There’s a star on the piano at the St. Vincent’s: Langara long-term care home.
Once a week Eve Duke performs for her fellow residents at the Jazz Café.
“It makes me feel good, because it means I’m actually doing something they like, and that’s good,” said Duke.
Born in Washington, D.C., Eve was in her early 20s when she got her big break, discovered by famed jazz composer Duke Ellington who wanted her to sing in his orchestra.
“I could barely stand up,” Duke said about the nerves she was feeling during her first gig with Ellington.
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“He thought I was good and I sang most of his tunes because he wrote beautiful songs.”
She toured and recorded with Ellington under her stage name Yvonne Lanauze, while connecting with many musical legends in the years that followed.
“She’s met a lot a famous people that she’s shared stories about, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson,” said music therapist Wendy Solloway, who plays with Duke at the Jazz Café.
Eventually moving to Canada and settling in Vancouver, Eve continued to perform around town. Now, after just celebrating her 100th birthday, the show must go on.
“It just brings her back to life,” said Lucy Thomas, who also plays at the Jazz Café. “When she starts playing, she’s back in the moment, she’s back in the club.”
A talented artist whose greatest honour has been sharing her gift with anyone who appreciates good music.
“I had so many people who would come up and say how much they enjoyed it,” Duke said.
“That made me feel really good.”
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