Many livestreamed jazz performances do as much as they can to replicate the look and feel of a live concert in a club. Not many, though, have gone as far in that effort as Vancouver vocalist Jill Barber. On November 20, Barber and her (aptly named) Phantom Jazz Band will partner with Live Nation and Shocap Entertainment to perform an “immersive musical experience” that both showcases their music and resurrects the city’s historic Palomar Supper Club.
The Palomar was a legendary nightclub in downtown Vancouver that operated from 1937 to 1955 and hosted such icons as Nat “King” Cole, Billie Holiday, and Louis Armstrong during that time. The club was demolished in 1955.
Shocap Entertainment, an entertainment production company based in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby, will use a combination of virtual reality, XR technology, and real-world elements to bring the club back to live for one night, with Barber on its stage. The singer will deliver songs from her repertoire of jazz, folk, and pop songs (in both French and English).
A three-time Juno Award winner, Barber was named Jazz Artist of the Year by SiriusXM in 2012; her 2008 album Chances was certified gold for 40,000 copies sold in Canada. Her most recent album, 2020’s Entre Nous, was inspired by French pop music of the 1960s.
Tickets for the November 20 concert are available at Barber’s website.