Grace Stewart

One of the things I love about the Ste Anne’s Farmers Market is the live music. From jazz to jug band, the musicians are drawn from a local pool of amazing talent. This week, one of my favourite returns, the Kim Beyea Trio. It’s jazzy, soulful, smooth and cool. Kim’s got great presence.

Leila Marshy