HelloWestTravel.com joins Colin Hunter and Sunwing in Cuba for Havana Jazz Festival
Terrilyn Kunopaski
January 04, 2011

Colin Hunter Takes His Passion for Jazz to Havana

When Colin Hunter was in his 30’s, he told his wife that there were two things he wanted to do in life: own an airplane and be a singer.

Now, as the chairman of Sunwing, with a fleet of aircraft and five albums recorded since 2005, HelloWestTravel.com recently had the opportunity to join Sunwing, Colin and his wife in Cuba where he was invited to perform at the 26th-annual Havana Jazz Festival.

Singing since he could walk

This life as a crooner seems to have been long in the works, as Colin said he started performing from a young age in Bombay, where he was born.

“His mom would say that from when he was a very small boy, he would stand and hum and rock from side to side,” Joan told HelloWestTravel.com while we watched Colin warm up for his festival performances. “When I first met him, he always sang to me – always.”

Although Joan mostly knew her husband to only sing for the family and never for crowds, she encouraged his musical career and bought him a karaoke machine for his 50 birthday.

“We’d have karaoke parties and that helped him with his confidence,” she said.

Years later, the couple was on a cruise vacation when Colin started singing with the pianist.

“That was it – I lost him for the rest of the cruise,” Joan joked. “He was singing every night in the cocktail lounge. He got his confidence up, singing there. And then he started getting to know a few musicians in Toronto and then from there, [he started singing] more and more.“

Colin’s two passions came together in 2005 with the launch of Sunwing Airlines, coinciding with the launch of his first album, “Come Fly With Me,” which was recorded with a 16-piece band, the Starlight Orchestra.

His roles as the president of Sunwing and as a crooner came together once again when coincidently, this year’s Jazz festival opened just as Suwning’s inaugural flight connecting Montreal to Havana landed, on which Colin and Joan arrived.

Sharing his passion for music with Cuba

When Colin took to the stage in Havana only weeks ago, he was beaming with pride and confidence, thriving off the enthusiasm of the crowd. As a special guest of a renowned Cuban Jazz group, Cubajazz, a little Caribbean flair was also part of his act as local musicians played the congos and bongos.

Also joined by Joe Sealey, a popular Toronto pianist, Colin was happy to tell the crowd that he was visiting from Canada to share his love for this celebrated musical genre.

He spent two nights on stage seducing the crowds with his voice during the festival – one, at a local bar for a jam session and another at Casa de la Cultura, which is a historical icon when it comes to the Festival.

“It was a great honour to be invited to the Jazz festival,” he told HelloWestTravel.com shortly after we returned from Havana. “I really enjoyed playing with the Cuban artists. It’s a whole different feel.”

Colin says persistence is key

Hoping to inspire other Canadians to follow their dreams, Colin joked “My goal was to only have one aircraft.”

But even he has learned from what he’s accomplished so far, knowing that persistence is key in both his life as a business man and as a performer.

“It means I can do more of what I want, which is to record more albums,” he said.

“He is very focused,” Joan explained. “He does one thing, does it very well and he’s done it. After accomplishing the one thing, he can go and do the other.”

Crediting his success in both fields to a “combinations of a lot of things,” Colin said that “You need to have the right set of circumstances and the right team to make it work.”

Circumstance aside, when asked what Jazz tune best represented his life, Colin was quick to choose the Frank Sinatra staple, “My Way.”

“Just listen to the words – you will see,” he said, chuckling.


Stay tuned to HelloWestTravel.com this week for an article on my experience in Havana.