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/
This Happy Madness
Diana Panton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some kind of wild October gladness that I never thought I'd see
What has become of all my sadness, all my endless lonely sighs
Where are my sorrows now
What happened to the frown and is that self contented clown
Standing there grinning in the mirror really me
I'd like to run through Central Park carve your initials in the bark
I feel that I've gone back to childhood and I'm skipping through the wild wood
So excited that I don't know what to do
What do I care if I'm a juvenile, I smile my secret little smile
Because I know the change in me is you
What should I call this happy madness all this unexpected joy
That turned the world into a baby's bouncing toy
The god's are laughing far above, one of them gave a little shove
And I fell gaily gladly madly into love
I feel that I've gone back to childhood and I'm skipping through the wild wood
So excited that I don't know what to do
What do I care if I'm a juvenile, I smile my secret little smile
Because I know the change in me is you
What should I call this happy madness all this unexpected joy
That turned the world into a baby's bouncing toy
The god's are laughing far above, one of them gave a little shove
And I fell gaily gladly madly into love
The song "This Happy Madness" by Diana Panton is an ode to the transformative power of love. The lyrics describe the sense of euphoria and joy that one experiences when falling in love, and the feeling of being transported back to a childlike state where everything feels new and exciting. The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, with the singer questioning what to call the intense emotions that they are feeling. The lyrics are filled with vivid imagery, such as the reference to "wild October gladness," which evokes a feeling of autumnal joy and excitement.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on the changes that love has brought about in their life. They observe that their sadness and loneliness have been replaced by happiness, and that they are no longer the same person they once were. The line "What happened to the frown and is that self-contented clown, standing there grinning in the mirror really me" speaks to the transformative nature of love, and how it can change our outlook on life and our sense of self. The lyrics also touch on the idea of wanting to shout about one's love from the rooftops, with the singer expressing a desire to carve their initials in trees in Central Park.
Overall, "This Happy Madness" is a beautifully written and evocative song that captures the feeling of falling in love. The lyrics are both deeply personal and universally relatable, and the melody is filled with a sense of longing and joy. It is a song that will resonate with anyone who has ever experienced the joy and madness of falling in love.
Line by Line Meaning
What should I call this happy madness that I feel inside of me
The singer is experiencing a strong and intense feeling of joy and she wonders how to describe this feeling.
Some kind of wild October gladness that I never thought I'd see
The singer compares her joy to a sudden and unpredictable seasonal change, like the arrival of fall, that she never expected to experience.
What has become of all my sadness, all my endless lonely sighs
The singer reflects on her past feelings of sadness and loneliness and wonders where those emotions have gone now that she feels so happy.
Where are my sorrows now
The singer continues to ponder the disappearance of her previous negative emotions.
What happened to the frown and is that self contented clown
The singer questions the change she sees in herself and wonders if the person she was before, who may have been pessimistic or complacent, is the real her.
Standing there grinning in the mirror really me
The singer looks at herself in the mirror and realizes that the person she sees truly feels happy and content for the first time in a long while.
I'd like to run through Central Park carve your initials in the bark
The singer expresses a playful desire to leave her mark with the person she loves by carving their initials on trees in a public place.
Of every tree I pass for every one to see
The singer wants to publicly declare her love for the other person by leaving visible evidence of their relationship throughout the park.
I feel that I've gone back to childhood and I'm skipping through the wild wood
The singer compares her feeling of pure joy to that of being a carefree child skipping through a forest.
So excited that I don't know what to do
The singer is so overwhelmed with emotion that she doesn't know how to express it, except through her happy behavior.
What do I care if I'm a juvenile, I smile my secret little smile
The singer doesn't care if she looks or acts young because she is so happy and her joy is personal to her.
Because I know the change in me is you
The singer attributes the source of her happiness to the person she loves because being with that person has changed her for the better.
What should I call this happy madness all this unexpected joy
The singer reiterates her desire to find a name for her intense feeling of happiness, which is something she did not anticipate experiencing.
That turned the world into a baby's bouncing toy
The singer juxtaposes the grandiose effect of her feelings with the image of a small, child's toy that bounces around uncontrollably.
The gods are laughing far above, one of them gave a little shove
The singer refers to the idea of gods or fate controlling people's destinies, and attributes her sudden happiness to a divine intervention.
And I fell gaily gladly madly into love
The singer describes her happiness as falling madly in love, conveying the intense and all-encompassing nature of her joy.
Contributed by Lillian R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.