Helena Magerowski
Edmonton’s lady of jazz emerges — seemingly plucked from the roaring speakeasies of the hot jazz era, Helena Magerowskigraces the stage with a confidence and allure that’s built her a reputation as Edmonton’s lady of jazz. Driven by a fated desire to perform, Helena began her musical career at the age of four, training in both classical voice and piano. After graduating from MacEwan University's Music program, she quickly found her own place in Edmonton’s music scene as a rising jazz star. Helena developed an impressive range, both vocally and musically, after performing in groups that range from big bands, country and pop to jazz quartets, reggae and musical theatre.
With nearly 20 years of experience, Helena is now a professional vocalist, pianist, composer, arranger and successful entrepreneur in musical instruction. Her debut CD entitled Possibilities was a true labour of love and is perhaps best described in the words of jazz legend Billie Holiday: “People don't understand the kind of fight it takes to record what you want to record the way you want to record it.” When Helena ventured into the studio, she came armed with a clear vision for her first musical offering: absolutely no fillers.
Possibilities has a great deal of variety in terms of genre. She passes from smooth to jazzy to funky. But Helena’s consistent phrasing and her truly great Edmonton-based band allows those individual songs to hang together very nicely as a cohesive body of work. The standout tracks are her original composition Hold Me and an inventive interpretation of 10CC’s I’m Not in Love.
In terms of overall sound, if you think a cross between Carol Welsman and Molly Johnson, you will have Helena’s sound in your head.
