ANSWERING THE CALL
Friends step up for ailing jazz singer
A crowdfunding campaign was launched the morning of Christmas Eve to support Ottawa jazz singing star Kellylee Evans, who suffered a concussion last month and is on indefinite bed rest in keeping with a doctor’s order.
The new injury for Evans, a Juno Award winner who frequently tours France and beyond, prompted a relapse of symptoms that plagued her two years ago after she was struck by lightning, says the crowdfunding webpage, which was created by Evans’ friend, Toronto singer Amanda Martinez.
“Her doctor insisted she cancel all tour dates and has instructed her to be on bed rest indefinitely,” wrote Martinez. “She’s been told to keep her eyes closed and not look at a computer, so working from her bed is not an option for proper healing.”
By Christmas evening, the campaign had raised more than $20,000 toward a goal of $30,000. Funds go directly to Evans, a 40-year-old single mother of three, to cover her expenses for groceries, shelter and medical needs.
Thursday afternoon, Evans took to Facebook to explain what had happened.
“About a month ago, I fainted when I stood up in a hot bath, fell and hit my head leading to another brain injury. I’m getting a tiny bit better every day but it’s been a slow go. I’m on indefinite bed rest and I admit it was frightening for me to have to cancel everything,” she wrote. “It’s hard to hear that lying in bed is somehow going to help in the long run when you know your family needs you now. But my body has slowed me down against my wishes and this time instead of pushing against it, I took a leap of faith, I am resting and my family and friends have been my saviours.”
The setback occurred a few months after the European release of Evans’ latest record, Come On.
In early June 2013, Evans was struck by lightning during a freak accident. She was standing in front of her kitchen window during an electrical storm, with a wet sponge in her hands. The sponge made contact with the kitchen sink, and apparently the lightning travelled through the plumbing and hit her.
“It was just bang, this huge jolt. Like the biggest carpet shock you’ve ever had,” she told the Citizen then. “I screamed and everyone came running.”
Two days after that accident, Evans experienced heart palpitations, headaches and weakness on the left side of her body. She used a wheelchair after the accident, and if she tired, her voice could slur. “My circuits got scrambled,” she said.
In 2010, Evans’ made-in-France album Nina, a tribute to vocal legend Nina Simone, won the Juno Award for vocal jazz album of the year. Her international career took off with that release. She followed up that album with 2013’s hip-hop-influenced I Remember When.