Diana Panton is a jazz vocalist who hails from Hamilton, Canada.

Whe… Read Full Bio ↴Diana Panton is a jazz vocalist who hails from Hamilton, Canada.

When legendary Canadian multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson first heard Panton sing at age 19, he recommended she audition for the reputed jazz workshop at the Banff Center for the Arts (Canada). There, she studied under Norma Winstone (and, in subsequent visits, Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton).

While at Banff, Panton was invited to perform with Thompson at the famed Blue Room. “She really knocked me out that night," Thompson said. “She was so young but she had a lot of depth and real feeling. It surprised me right away.” Following that performance, Thompson told Panton to contact him when she was ready to record an album. She did - some 10 years later!

Before recording her first album, Panton first completed an honours masters degree in French literature and fulfilled a teaching engagement at the University of Paris (France), followed by a position as a sessional lecturer at McMaster University (Canada). She then completed a teaching degree. During this time, she also produced and performed a number of sold-out concerts with emerging jazz prodigy, pianist David Braid.

When the time finally arrived to go into the studio, national award-winning guitarist Reg Schwager was invited to join Don Thompson for some stellar accompaniment behind Panton's vocals. The result: Panton was featured on the covers of Toronto's Now Magazine (Feb 2006) and Hamilton's View Magazine (July 2005). Her debut release, yesterday perhaps, appeared on the Top 10 discs of 2005 in Toronto’s Now Magazine, Earshot! and the Montreal Mirror. The album was also nominated for four Hamilton Music Awards for which it won “Best Jazz Recording” and the publicly voted “Best Live Performance” for the CD release concert. Reputed Montreal jazz critic Len Dobbin pronounced the album one of the finest debut CDs he had heard in years.

Her much awaited sophomore release, if the moon turns green..., was released in September of 2007. It was selected as a Top 10 Canadian Recording of the Year by Len Dobbin, Kathya Heppell and Dan Sich. It earned her recognition as the "Best Female Vocalist" at the 2008 Hamilton Music Awards and a nomination in the same category at the National Jazz Awards in 2008 and 2009. The album was also a first place jury selection which allowed Panton to perform at the prestigious Jazz a Juan Revelations 2008 (Juan-les-Pins, France) where she was voted "Premiere Dauphine" by the Juan public. In 2009, the album was nominated for Jazz Album of the Year at the National Jazz Awards and Best Vocal Jazz Album at the JUNO's.

Heralded as one of Canada's most promising jazz vocalists, Panton's aesthetic sense has attracted the attention of some of the jazz world's most respected masters. She has performed with international jazz luminaries including Guido Basso, Mike Murley, Phil Nimmons, and Kenny Wheeler, and was a featured soloist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Akido Endo.

Be it at jazz festivals in Vienne (France), Freiburg (Germany), Montreux (Switzerland), or a concert in her hometown of Hamilton, wherever Panton performs, she has a mesmerizing effect on her audience. A quiet hush descends over the room as listeners await “little masterpieces created before [their] very ears.” (Hugh Fraser, Hamilton Spectator)

Panton's Red won the 2015 Juno Award for Best Vocal Jazz Album.

Official website: http://www.dianapanton.com/

I've Told Ev'ry Little Star
Diana Panton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I′ve told ev'ry little star
How sweet I think you are
Why haven′t I told you?

I've told ripples in a brook
Made my heart an open book
Why haven't I told you?

Friends ask me if I′m in love
I always answer, yes
Might as well confess
If I don′t they guess

Maybe you may know it too
Oh my darling, if you do
Why haven't you told me?

I′ve told ev'ry star
How wonderful you are
Why haven′t I told you?

I've told ripples in a brook
Made my heart an open book
Why haven′t I told you?

Friends ask me if I'm in love
I always answer, yes
Might as well confess
If I don't they guess

Maybe you may know it too
And oh my darling, if you do
Why haven′t you told me?

Why haven′t I told you?
Why haven't you told me?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Diana Panton's song "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star" speak of unspoken feelings towards someone special. The singer has expressed her affection to everyone and everything around her, telling every little star and ripple in the brook how sweet and wonderful she thinks her love interest is, but has yet to confess her feelings directly to that person. The singer wonders why she hasn't told her love interest her true feelings, suggesting that perhaps she is waiting for them to make the first move or for the right moment to confess her love.

The song embodies the fear and uncertainty that many of us can relate to when it comes to expressing our love for someone. The singer's hesitance to express her feelings suggests the fear of rejection, which can sometimes cause us to hold back from sharing our emotions with those we care about. While the song doesn't directly say if the singer's love interest returns her feelings, the final line "Why haven't you told me?" suggests that the love interest may also have feelings for the singer.

Overall, the song evokes a sense of vulnerability and raw emotions that come with falling in love, while also capturing the feeling of missed opportunities and maybes that we all experience at some point in our lives.

Line by Line Meaning

I've told ev'ry little star
I've shared with the universe about who you are

How sweet I think you are
The kindness within you is what makes you special

Why haven't I told you?
Why haven't I been able to express my love to you yet?

I've told ripples in a brook
The flowing water of a stream has heard of my emotions

Made my heart an open book
My heart is transparent and desires to reveal its contents

Friends ask me if I'm in love
People close to me question if my emotions are deep

I always answer, yes
I confirm that my feelings can't be denied

Might as well confess
There is no point in hiding the truth

If I don't they guess
Others may have already figured out how I feel

Maybe you may know it too
It's possible that you are also aware of my affection

Oh my darling, if you do
My love and care is sincere, my dearest love