Hours before her first of two shows at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aimé made her Seattle debut in the KNKX studios. She led her band through a magnetic set of modern American music and filtered through her unique, international perspective.

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, by Haitian parents, Fils-Aimé found inspiration in the blues, jazz and soul music from the United States. She described the common thread as “powerful and vibrant sounds that are rooted in emotions. That really struck me from a very young age.”

Fils-Aimé took the time to learn about the context of Black American music, too.

“The music is that place where you get to understand the emotional impact that those historical moments had," she said, adding that the music became a tool for “different types of revolution or even survival, in a way, [through] how it unites people and how it can allow us to feel less alone.”

Fils-Aimé wasn't alone in the KNKX studios. Her wonderful band shared backing vocal duties and performed on their respective instruments: Etienne Miousse on guitar, David Osei on keyboards and bass, Danny Trudeau on bass and keyboards and Harvey Bien-Aimée on drums.

The singer’s four acclaimed studio albums feature complex arrangements and multiple vocal parts. Fils-Aimé explained that her live band takes her music “to another place that is more communal," as her band takes her vocal-filled songs and makes them their own to create "a whole new world."

During their KNKX appearance, the studio audience was immersed in that unique world through a passionate medley of four original tunes.

The slow blues of “My Mind at Ease” set Fils-Aimé’s vocals in a spare guitar and bass atmosphere. Her voice ranged from a whisper to a synthesizer-soaked roar before softening to a repeated phrase looking for “peace and quiet.”

Keeping the tempo down, Fils-Aimé segued into the bluesy, guitar-saturated song “Birds,” before finding a mid-tempo rhythm for the soulful psychedelia of “Love Take Over.”

That song’s abrupt ending inspired a deep sigh from Fils-Aimé, who introduced her final song, “Cheers to New Beginnings,” with a few spoken lines about creative freedom.

Then she dove into lyrics celebrating the “freedom of dreaming of a new world together.” Fils-Aimé sang in tandem with Trudeau’s bass and Osei’s dancing piano lines, before the band developed a driving soul groove.

Fils-Aimé just released her first live recording from the 2024 Montreal Jazz Festival. Her fourth studio album, Our Roots Run Deep, marks the first of a second album trilogy. Though this Canadian may be a discovery for American audiences, Fils-Aimé is quickly establishing herself as an important international voice in modern jazz, blues and soul.

Musicians:

• Dominique Fils-Aimé - vocals
• Etienne Miousse - guitar
• David Osei - keyboards, bass
• Danny Trudeau - bass, keyboards
• Harvey Bien-Aimée - drums

Songs:

1. "My Mind At Ease"
2. "Birds"
3. "Love Take Over"
4. "Cheers to New Beginnings"