Timeless

Victoria’s Joe Coughlin, one of Canada’s most iconic jazz singers, marks a major milestone with a brand new CD—and some upcoming live dates to celebrate its launch.

Posted on February 5, 2025
by Lydia Wood
Joe Coughlin.

Joe Coughlin turned 68 in September— but you’d never know it by listening to his rich, pitch perfect baritone.

This year, the award-winning Canadian jazz singer is celebrating 50 years in the music business. How? By dropping a lush new CD, of course—and then marking its launch with a few live performances.

If you’re an SCI BC peer who happens to be a jazz aficionado, you’re probably already a Coughlin fan. But even if jazz isn’t your thing, you owe it to yourself to have a listen to Coughlin’s new CD, titled Dedicated to You. When you do, you’ll be hearing a voice that rivals that of some of the most famous jazz singers of all time, from Frank Sinatra to Mel Torme and Tony Bennett. You’ll quickly understand why he’s a recipient of a Jazz Report Award and two National Jazz Awards— and why he’s toured with the likes of the late great Dizzy Gillespie.

Dedicated to You was released on September 9, 2022 and is available at most online music stores and streaming services, including Tidal, Apple Music and Spotify. It’s the culmination of a project that started last July, when Coughlin and a group of veteran musicians he’s known for more than four decades got together at Vancouver’s The Warehouse Studio (owned by Bryan Adams) to lay down the CD’s 12 tracks.

The Dedicated to You album cover,

The CD features long-time collaborators pianist Bernie Senensky and drummer Terry Clarke, both of whom performed on Coughlin’s first ever jazz album 40 years ago. Also appearing on the new CD are Neil Swainson on bass, and Ryan Oliver on tenor sax. The music and score are flawless, and Coughlin’s effortless baritone amazes throughout. Not surprisingly, the result is impressive, and the CD has already garnered many rave reviews.

“This is an after dinner record,” says Coughlin, a quadriplegic from birth who grew up in Ontario but now calls Victoria home. “You know, you put it on when you want a glass of wine in front of the fireplace. That’s when you want to listen to a record like this. It was really a lot of fun making it—this record is just five guys playing off the (studio) floor. And they’re all first takes.”

The CD was picked up by Cellar Live, the small but highly respected independent label based in Vancouver.

“I’m really happy that somebody thought what we put down in the recording studio last July was worthy of putting out on their label,” says Coughlin. “And it’s a pretty darn good label, too. They’ve got 250 releases in their catalogue. And they’re worldwide. I feel honoured and privileged that they felt that the record was good enough for them to put it out.”

The only thing that might be better than listening to the Coughlin’s new CD would be hearing it performed live, and that’s exactly readers can do in October 2022.

On October 8, Coughlin and his quartet will appear at Victoria’s 433-seat Dave Dunnet Community Theatre. A week later, they’ll do two shows, on October 14 and 15, at Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver. Both are perfect venues to enjoy jazz vocals.

Joe performing.

Interestingly, Coughlin didn’t begin his musical career as a jazz singer. He got his musical start in the 70s as the frontman of Ontario heavy metal band Whiteheet. But jazz was his first love, and in 1979, he and his golden baritone were formally “discovered” when he won CBC’s Search for the Stars. His first recording contract followed shortly after that. He’s been performing ever since, notching a couple of Canadian top ten singles in adult contemporary in the early 90s, but mostly making a name for himself as a jazz singer performing his own original songs, along with covers of the likes of Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Hartman. With his latest, he has nine albums to his credit, and he’s performed with a flock of great Canadian artists with international credentials.

Coughlin says that, despite feeling the aches and pains of aging, playing and recording music never gets old.

“You get old when you don’t play,” he says. “I think that the energy I get when I create with other people—I think that just feeds you. You get re-energized by that. And when you go into a recording studio like The Warehouse in Vancouver, you know there’s a lot of magic in that studio. I don’t know what it is, but it just makes you play better.”

The only thing better than making a record, he says, is playing for an audience. Last July, after finishing the recording session for his new CD, he was asked by the tenor sax player to sit in on a live gig later that evening.

“I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ We went through the first tune and then kind of cranked into this heavier swing. About halfway into that, I had this rush of adrenaline come up through the back of my neck. It kind of blew off the top of my head to the point that I almost fell out of my wheelchair—it was that strong. It was an incredible hit of adrenaline from seeing a full room of enthusiastic jazz fans who were digging what was going on. It was a real connection and a lot of fun. I thought, ‘That’s why I do this!’”

A reality for many singers is that their voice ages along with their bodies. But Coughlin’s voice seems to defy father time, remaining powerful and supple. He suspects there are many reasons for this—good training when he was younger, never having his tonsils removed, religiously following his warm up routine, and humming and singing throughout the day.

“It drives people crazy around you, but that’s how you keep your voice in shape, by constantly using it. And I sing around my place too—it drives my neighbours crazy, but I don’t care.”

Joe performing at Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver last July (Vincent Lim photo).
Joe performing in Toronto in 1981 (photo courtesy Toronto Star Archives).

Another reason, he believes, is his style of singing. He recalls meeting the late, legendary Dizzy Gillespie for the first time, in the 80s—it was after he’d finished his set as Gillespie’s opening act. Gillespie was waiting in the wings as Coughlin was leaving the stage, and waved him over.

“I said, ‘Hello, Mr. Gillespie.’ He said, ‘People call me Dizzy.’ So right off the bat, he levelled himself with me, because he was that kind of guy—he was a beautiful man. He said, ‘You have a gift. And I’ll tell you why—you have the same voice talking as you do when you sing. People will discourage you from continuing on with this. Don’t let them do that. Just keep on doing what you’re doing. And never give up.’”

Five decades after it started, Coughlin is nowhere near ready to pack in his musical career.

“No, that’s not in the cards,” he says. “I don’t think I’ll ever retire from doing this kind of stuff. Because it’s still fun. And there’s enough people that like it that I can sustain it.”

He makes it clear that it’s not about the money—after all, the audience for jazz, while enthusiastic, is limited in size in this day and age.

“I have no expectations about a Brinks truck rolling up in front of my apartment every day dropping off bags of cash. That ain’t gonna happen. Maybe we’ll get some airplay, some nice reviews, sell a few copies, maybe get a few jobs out of it— we’ll see what happens. When it comes to unfinished business, I have two or three projects that are constantly in development. I have to focus on the next one. I’m pretty sure this record will do okay—these types of projects have to generate enough income to do the next one. And that’s kind of how they flow. I’m just having fun. That’s the only reason I do it.”

Follow Joe Coughlin at joecoughlin.ca.

This article was originally published in the Fall 2022 issue of The Spin. Read more stories from this issue, including:

  • Adaptive Clothing
  • SCI & Immunity Research
  • Canada’s First Chief Accessibility Officer

And more!

Get Our Newsletter

Want the latest news about events, blogs, research and more? Sign up for our monthly newsletters to receive updates directly to your inbox!

Related Posts

Switch It Up!
Tired of the same old exercise routine? A team of ICORD researchers has been working overtime to move the revolutionary aROW and aSKI cardio exercisers out of the lab and into our communities and homes.
Share This
Bowel Burdens
We know that bowel care is an urgent priority for people with SCI. New research shows the extent of the problem, and what’s needed to make a difference.
Share This
911: Calls For Change
The Neil Squire Society is helping to ensure new ways of contacting 911 will work for everyone.
Share This
Wheeling Forward Together: A New Chapter for Chair Stuff
After 23 years of being the sole owner and operator of Chair Stuff, a medical supply company, SCI BC peer Steve Milum is rolling into a new chapter of entrepreneurship alongside his business partner, Sam Danniels.
Share This