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Fawn Fritzen

Singer, songwriter, jazz lover, and mom in the Yukon hills

About Me

When Fawn entered kindergarten in Thunder Bay, Ontario, she barely spoke a word of English. The next year started French Immersion. She has since lived and performed all over the country, including all three of Canada’s northern territories. She embodies Canada’s diversity with her mixed cultural roots of Chinese, French, and German, singing in her three ancestral languages as well as English.

Raised on folk, classical, and musical theatre, Fawn was a latecomer to jazz, but the bug bit her hard, and she quickly garnered accolades. Tim Tamashiro (former host of CBC Radio's national jazz program Tonic) named Fawn “one of Canada’s top swingers”. In 2014, Fawn won the Julian Award of Excellence for Emerging Jazz Artists.

The end of her marriage in 2015 spurred a period of deep reflection that changed the direction of her music. She grappled with the forces that had shaped her life decisions: perfectionism, Catholicism, and anxiety, among others. #MeToo further strengthened her sense of responsibility to give voice to real human stories. Music plays a crucial role in shaping society, and she felt compelled to write music about issues that matter.

In March 2019, Fawn debuted How to Say Sorry and Other Lessons, a show of eight personal stories and eight new songs. The music is co-written with pianist and composer David Restivo, fusing singer songwriter truth bombs with the rich complexity of jazz. The show explores themes of failure, feminism, conflict, consent, and connection. The March performance was recorded live with the support of Jazz Yukon, and the album will be release on Chronograph Records in August 2020.

My Jazz Story

When I was growing up, I wasn't allowed to listen to pop music. At my house there was classical music, folk music, and Broadway music. When I later discovered jazz, I realized I already knew a lot of the songs from all those musicals I loved, so didn't take long for me to become quite enamoured. The diversity of the genre and the passionate, welcoming community continue to deepen my love of the genre every day.