Daphne Roubini & Black Gardenia - Whisky Scented Kisses (2026)

“Minor Mood”
This was the first song my good friend multi-instrumentalist Chris Davis and I wrote together, before he moved to New York City. At the time, he was still in Vancouver, playing with Black Gardenia, while I was living on a remote island in BC. We were texting one day when I asked how he was. His reply—“I’m in a minor mood”—sparked an instant melody and lyric, which I sent to him. Within an hour we had our first tune, harmony and all. This song captures the ache of longing and the loneliness of love when a relationship is over.

“Am I Crazy?”
This tune explores the way love can override reason—how we sometimes surrender to its pull even when it seems doomed from the start. For me, it speaks to the courage and abandon of desire, its intoxicating mix of beauty and emotional risk. Remarkably, this song came to me in a dream—the melody and lyrics arriving together as I woke. I sang it straight into a voice memo and sent it to Chris Davis, the brilliant NYC-based multi-instrumentalist. With his harmony, the tune blossomed fully, capturing the wild, unguarded spirit of love that dares to bloom against all odds.

“Whisky Scented Kisses”
The phrase “Whisky Scented Kisses” sat for years on a scrap of paper in my lyric box, waiting for its moment. When Chris Davis and I began writing together, it finally found its song. This tune captures the intensity of fleeting encounters—the spark of attraction, the atmosphere of desire, and the beauty of experiences that cannot be repeated. For me, it celebrates the transient nature of romance: a love lived completely in the present, powerful and unforgettable, no matter how brief. “Whisky Scented Kisses” is a memory distilled in melody, lingering long after the moment itself has passed.

“How Do I Know?”
This tune explores the prelude to love—the tender, aching stage of wondering and hoping, when it is still unknown whether your feelings will be returned. It is a universal experience, perhaps even more elusive in today’s world than in the past. “How Do I Know?” is my second collaboration with Paul Pigat, Vancouver’s storied guitarist. Our first was “Lucky Star”, the title track of Black Gardenia’s 2017 album. Here, Paul’s harmony lets the melody and lyrics shine, adding depth and poignancy to a song about the fragile threshold of longing that exists between uncertainty and love.

“Today”
This is a song for women of 2026—joyfully single, grounded in self-love, and alive to the possibilities of desire. It celebrates freedom, independence, and the many forms love can take: a fleeting spark, an open constellation, or the devotion of two. Intimacy here is mutual, explored with honesty and delight. I think of it as a love song to the modern moment, where women choose their own paths in romance and in life, liberated in ways once reserved for men. With gratitude to my friend Noah Walker, brilliant Vancouver based guitarist, whose harmony brought my melody and lyrics to life.

There’s Always Tomorrow”
One of my favourite tunes on the album, written by Mimi Marlowe Jaffe at just 19 years old. This song reflects to me how we see ourselves—as young or old—along the timeline of our lives. It stands as a delicate anthem to the universality and hopefulness of love’s timeless call.
A heartfelt thank-you to my friend, brilliant NYC-based trumpeter Antoine Drye, for suggesting it to me. He transcribed the piece from an old, unreleased recording. Mimi passed away last year at the age of 91, leaving behind this luminous song as part of her enduring musical legacy.

“You Leave Me Breathless”
Composed in 1938 by Ralph Freed and Friedrich Hollaender, “You Leave Me Breathless” is one of the timeless standards I couldn’t resist including. Made famous by Nancy Wilson—whose voice has long inspired me—it is my tribute to her artistry and immeasurable gift to jazz. What I love most about this song is how it celebrates imperfections: the quirks, gestures, and little details that make us fall in love. In an age so focused on surface beauty, its message feels especially tender. I have truly felt the lyric, “that funny chin of yours, does so much to my heart.”

“This Year’s Crop of Kisses”
Written in 1936 by Irving Berlin and recorded the following year by my vocal idol Billie Holiday, this song has always held a special place in my heart. I especially love her version with Teddy Wilson, which also marked her first collaboration with Lester Young. Including it here is my tribute to Billie Holiday—my greatest inspiration—and to the musicians who shaped my earliest love of jazz. In keeping with the theme of this album, the tune reminds me that some loves never leave us, remaining part of us even as life changes and we move forward.

“Who Stole the Moon?”
I first heard the melody of this tune—written by Stephen Nikleva, Vancouver’s rockabilly-jazz guitar maestro—during a Black Gardenia gig at Frankie’s Jazz Club, when I asked him to slip in an instrumental piece. The melody captivated me instantly and became our first collaboration. I’m drawn to songs that paint vivid pictures, and this one evokes a vintage, cinematic quality: two lovers meeting under a moonlit night, only to be parted by dawn. Romantic and mysterious, it carries the ache of longing within an irresistible swing, and has since become one of my favourite uptempo pieces to perform.

Daphne Roubini: Vocals, band leader, composer
Paul Pigat: Guitar, arranger, composer
Stephen Nikleva: Guitar, composer
Dave Say: Saxophone
Brad Turner: Flugel Horn, Trumpet
Jeremy Holmes: Bass

Tracklist
01 Minor Mood
02 Am I Crazy_
03 Whisky Scented Kisses
04 How Do I Know_
05 Today
06 There's Always Tomorrow
07 You Leave Me Breathless
08 This Year's Kisses
09 Who Stole The Moon_