Louise Vallance
Encyclopedia
Stevie Vallance, born Stephanie Louise Vallance on September 8, 1958 and also known as Louise Vallance, is a Canadian
television actor, voice actor, stage performer, voice director and singer. Vallance was born in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
.
-raised Stevie Vallance was discovered by Alan Lund
(out of the Alan & Blanche Lund School of Dance), who cast her in the lead role of "Adele" in the Charlottetown Festival
musical production of Jane Eyre; that played at Toronto's O'Keefe Centre (now the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts) and also at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. As a teenager, Vallance made numerous television appearances including leading roles on CBC network shows King of Kensington
, Police Surgeon
, The Tommy Hunter Show, and Norman Campbell's The Wonder of It All. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
, in New York
, she moved to Los Angeles
, where she was cast in the first two seasons of the CBS network's Knots Landing
, in the role of "Sylvie." During that time, the ABC network
cast her as "Jenny," during the second season of The Ropers
, opposite Norman Fell
, Audra Lindley
and Jeffrey Tambor
.
Based in Los Angeles over the next two decades, Vallance guest starred on numerous television series including Bosom Buddies
and Lou Grant
. She played Jim Varney's love interest, Erma Terradiddle, in Slam Dunk Ernest and sang "Bei Mir Bist Shayne" to Kevin Spacey
on L.A. Law
. In the feature film Three Men and a Baby
, Vallance played Steve Guttenberg
's love interest, Sally.
As an LA-based Canadian actress, Vallance commuted between Los Angeles and Toronto, starring in many of the Canadian/US co-productions including Poltergeist: The Legacy
, The Outer Limits
, F/X: The Series
, Cobra, First Wave, Dracula: The Series
, Forever Knight
, and Road to Avonlea
, where she was whisked away on a horse by Christopher Reeve
. During that time she was best known for her role as series regular Det. Stephanie "Stevie" Brody on the CBS late-night series Night Heat
, alongside Scott Hylands
, Allan Royal
, Jeff Wincott
, and others. She immediately followed that up with a very different sort of role—that of a pink kangaroo named Whazzat Kangaroo, one of the "Zoobles" of the Hallmark
series Zoobilee Zoo
, which was filmed entirely in California's San Fernando Valley.
as Mouse and Rocky; Donkey Kong Country
as Dixie Kong; Madeline
as Genevive and Miss Clavel; Shadow Raiders
as Prince Pyros; Gadget Boy as the nemesis Spydra; InuYasha
as Natsuko Fuji; Totally Spies as the computer G.L.A.D.I.S.; Growing Up Creepie
as Gnat; The Care Bears as Proud Heart Cat, Share Bear and True Heart Bear; Dennis the Menace
as Alice Mitchell; Dinosaucers
as Princess Dei (as well as Teryx, according to Barbara Lynn Redpath); The Popples as Party Popple; and Sonic Underground
as the singing voice of Sonia. On Bakugan she portrays the voices of Tigrerra and Rabeeder.
, on which she also portrayed the voices of Miss Clavel and Genevive. Since then, Vallance has voice-directed Silverwing
and Totally Spies. In 2007, she cast and voice-directed Discovery Kids
2007 Emmy-nominated Growing Up Creepie
and then went on to serve as Voice Director on 52 episodes of Teletoon's hit show Best Ed
. Vallance continues to excel in the animation field. Last year, in LA, she cast and voice-directed the animated feature Young Dr. Dolittle, starring Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and she also cast and voice-directed one of Teletoon's Detour Pilots, Celebutards, which premiered at the 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival, where Vallance facilitated a Workshop in "Animation Voice-over Acting" to 200 animators.
, British Columbia
. Since then Vallance has taught in many cities including Toronto, Los Angeles and New York.
, and Zoobilee Zoo
also relied heavily on music and singing from the characters. After she left the cast of Night Heat, she chose to make singing an alternate career.
In 1995, Vallance moved to Bowen Island
, British Columbia
where she met Michael Creber (piano; k.d. lang). Together in 1998, they recorded Vallance's debut jazz CD Practically Naked. In Vancouver
, she performed regularly at The Jazz Cellar and Rossini’s, where she performed alongside some of the city's well-known jazz musicians at the time, including Miles Black
(piano), Rick Kilburn (bass), Daryl Jahnke (guitar), Darren Radtke (bass), Paul Rushka (bass), Mike Rud (guitar), Linton Garner
(piano) and Bill Coon (guitar).
On her second CD Always released in 1999, inspiration came from Vallance's one-woman portrayal of Patsy Cline
. Vallance toured the show in western Canada for six years, and opened for the Calgary Stampede
in 1998.
Motivated by the loss of a close personal friend, Vallance conceived and organised the Divas For Life jazz benefit concerts held in Vancouver. In addition to producing the first “standing room only” concert at the Vogue Theatre, in 2001 she also negotiated a national distribution deal for the CD Divas for Life - Live At The Vogue!, which was released and performed as part of the 2001 Vancouver International Jazz Festival line-up as a series of sold-out dinner concerts. On Valentine’s Day 2002, she produced Divas For Love, which again packed the Vogue Theatre. The proceeds, totalling over C$70,000, were donated to supporting people living with a life-threatening illness. As a result, Vallance was presented with Vancouver's "Friend In Deed Philanthropy Award".
In 2004, Vallance debuted in her hometown, Toronto, where she was accompanied by Don Thompson
, bassist Neil Swainson and drummer Ted Warren. She also performed for the first time in her birth town Montreal, at The Upstairs, with jazz pianist Steve Amirault, bassist Zach Lober and drummer Jim Doxas.
Vallance's latest CD, Make My Night was released in February 2008. Arranged by Pat Coleman (guitar) it features many other Canadian Jazz musicians: Ross Taggart (piano), Mike Herriot (trumpet), Tom Colclough (sax), Buff Allen (drums) and Miles Hill (bass).
Since 2008, Vallance has been based in Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, where she now hosts her own radio show, "Jazz & Blues on the Beach", that airs every Sunday night, on 98theBeach.ca
In 2009, Vallance performed in the Medicine Hat Jazz Festival for the second year in a row and she was also the featured vocalist with the Stardust Big Band and she also sang with the Charlie Bell Trio, in the Thornbury and Kincardine Jazz Festivals. In the fall she produced "Jazz Inclined"; Patsy Cline songs done with a "jazzy" twist. The live recorded CD features Richard Whitman (piano), Mike Grace (bass) and Kevin Barrett (guitar).
In 2010, Vallance is pursuing her impresario talents with the "Stevie Vallance & the Masters of Jazz:2010" 7-concert series, at the Bruce Power Theatre, in Southampton, presenting world-class players such as Kieran Overs (bass), Ted Warren (drums), Bobby Brough (sax), Rob Clutton (bass), Nancy Walker (piano), Ted Quinlan (guitar), Tim Posgate (guitar) and George Koller (bass). The 7-concert jazz series kicked off on February 13, 2010 with the Stevie Vallance Quintet and on April 10, Stevie performed alongside renowned Canadian composer and friend, David Warrack, in the premiere of "3 Davids"; a Cabaret-jazz style revue consisting of Frishberg, Shire and Warrack tunes. Vallance is producing all concerts and also organizing the "live" recordings of every concert in the series for a "Best of the Masters of Jazz: 2010" CD.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television actor, voice actor, stage performer, voice director and singer. Vallance was born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Film & television
Montreal-born, TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-raised Stevie Vallance was discovered by Alan Lund
Alan Lund
Alan Lund, OC was a Canadian dancer and choreographer, who worked in television, movies and theater.Lund trained as a dancer in his native Toronto and first established a performance reputation as a dance team with his wife Blanche, appearing during World War II in the revue Meet the Navy...
(out of the Alan & Blanche Lund School of Dance), who cast her in the lead role of "Adele" in the Charlottetown Festival
Charlottetown Festival
The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965.Named after its host city, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, since its inception the festival has showcased Canada's most popular and longest-running musical,...
musical production of Jane Eyre; that played at Toronto's O'Keefe Centre (now the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts) and also at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. As a teenager, Vallance made numerous television appearances including leading roles on CBC network shows King of Kensington
King of Kensington
King of Kensington was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.The show starred Al Waxman as Larry King, a convenience store owner in Toronto's Kensington Market who was known for helping friends and neighbours solve problems. His multicultural group of friends...
, Police Surgeon
Dr. Simon Locke
Dr. Simon Locke was a Canadian medical drama that was syndicated to television stations in the United States from 1971 to 1974 through the sponsorship of Colgate-Palmolive....
, The Tommy Hunter Show, and Norman Campbell's The Wonder of It All. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, she moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where she was cast in the first two seasons of the CBS network's Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
, in the role of "Sylvie." During that time, the ABC network
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
cast her as "Jenny," during the second season of The Ropers
The Ropers
The Ropers is an American sitcom that ran from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980 on ABC. The series is a spinoff of Three's Company and based on the British sitcom George and Mildred...
, opposite Norman Fell
Norman Fell
Norman Fell , born Norman Noah Feld, was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Early life:...
, Audra Lindley
Audra Lindley
Audra Marie Lindley was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Career:...
and Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
.
Based in Los Angeles over the next two decades, Vallance guest starred on numerous television series including Bosom Buddies
Bosom Buddies
Bosom Buddies is an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It ran from 1980 to 1982 on ABC and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC....
and Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
. She played Jim Varney's love interest, Erma Terradiddle, in Slam Dunk Ernest and sang "Bei Mir Bist Shayne" to Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
on L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
. In the feature film Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby is a 1987 comedy film starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Nancy Travis , and Ted Danson, and directed by Leonard Nimoy, in his first non-Star Trek movie directorial role. It follows the mishaps and adventures of three bachelors as they attempt to adapt their lives to...
, Vallance played Steve Guttenberg
Steve Guttenberg
Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...
's love interest, Sally.
As an LA-based Canadian actress, Vallance commuted between Los Angeles and Toronto, starring in many of the Canadian/US co-productions including Poltergeist: The Legacy
Poltergeist: The Legacy
Poltergeist: The Legacy is a Canadian horror television series which ran from 1996 to 1999. The series tells the story of the members of a secret society known as the Legacy, and their efforts to protect humankind from occult dangers...
, The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
, F/X: The Series
F/X: The Series
F/X: The Series was a television series based on the film F/X, starring Cameron Daddo, Christina Cox, Kevin Dobson , Jacqueline Torres , Carrie-Anne Moss and Jason Blicker. It ran for 40 episodes from 1996 through 1998....
, Cobra, First Wave, Dracula: The Series
Dracula: The Series
Dracula: The Series was a short-lived syndicated series about Count Dracula and his struggles with Gustav Van Helsing, as well as Gustav's young nephews — Maximilian and Christopher Townsend. They were also aided by a schoolgirl, Sophie Metternich...
, Forever Knight
Forever Knight
Forever Knight was a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern day Toronto. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a homicide detective on the night shift while struggling to find a...
, and Road to Avonlea
Road to Avonlea
Road to Avonlea was a television series which was first broadcast in Canada and the United States between 1990 and 1996. It was created by Kevin Sullivan and produced by Sullivan Films in association with CBC and the Disney Channel, with additional funding from Telefilm Canada.It was adapted from...
, where she was whisked away on a horse by Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
. During that time she was best known for her role as series regular Det. Stephanie "Stevie" Brody on the CBS late-night series Night Heat
Night Heat
Night Heat is a Canadian police drama series, which aired on CTV from 1985 to 1991. The show also aired on CBS in the United States from 1987 to 1993 and was the first Canadian-produced drama series to air on an American network...
, alongside Scott Hylands
Scott Hylands
Scott Hylands is a Canadian actor who has appeared in movies, television, and on the stage. He is probably best known for his role of Detective Kevin "O.B." O'Brien on the television series Night Heat, played from 1985 to 1989...
, Allan Royal
Allan Royal
Allan Royal is an actor who is also credited as Allan G. Royal and Alan Royal. He is known for his recurring role on Falcon Crest as R.D. Young and for his portrayal of John Sculley in Pirates of Silicon Valley....
, Jeff Wincott
Jeff Wincott
Jeffrey Howard Piero Wincott is a Canadian actor and athlete.-Personal life:Jeff is the elder brother of actor Michael Wincott....
, and others. She immediately followed that up with a very different sort of role—that of a pink kangaroo named Whazzat Kangaroo, one of the "Zoobles" of the Hallmark
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium...
series Zoobilee Zoo
Zoobilee Zoo
Zoobilee Zoo is an Emmy Award-winning children's television program featuring costumed performers dressed as animal characters. It originally aired from 1986–1987, then in syndication until 2001 on several television channels including commercial network television stations, public television...
, which was filmed entirely in California's San Fernando Valley.
Animation
Vallance also lent her voice to animated television shows, such as ReBootReBoot
ReBoot is a Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure cartoon series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Communications, BLT Productions and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace,...
as Mouse and Rocky; Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making...
as Dixie Kong; Madeline
Madeline
Madeline is a children's book series written by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature film...
as Genevive and Miss Clavel; Shadow Raiders
Shadow Raiders
Shadow Raiders is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment that aired from 1998 to 1999. The show was loosely based on the Trendmasters toy line, War Planets. The original character designs were created by ReBoot designer, Brendan McCarthy...
as Prince Pyros; Gadget Boy as the nemesis Spydra; InuYasha
InuYasha
, also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008...
as Natsuko Fuji; Totally Spies as the computer G.L.A.D.I.S.; Growing Up Creepie
Growing Up Creepie
Growing Up Creepie was an animated television series made in the USA by Mike Young Productions and produced by Discovery Kids. In other countries the series was simply titled Creepie.- Premise :...
as Gnat; The Care Bears as Proud Heart Cat, Share Bear and True Heart Bear; Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)
Dennis the Menace is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment , based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham....
as Alice Mitchell; Dinosaucers
Dinosaucers
Dinosaucers Dinosaucers Dinosaucers (known in Japan as: is an animated television series co-produced in the United States, Canada and Japan. It was created by DIC Entertainment and Madhouse which has done the overseas animation and in association with Ellipse Programmé and Nelvana. This animated...
as Princess Dei (as well as Teryx, according to Barbara Lynn Redpath); The Popples as Party Popple; and Sonic Underground
Sonic Underground
Sonic Underground is an animated series that follows the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his siblings, Sonia and Manic. The cartoon follows a main plot similar to, but heavily reconcepted from, main plot of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series...
as the singing voice of Sonia. On Bakugan she portrays the voices of Tigrerra and Rabeeder.
Voice direction
Vallance was the recipient of a 2002 Emmy Award for casting and voice-directing the dialogue and music-vocals on more than seventy episodes of the Disney television series MadelineMadeline
Madeline is a children's book series written by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature film...
, on which she also portrayed the voices of Miss Clavel and Genevive. Since then, Vallance has voice-directed Silverwing
Silverwing
Silverwing may refer to:*Silverwing , a book series written by Kenneth Oppel**Silverwing , best-selling novel and first in the series.**Silverwing ,TV show based on Kenneth Oppel's Silverwing...
and Totally Spies. In 2007, she cast and voice-directed Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...
2007 Emmy-nominated Growing Up Creepie
Growing Up Creepie
Growing Up Creepie was an animated television series made in the USA by Mike Young Productions and produced by Discovery Kids. In other countries the series was simply titled Creepie.- Premise :...
and then went on to serve as Voice Director on 52 episodes of Teletoon's hit show Best Ed
Best Ed
Best Ed is a Canadian animated television series created by Rick Marshall. The series premiered in 2008 on Teletoon. The series chronicles the adventures of an overly helpful and enthusiastic dog named Ed and his best friend, Doug the squirrel, whom everyone calls "Buddy" because Ed refers to him...
. Vallance continues to excel in the animation field. Last year, in LA, she cast and voice-directed the animated feature Young Dr. Dolittle, starring Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and she also cast and voice-directed one of Teletoon's Detour Pilots, Celebutards, which premiered at the 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival, where Vallance facilitated a Workshop in "Animation Voice-over Acting" to 200 animators.
Teaching
Tooned In! is Vallance's workshop on animation voice-over acting. Founded in 1995, the first "Finding Your Inner Toon" workshop took place in North VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Since then Vallance has taught in many cities including Toronto, Los Angeles and New York.
Music
Vallance had been able to indulge her love of singing in at least one installment of Night HeatNight Heat
Night Heat is a Canadian police drama series, which aired on CTV from 1985 to 1991. The show also aired on CBS in the United States from 1987 to 1993 and was the first Canadian-produced drama series to air on an American network...
, and Zoobilee Zoo
Zoobilee Zoo
Zoobilee Zoo is an Emmy Award-winning children's television program featuring costumed performers dressed as animal characters. It originally aired from 1986–1987, then in syndication until 2001 on several television channels including commercial network television stations, public television...
also relied heavily on music and singing from the characters. After she left the cast of Night Heat, she chose to make singing an alternate career.
In 1995, Vallance moved to Bowen Island
Bowen Island
Bowen Island, British Columbia, is an island municipality in Howe Sound, is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and is an island included within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust . Approximately 6 km wide by 12 km long, the island at its closest point is about 2 km...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
where she met Michael Creber (piano; k.d. lang). Together in 1998, they recorded Vallance's debut jazz CD Practically Naked. In Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, she performed regularly at The Jazz Cellar and Rossini’s, where she performed alongside some of the city's well-known jazz musicians at the time, including Miles Black
Miles Black
Miles Black is a multi-instrumentalist and producer residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.- Biography :Miles Black was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. He started playing piano at age 12...
(piano), Rick Kilburn (bass), Daryl Jahnke (guitar), Darren Radtke (bass), Paul Rushka (bass), Mike Rud (guitar), Linton Garner
Linton Garner
Linton Garner was a jazz pianist.He was Erroll Garner's older brother. After moving to Vancouver in 1974, he sang and played the piano in Rossini's restaurant in Kitsilano....
(piano) and Bill Coon (guitar).
On her second CD Always released in 1999, inspiration came from Vallance's one-woman portrayal of Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
. Vallance toured the show in western Canada for six years, and opened for the Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...
in 1998.
Motivated by the loss of a close personal friend, Vallance conceived and organised the Divas For Life jazz benefit concerts held in Vancouver. In addition to producing the first “standing room only” concert at the Vogue Theatre, in 2001 she also negotiated a national distribution deal for the CD Divas for Life - Live At The Vogue!, which was released and performed as part of the 2001 Vancouver International Jazz Festival line-up as a series of sold-out dinner concerts. On Valentine’s Day 2002, she produced Divas For Love, which again packed the Vogue Theatre. The proceeds, totalling over C$70,000, were donated to supporting people living with a life-threatening illness. As a result, Vallance was presented with Vancouver's "Friend In Deed Philanthropy Award".
In 2004, Vallance debuted in her hometown, Toronto, where she was accompanied by Don Thompson
Don Thompson
Donald Thompson, Donald Thomson, Don Thompson or Don Thomson may refer to:-Sports personalities:* Don Thompson , American player for the Los Angeles Buccaneers in 1926...
, bassist Neil Swainson and drummer Ted Warren. She also performed for the first time in her birth town Montreal, at The Upstairs, with jazz pianist Steve Amirault, bassist Zach Lober and drummer Jim Doxas.
Vallance's latest CD, Make My Night was released in February 2008. Arranged by Pat Coleman (guitar) it features many other Canadian Jazz musicians: Ross Taggart (piano), Mike Herriot (trumpet), Tom Colclough (sax), Buff Allen (drums) and Miles Hill (bass).
Since 2008, Vallance has been based in Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, where she now hosts her own radio show, "Jazz & Blues on the Beach", that airs every Sunday night, on 98theBeach.ca
In 2009, Vallance performed in the Medicine Hat Jazz Festival for the second year in a row and she was also the featured vocalist with the Stardust Big Band and she also sang with the Charlie Bell Trio, in the Thornbury and Kincardine Jazz Festivals. In the fall she produced "Jazz Inclined"; Patsy Cline songs done with a "jazzy" twist. The live recorded CD features Richard Whitman (piano), Mike Grace (bass) and Kevin Barrett (guitar).
In 2010, Vallance is pursuing her impresario talents with the "Stevie Vallance & the Masters of Jazz:2010" 7-concert series, at the Bruce Power Theatre, in Southampton, presenting world-class players such as Kieran Overs (bass), Ted Warren (drums), Bobby Brough (sax), Rob Clutton (bass), Nancy Walker (piano), Ted Quinlan (guitar), Tim Posgate (guitar) and George Koller (bass). The 7-concert jazz series kicked off on February 13, 2010 with the Stevie Vallance Quintet and on April 10, Stevie performed alongside renowned Canadian composer and friend, David Warrack, in the premiere of "3 Davids"; a Cabaret-jazz style revue consisting of Frishberg, Shire and Warrack tunes. Vallance is producing all concerts and also organizing the "live" recordings of every concert in the series for a "Best of the Masters of Jazz: 2010" CD.