Corrine Bailey Rae is a luminous soul. As the conduit for, and creator of her music, Corrine exudes an elusive yet intense passion which shines forth from the stage and gently captures the audience in its mystique. Her light shines through her music and lyrics which delicately touch tender, wistful places in our being and evoke buried longings, accompanied by the subtle hope of fulfillment. The gentle progression of her July 9, 2022 Ottawa Jazz Festival show was like a slow spiritual seduction into the inner realms of being, where it is clear Corrine herself has travelled and lives.

Her soul’s expression through music also began in childhood, in school, and through her church where her love of making music was solidified. She married at 22 to Jason Rae, musician/ saxophonist and found her singular voice in the first few years of their marriage. His sudden death after only 7 years together, unmistakably left Corrine plumbing the depths of her being and creating award winning music in the next twenty years of her career.

Soul led, passion fuelled music still defines Corrine Bailey Rae’s music, even more so in her come back album in 2016 titled, The Heart Speaks in Whispers. At the Jazz festival, Bailey Rae ended her set by singing “The Skies Will Break,” prefaced by a deeply touching speech about pain and opportunities slipping away.“ I wrote this next song for anyone who’s having a hard time. I wrote it for you, and I wrote it for me,” she stated.

In an interview with NPR, Corinne Bailey Rae said this song is about “transformation, it’s about hope, it’s about a point in your life where you feel that things can’t change and things are hopeless. The message of the song is that things will get better, things will change, the waves will part for you, and when it happens you’ll know it”.

The skies will break for you, my friend

The waves will part, the seas will rend

It won’t be long until it ends.

And the heart speaks in whispers

You’ve got to listen…

Corrine Bailey Rae seemed to literally open the hearts of the audience as she floated back-and-forth across the stage gracefully swooping her arms like a ballet dancer, ringing the bells she held and waving the vibrations out like a sprinkling of fairy dust onto our heads as we sat mesmerized in the magic she wove. What hearts and souls shared with their earthly containers in the intimacy of those moments, remains heartfelt.

Passion incubates in a faithful heart, patient in trust, abiding in love. In right time, the heart opens, passion blossoms forth like a delicate fragrance that becomes a heady perfume the more we allow its aroma to permeate our senses and consciousness. Then, if we allow our soul to lead us where we are meant to go, the unfoldment of our lives is in itself a profound adventure.