Soul / Funk / Blues / Folk
Broken-hearted blues ballads, barroom raunch, gospel style inspirationals, raunchy rock, Treasa Levasseur plays what shakes her soul. Her lyrics are smart, poetic, and socially conscious. She has plenty to say, and she says it with sincerity and sass, with a powerhouse voice that cannot be ignored or denied.
Influenced by the whole sisterhood of soulful sirens, from Etta James and Carole King to Dusty Springfield and Annie Lennox - and all the way back to Bessie Smith, Treasa's roots spread far and dig deep. She plays piano, accordion, guitar, mandolin, and anything else she can get her hands on.
On the best of road trips, the adventure is found more in the journey than the destination. She creates such a voyage with her 2006 debut release, Not A Straight Line. Supported by an all-star band with such gifted players Richard Bell (Janis Joplin, The Band), Michelle Josef (Prairie Oyster, Etta James), John Elliott (House of Velvet, Rhymestone), Sean Cotton (Suzie McNeil Band, The Undesirables), Kevin Fox (Tom Cochrane, Sarah Harmer) and Carlos Del Junco (Cassandra Vassick, Holly Cole) with guests including Justin Rutledge and Hawksley Workman.
While she crosses genres with the ease that European travelers cross borders, she uses each song to evoke a new emotional landscape and create for the listener a sonic adventure full of twists and turns. And while Treasa has played everything from theatre musicals to hip hop, country, sugary pop, and thoughtful folk music, she draws her inspiration now from the rich motherlode of classic old-school soul.
Levasseur is, above all, a musical enthusiast. She simply wants to PLAY - and, in addition to her own career, she cheerfully makes the time to play with at least three other bands on a regular basis. She has, as a result, found a unique place in Toronto's busy independent music scene; she's also been a warmly-welcomed player at recording sessions for more than a dozen other distinctive musicians.
Not a Straight Line led her to more than a dozen festivals in the folk, jazz, pop, blues and world music genres this summer, not to mention a stunning CBC broadcast she made opening for her friend Serena Ryder. Like so many independent artists, she tours wherever - and whenever - she can; in the last two years she's played on Vancouver Island, in Cape Breton and Newfoundland, not to mention Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton, Vancouver, and a dozen others. This summer - 2007 - she has played (or will play) a different festival every single weekend
Next year, she'll be in your town. When she arrives, welcome her. A rare new artist, finally coming into her own. Limited by nothing, and inspired by everything, Treasa Levasseur is a special artist, an astonishing discovery, and part of the hopeful future of independent music in a changing environment.
PRESS
Time Canada Arts: Pick of the Week
Treasa Levasseur's Not a Straight Line is an eclectic melange of blues, jazz, funk, rock, and even a subtle note of country. Consistent throughout are Levasseur's fresh lyrics and mature storytelling. In Solitary Man, the most straightforward blues number on the CD, Levasseur sings of a man with "a hole in his heart about five miles wide." The singer would be his "sweet remedy," but the sad truth she tells us is that even though he says she's "so lovely, she could get a guy high," there's no rescuing him from his despair. In the title track, we meet a physicist and the lover who doesn't speak his language of numbers and infinity. A country song, Nickels and Dimes, introduces us to a woman trying to account for the cost of a love that isn't showing much return. "She wonders where all of the interest went/ She knows it won't break her, but it sure leaves a dent." Learn to Let Go is more philosophical than narrative, but who knew Buddhist thought had so much jazz and funk in it? The CD is an impressive achievement for the 32-year-old Torontonian, who spends her days traveling in a van full of instruments making house calls to teach music to children.
Leigh Anne
Williams
Time Magazine Canada
Mary Poppins
Sings the Blues
...thoughtful bluesy songs she sublimely delivers
on her debut CD not a straight line.
The singer/songwriter who describes her style as
"sincere, sassy, soul" wrote most of the tracks,
based on the ebbs and flow of her own life.
And with songs such as "Brother Lover" ( I know
that you're not in love with me and that our time
has come to pass) and "Solitary Man" (Sad when he
calls me, and I'm sad when he don't/Wish that he'd
need me, but I know he won't) it's apparently not
all the sunshine and light she brings to her day
job.
"Aren't we all melancholy sometimes and sometimes
upbeat?" said Levasseur of the ranging emotions on
the songs which she has dubbed rootsoul.... also
proficient on accordion and piano, she has played
and sung with several local bands and previously
released a CD under the name Slim.
In 1999, she said she was "living in a crazy little
hippie commune" of artists and urban activists when
she agreed to run a friend's child-entertainment
business. She has now developed the venture — on
word of mouth alone — to a 200-name waiting list.
"I love it," she said. "Little kids are so much fun
and I love being my own boss."
Her two worlds collided yesterday at the
show/launch of not a straight line at Lula Lounge.
Decked out in strapless red chiffon, Levasseur's
audience included some of her pupils and their
parents, and her opening act was the Levy Brothers,
a band of three, 9 to 14, whom she taught piano.
The Toronto
Star
On The
Beat
Local singer TREASA LEVASSEUR will soon release her
first CD, not a straight line. That describes her
musical approach, one that mixes blues, soul, and
folk elements, while her gutsy voice hints at
Bonnie Raitt.
Tandem News
March 2006
Not A Straight
Line CD Release Party Review
While Torontonian blues-singer Treasa Levasseur has
entertained thousands of people from
coast-to-coast, appeared on dozens of indie
recordings as a backing vocalist and musician, and
written and collaborated on many songs, she has
never released a full CD of her own — until March
9, 2006 at Lula Lounge.
Not a Straight Line is an all-dressed, mostly
up-tempo blues disc, produced by guitarist David
Baxter, and featuring some solid players, many of
whom appeared with Treasa on stage for the release
gig.
Treasa Levasseur took the long road to Lula Lounge,
and it was time to celebrate! The concert stage
required virtually all of Lula Lounge soundman
Howard Laurie's soundboard channels, as he rigged
up mikes for trumpet, sax, two keyboards, bass,
drums, two guitars, accordion, cello, stand-up
bass, and countless voices.
Without fanfare, Treasa began the late evening
festivities with a trio of beautiful slow numbers
featuring her keyboard and vocals, Brian Kobayakawa
on bass, and Kevin Fox on cello. Ironically, she
opened the show with the CD's closing track,
"Singing Emma", a song written about Treasa's
daughter. She followed that with a song penned by
her outstanding opening act, The Undesirables,
titled "Asking Me to Give You the Blues", and then
covered "If I Sang it Pretty" by legendary
songwriter Bob Snider (who clearly enjoyed the
whole gig from the back tables of Lula Lounge).
The classical instruments made way for the blues,
and Treasa launched into the main portion of the
show with a number titled "Solitary Man", featuring
some wonderful old organ sounds produced by the
delicate digits of Richard Bell (who once played
with Janis Joplin).
The highlight of the show for this sentimental
reviewer was the beautiful "Nickels and Dimes" with
superstar-in-waiting Justin Rutledge adding
supporting vocals, and featuring Treasa's gorgeous
accordion solo.
With old boyfriends lyrically buried, the horns
came out of the wings, and the party swung into
overdrive with sax and trumpet players Mark Jarvis
and Arthur Kerekes (God Made Me Funky). During
"Learn to Let Go", Treasa's vocals matched the
soaring trumpet note for note, a most impressive
display of her powerful range.
"Learn to Let Go" also served as a good example of
Treasa Levasseur's accessible lyrics, which stretch
from broken hearts to eastern-style philosophical
musings — a refreshing digression from the usual
"I'm broke and miserable" blues-fodder.
Andy Frank
www.The Live Music Report.com