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November 2005
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WINDOWS MEDIA VIDEO
With that in mind, Harrison Festival Society presents A Night of Cape Breton Music on Sunday night in the Harrison Memorial Hall. Featured are three of the East Coast region's best, fiddler Wendy MacIsaac, guitarist Patrick Gillis, along with veteran singer/songwriter and guitarist Buddy MacDonald. Wendy MacIsaac, from Creignish, Cape Breton, began step dancing at the age of five and fiddling at age 12. Since 1990, she has established herself as one of the top young fiddlers in Cape Breton and has been in great demand for dances and festivals across the country. She performs solo and with her band, Beolach. She's shared a stage with The Rankin Family, The Barra MacNeils, Capercaille, The Chieftains, Ashley MacIsaac and has toured and recorded with Mary Jane Lamond for the past 10 years. She's played in Harrison twice in the past with her band, Beolach. From Scotsville, Cape Breton, Patrick Gillis grew up with traditional music being played almost constantly in his home. His father, uncle and two older brothers playing the fiddle gave him a great appreciation and understanding of Celtic music. Along with his love for the music, he brings a huge energy that can be heard in his accompaniment and in his solos. Patrick is also a member of Beolach and has toured with Cullin, Howie MacDonald's Celtic Brew, Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, and Glenn Graham. Born and raised on the northern shores of Cape Breton, Buddy MacDonald began his career more than 25 years ago. He was exposed at an early age to the great Celtic singers of his native island. Buddy has performed with Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, and Howie MacDonald as a vocalist and guitarist. For the past few years, Buddy has been a host for the 'Festival Club' at the wonderful Celtic Colours InternationalMusic Festival. His songs have been covered by the likes of John Allan Cameron, McGinty and Tom Leadbeater. A Night of Cape Breton Music Sunday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 (plus gst) and are available at the Agassiz Pharmasave, The Valle School of Beauty in Chilliwack, or call the Festival office at 604-796-3664. (Visa or Master Card).
............................................................................................................................................................... January 5, 2005 The Roots and Blues Festival (Salmon Arm, BC) has a great winter concert line-up that begins with East Coast fiddler and dancer Wendy MacIsaac (yes, she is cousin to Ashley) and Patrick Gillis from the group Beolach along with Buddy MacDonald. Beolach, one of Cape Breton's most exciting young bands, has just been nominated for two East Coast Music Awards for Roots-Traditional Group of the Year and Instrumental Album of the Year. The upcoming Salmar Classic show on Jan. 10 will be filled with great stories and tunes and definitely a full evening of Cape Breton music. MacIsaac
will also conduct a free session for local fiddle students at 4:30 p.m.
at the Salmar Classic Theatre. Pre-register at the Folk Music Office at 833-4096
............................................................................................................................................................... December 17, 2004 - ECMA Nominations Wendy's
band Beolach have received two East Coast Music Award nominations -
Instrumental Recording of the Year The
ECMA's will take place February 17-20, 2005 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. For
more information and a
............................................................................................................................................................... November 27, 2004 - Distribution Deal Wendy
MacIsaac and Beolach have secured a national distribution deal in Canada
with
............................................................................................................................................................... MIANS
Covers Province With Music
After a round of reels by fiddlers Mairi Rankin and Wendy MacIsaac in the Delta Halifax Hotel's Bluenose Room, MIANS and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage Rodney MacDonald unveiled the Rising Star and Bringin' It Home tours which will take 21 performers to communities from Yarmouth to Glace Bay. The touring initiatives come out of MIANS' Music Sector Strategy in which the Government of Nova Scotia announced it was investing $750,000 per year for three years last December. Rising Stars and Bringin' It Home constitute part of the live performance aspect of the strategy, which also addresses strengthening areas of the industry such as education, production, publishing, representation and distribution. "This strategy is a major step towards developing, promoting and exporting our talent from here, rather than have musicians go elsewhere to further their careers," said MacDonald on Thursday. The Rising Star Tour, taking place March 25-April 3, is a series of shows in "soft-seater" venues like Liverpool's Astor Theatre and Mabou's Strathspey Place, featuring a trio of acts ready to break through to a new level of popularity in their careers. Hip-hop pioneers Universal Soul, singer-songwriter Ian Janes and Celtic duo Mairi Rankin and Wendy MacIsaac will be joined by host Heather Rankin for the series designed to attract a wide ranging audience. "This is a huge opportunity, and I think it has something for everybody," said Universal Soul member Finley Tolliver, whose new video recently premiered on MuchMusic and its Vibe specialty channel. "With Universal Soul our whole thing is finding out how different types of music and people will work together. "Plus, we're a hip-hop act, so a lot of our audience is kids and teens who wouldn't normally get the opportunity to see this kind of stuff in their home towns." "Bringin' It Home" will take place over three consecutive weekends between April 15 and May 1, bringing 18 performers to 27 communities sometimes considered off the beaten path from musical touring itineraries. From Truro and New Glasgow to Margaretsville and Judique, musicians from a broad range of genres will get a chance to play for audiences that wouldn't normally get to hear them perform at home. "The response to our call for submissions was almost overwhelming," said MIANS president Waye Mason, who noted that the process for the programs, from the Dec. 18 announcement to the early February deadline, had to be handled extremely quickly. "Our goal was to have as many different genres as possible, and still have the artists on the showcase be a good fit." So Bringin' It Home will involve alternative rock acts like Shyne Factory and Slowcoaster, R&B and blues artists like John Campbelljohn and Dutch Robinson, and progressive singer-songwriters like Joel Plaskett and Jill Barber. "It's great to get to play around the province, but I think the most positive thing about this is the support from the Nova Scotian government," said Halifax singer-songwriter Amelia Curran, one of the artists chosen from over 50 submissions. "It's important that they recognize the local scene as an industry." Hitting
the road: Rising Star Tour When: Astor Theatre, Liverpool, March 25; Th'YARC, Yarmouth, March 26; Chester Playhouse, Chester, March 27; Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax, March 31; DeCoste Centre, Pictou, April 1; Strathspey Place, Mabou, April 2; Savoy Theatre, Glace Bay, April 3 Above
photo: INGRID BULMER/Staff. Copyright İ 2004 The Halifax Herald Limited
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Wrap Up: Behind the Scenes at the Awards Show Wendy MacIsaacıs TIMELINE could well be a description of her musical career to date. At five, Wendy, who grew up in Creignish, Cape Breton, first learned to dance. Next came the fiddle. She spent her youth no only with fiddle playing and dancing, but as a solo pianist and accompanist. MacIsaac was part of the group Special 7, which included Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster. Of ECMA 2004, Wendy said, "It is an incredible opportunity to make industry contacts and do some networking. I participated in the One-on-One sessions offered through the International Delegate Program and had some good feedback from the meetings that may lead to bookings in Europe and the U.S." "There was music everywhere throughout the weekend - it was absolutely amazing." MacIsaac was also one of the featured performers at the Cape Breton Night, which provided a musical glimpse of what Cape Breton will offer as hosts of ECMA 2005. Post ECMA, Wendy MacIsaac is off to Quebec City to do two shows with Mary Jane Lamond, with whom she has toured for nine years. "I am also teaching in Seattle, Washington at a Feis, which is a Gaelic word for gathering; and teaching a workshop in Ottawa. And I have a band called Beolach that I am managing, and I am working in March with Jane Lamond on her new recording, so this is a very busy time in my life."
............................................................................................................................................................... December 2004 Wendy has received an East Coast Music Award (ECMA) nomination for "Roots/Traditional Album of the Year" for her latest recording "Timeline". The awards will be handed out in St. John's, Newfoundland on Sunday February 15, 2004. ............................................................................................................................................................... Top
Of Class Salutes Teacher Chapman: Old adages die hard. But if there's one thing that the Celtic Colours tribute to fiddle teacher Stan Chapman proves, it's that whoever wrote "those who can, do; those who can't, teach" was an idiot.
To call the lineup "all-star" would be something of an understatement, with Jackie Dunn, Stephanie Wills, Wendy MacIsaac, Kendra MacGillivray, Mairi Rankin and Natalie MacMaster all turning out for the class reunion, while pianist Troy MacGillivray and guitarist Dave MacIsaac added their own unique rhythm. A school desk piled high with textbooks and polished apples graced the stage as a bit of tongue-in-cheek decoration. "Stan Chapman, this is your life!" joked Dave MacIsaac, a longtime friend who's been trading tapes with the educator since the mid-'70s, when they met at a Gaelic gathering in Glendale. MacIsaac co-hosted with Dunn; perhaps ringleading is a more appropriate verb, considering the bit of clowning that opened the show, with the assembled ex-students tuning up torturously and mocking their earliest days with an assault of off-key sawing. MacIsaac poked fun at his co-host, whose married name is also MacIsaac, asking "Which MacIsaac did you Dunn?" while Dunn remarked that she was the oldest of Chapman's students there, but not the oldest musician, thanks to the presence of a certain grey-haired guitarist ... But the assembled multitude were in all seriousness when it came to sharing their experiences with Chapman and playing sets which demonstrated how he shaped their talents without constricting individual styles. You didn't have to be a fiddle expert to notice that no two musicians sounded the same, each bringing their own sense of heritage and identity to their playing. Dunn kicked things off with the help of guitarist MacIsaac and Wills on keyboards, with a set that included strathspeys by John Morris Rankin and her great uncle Dan Hughie MacEachern. Kendra MacGillivray popped out from backstage for a spirited bit of stepdancing, while Dunn tore through the tunes like a sports car hugging the twisty curves of the Cabot Trail. "Where was the fire at?" Dunn quizzed herself afterwards, practically pulling herself over for speeding, but no one seemed to mind the headlong rush. Creignish native Wills took her turn next, shy about speaking but visibly moved by Chapman's contribution to her life. "He brought music alive in my life, he's more than a teacher," she said. "Thank you for believing in me," she said to Chapman, beaming in the front row with his wife Gert. As for Wills's playing, her seasoned skills deliver a high sweet tone, but with a tough edge that mirrors life in a hillside village on Cape Breton's windswept western shore. "How about a round of applause for girl power?" roared Wendy MacIsaac, noting the bill's feminine bent. (Although to be fair, Chapman's students also included MacIsaac's cousin Ashley, Glenn Graham and Rodney MacDonald.) "Maybe we should have called the show 36C or something." "Then some of us would have to leave," laughed Dunn. Wendy MacIsaac recalled driving to lessons in Antigonish with Ashley in the back of uncle Angus's truck - "like the Clampetts" - before playing a mixed set that displayed her poetic approach to slow airs and sharp attack on strathspeys and reels. This time it was MacMaster's turn to dance, in a black cocktail dress with an artfully shredded hemline, no less. Lt. Governor Myra Freeman handled the door prize draw at intermission - or recess, as Chapman called it - noting that as an educator herself, there is no greater satisfaction than seeing your students become successful at what you've taught them. Case in point, Antigonish's Kendra MacGillivray, both a player and a teacher, whose buoyant sound has lit up rooms from Tokyo to Barbados. She remarked that Chapman encouraged her to discover the music of her own grandfather, noted fiddler Hugh A. MacDonald, while playing with a touch that's genteel, but lacking nothing in momentum. Mabou's Mairi Rankin played a mix of Scottish and Cape Breton tunes with a keen, yearning sound marked by sly sliding notes and a gentle vibrato. Achingly dirty on a slow air learned from Cameron Chisholm or down and dirty on a John Campbell Strathspey, Rankin showed how her time spent touring with Beolach has honed her crowd-pleasing style. The closing slot belonged to Troy fiddler MacMaster, arguably the brightest light among Chapman's angels, starting with a dramatic air that spoke of folk music traditions beyond Cape Breton island, then morphing into a strathspey that was pure Ceilidh Trail with no two passages alike. Building in speed and intensity over Dave MacIsaac's arpeggios, MacMaster's notes began flying even more freely off the neck of her violin, until she felt the need to stand up and make it a full-body experience. So lost in the music was she, she forgot to mention that one of the reels she'd played was one she'd written for Chapman. "Play it again!" came from the audience, so the jaunty tune got a second airing. Things really got emotional during a presentation to Chapman by the Cape Breton Fiddlers' Association in honour of his contribution to the music. "I told Buddy MacMaster that my head was going to swell up something awful with all this attention," said the unassuming teacher. "But Buddy told me, 'Don't worry, it'll be back to normal in the morning.' "I've learned as much or more from them as I've taught them," he said, indicating towards his former students. Later that night, back in St. Ann's, Wendy MacIsaac, Mairi Rankin and Natalie MacMaster closed down the Festival Club at the Gaelic College with a no-holds-barred set that saw the trio playfully bounce variations off each other while pianist Mac Morin. guitarist Fred Lavery and drummer Cheryl Smith held down the rhythm, grinning madly at the manic interplay. It's clear they worked very hard at their lessons, but they didn't forget how to play after school.
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Your Watches For MacIsaac's New CD Timeline
"He was very silly, always picking on people and laughing," says MacIsaac, who launches Timeline in Halifax on Saturday night at Your Father's Moustache. "We found this old clip of him playing the jaw harp and singing this Gaelic song. "It was hilarious, he just starts laughing in the middle of it. Then there's a clip of my mom stepdancing while my grandmother jigs a tune and then the last clip is myself, jigging a tune when I was three years old." Three years old? Most of us were just getting past the paste-eating phase while MacIsaac was laying the groundwork for her musical career. "Well, I was just 'diddling,' I wasn't really playing," she laughs in a vain attempt at modesty. MacIsaac actually has been fairly modest about her talents over the years, earning recognition while performing alongside Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond or as a member of the Celtic combo Beolach. Her third solo CD, Timelines allows her to stand front and centre, with the help of a stellar Cape Breton cast, including Lamond; pianists Jackie Dunn-MacIsaac, Tracey Dares and Mac Morin; fiddlers Stephanie Wills and Howie MacDonald; guitarists Dave MacIsaac, Patrick Gillis and Gordie Sampson; piper Ryan MacNeil and rhythm pals Ed Woodsworth on bass and drummer Matt Foulds. (Gillis, Dares and Dave MacIsaac join her on Saturday.) Ultimately, Timelines took a year to complete, as MacIsaac juggled recording sessions with a busy schedule touring with Beolach and occasionally accompanying Lamond. Plus there were the tasks of both raising funds and picking tunes for the project. "I like the older styles of tunes" she says. "It's hard to describe the difference between newer and older sounding tunes to someone who doesn't know the music, but the older ladies from home would say that 'There's lots of Gaelic in the music' or 'Oh, you've got lots of Gaelic in your playing, you've got the old style.' "It might just be that you love a fiddler's playing, and they just make a tune sound that much better. There aren't many tunes that I dislike, but some of them I like way more than others." MacIsaac says her style isn't easy to pin down, since she learned technique from Antigonish fiddle guru Stan Chapman (whose students included MacIsaac's cousin Ashley, Natalie MacMaster, Kendra MacGillivray and fellow Beolach member Mairi Rankin) and studied the playing of a wide range of fiddlers, from Mabou's Willie Kennedy to Cheticamp's Arthur Muise. "There are still things they do that nobody else can. Your fingers are just not going to do what they're doing. Like Arthur, he's just unbelievable. Even if he makes a mistake, you try to learn it, he's just that good. "I can't really point to one particular style for myself. Like Ashley, Buddy MacMaster was his big inspiration--he can play exactly like Buddy if he wants to--and Natalie's too, of course. I think mine is more of an Inverness County style rather than stemming from one town or one player." Always an energetic and inspired player on stage, MacIsaac says with Timelines her studio chops were also up to speed to the point where she could produce the record herself and put her own stamp on all aspects of it. "I felt more comfortable in being able to say what I felt. Especially working with Mike Shepherd, he did the Beolach CD and he's really easy to work with. If there was something that I wasn't digging the sound of, I could tell him, no problem. "I'm sure I could do that with anybody, but when I was making my first CD, I wouldn't have said anything. 'No, that sounds fine...'" Topping off Timelines' snappy playing are some sharp graphics by Lori Morgan, combining old family photos with a classy cover shot of MacIsaac in a vintage chair, her fiddle by her side. "At least I'm not standing by the ocean and calling it Over the Trail or something like that. It's hard not to make it hokey, because I still want my fiddle to be there." If you took the fiddle away, it could be an image from a contemporary jazz or pop CD. "Yeah, it could be Christina Aguilera Goes Celtic," she laughs.
............................................................................................................................................................... The
Lively Youth Of Cape Breton Six of Cape Breton's most talented young traditional musicians have joined forces to form a band guaranteed to set toes tapping and tongues wagging. Beolach (lively youth) is the perfect name to describe the combination of Mairi Rankin, Wendy MacIsaac, Mac Morin, Ryan MacNeil, Matt Foulds and Pat Gillis. The group made their first official Cape Breton appearance in early October at the Louisbourg Playhouse. The intimate setting of the playhouse (a 300 seat theatre originally built as a prop for the Disney film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale) was the ideal space for the band to showcase their talents. The musicians enjoyed an easy rapport with each other and the audience, creating a warm, energetic atmosphere. The room felt more like a large kitchen with a late-night session well underway than a theatre with assigned seating - the tunes and laughter were so contagious one adventurous group rushed to the stage for an impromptu third-figure square set during the band's encore. The band is fuelled by the dual fiddling of Mairi Rankin and Wendy MacIsaac. Wendy began performing publicly at the age of four as a stepdancer. At age 12 she began playing fiddle with Stan Chapman and hasn't looked back since. She has released two solo albums and appeared on numerous others. For the past few years she has been touring with Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond. Mairi Rankin is a noted stepdancer and fiddler from Mabou with an amazing wealth of tunes. Her style is grounded in traditional Cape Breton music, having learned mainly from Willie Kennedy and Kenneth Joseph MacDonald, but she also possesses a flair for lively Irish tunes. Since finishing high school three years ago, Mairi has been trying to combine her love of Cape Breton fiddling with the desire to be in a band. She has been a member of Fortune's Hand, the Spirit of the Dance touring company and the recently disbanded Cuillin. With Beolach she seems to have found the perfect match. Piano accompaniment is a vital part of the Cape Breton music tradition and is well represented in the band by Mac Morin. Mac's intricate footwork has long been a part of local ceilidhs, but his talent on the keyboard has rapidly been gaining notice. He has recorded with Buddy MacMaster and Glenn Graham and has spent the past two years touring with neighbour Natalie MacMaster. The guitar is another staple of the traditional music scene. Patrick Gillis of Scotsville brings tremendous talent as well as a unique style to the band. Left-handed Pat grew up in a house filled with music, and right-handed guitars and fiddles, so he learned to play the guitar upside down and backwards - watching him play is almost as exciting as listening to him. The two remaining members of Beolach represent instruments Cape Bretoners aren't as accustomed to seeing in a traditional fiddle setting, though they also share a long history with the music. Ryan MacNeil plays Highland bagpipes and Scottish small pipes, as well as various whistles. Although his name and face may not be as well known to audiences as the other members of the group. Ryan has earned his position through talent and pedigree. A nephew of internationally acclaimed singer Rita MacNeil and a descendent of the Christmas Island Gaelic bard and musician Hugh F. MacKenzie, Ryan's introduction to music came at an early age. But it wasn't until he was in his teens that Ryan began to play the bagpipes, working his way through various pipe bands before finding his niche in traditional music. His piping and whistling adds a dynamic aspect to the band. Percussionist Matt Foulds rounds out Beolach. For more than 10 years Matt has been performing and recording with the biggest names in East Coast music, including Realworld, Bruce Guthro, The Barra MacNeils, The Rankins, and Howie MacDonald. The combination of youth, talent, and professional experience should spell success for Beolach. The musicians blend easily as a group, passing the lead from one individual to the next with no lapse in talent or energy. The tunes are solidly based in the Cape Breton tradition with a few Irish sets thrown in for variety. The settings are mostly traditional with just enough original touches to keep it fresh. Even if the international Celtic frenzy continues to diminish, these musicians will stand the test of time. The greatest obstacle facing the group is the demand for their individual talents. Although Beolach performed at a number of folk festivals in British Columbia and Massachusetts this summer, Louisbourg was the first appearance with all members present. The previous commitments of the members have crippled many opportunities for the group, but the musicians say they will continue playing together. Beolach just played at Celtic Connections in January where they were very well received.
............................................................................................................................................................... A
Spring Ceilidh At the Spring Ceilidh in Antigonish's Piper's Pub this past Saturday, Howie MacDonald (fiddle), Wendy MacIsaac (piano) and Patrick Gillis (guitar) played to an energetic and appreciative -- although less than full house. Missing were the droves of starry-eyed youth who likely would have made an appearance to catch a glimpse of Ashley MacIsaac, who was originally scheduled to appear with the trio. Not to be daunted by Ashley's "kidnapping" to Toronto, however, MacDonald, MacIsaac and Gillis were in fine form, and put on an impressive show that sent feet tapping, fingers rapping and heads bobbing all round. Even the lady at the slot machines seemed to get into the swing of things, with a different arm-pull rhythm for each tempo tune! Although Howie claims that he, Wendy and Patrick don't get the opportunity to play together too often, the fact certainly didn't stop them from providing some fantastic entertainment. With energy-packed sets lasting a good 10 and even 20 minutes, there was plenty to keep the audience entertained. From the first set, featuring a few strathspeys and a whole whack of reels, to the last set -- a dance set which went well past the band's allotted time -- the band had the rapt attention of those in attendance. After making a few minor adjustments with the sound during the first set, the performance went off without a hitch. The first half of the performance left people just itching to dance. With boundless energy, Howie & Co. stormed their way through a seemingly endless number of tunes, with barely a breather between sets. The first set consisted of a few strathspeys and a dizzying number of reels. One could have gone home at that point already having ingested a good fill of music, but that was just the start. Each of the following sets seemed to get longer and longer. The second set began with a slower march, a couple of strathspeys and then another exhausting list of reels, after which (although already going at a mighty fine pace), Howie upped the pace, and then belted out another good bunch of reels before leaving the audience wondering what in the world he would play next. (My apologies for not attempting to name any tunes here, but even if I could remember the names of all of them, it would take far too much space to write them all down!) Well, next came a beautifully played air. Although Howie tends to be known for his zesty performances, he is by no means slack when it comes to slower tunes. The clarity and expression that shines through his playing is astounding. On the topic of expression, I have to say that Howie MacDonald is one the most expressive fiddlers around. Jigs, reels, strathspeys, marches, waltzes, airs -- he plays them all with finesse, and his love of the music is evident. Howie is also one of the more "jumpy" players. Constantly bouncing off his seat, legs flying along with the tune, his energetic style is infectious. By the end of the third set (which went on for at least 15 minutes), my notes become a little hazy. My feet were tapping too hard to write straight, and I was too busy using my pen as an instrument to do much writing, anyhow. (I wonder if Howie would like a new sort of accompaniment? "...And on the Bic pen tonight....") A fine set of jigs was next. Now, there are many people out there who believe jigs to be a ... shall we say, less energetic sort of tune. Not so with these musicians. Howie, Wendy and Patrick attacked this set with just as much enthusiasm as any of the others. Following the jigs was a heartening set of waltzes, and then Howie zipped right into another long set of strathspeys and reels, punctuated by the odd stepdancer who hopped onto the dance floor. Interestingly enough, I recognized quite a few of the faces there at the pub as Cape Breton locals who had travelled to Antigonish to see the show. Cape Breton is second to none when it comes to supporting their talent! Following the break, the band began with another set of jigs. Two couples tried to start a square set, but not getting any takers, simply danced away on their own. Soon, however, they infected people with the dancing bug, and with the band still obligingly turning out jigs, the square set began. Accordingly, another set of jigs followed for the second figure [of the square set], and the dance floor quickly filled up. A characteristically lively set of reels rounded out the third figure of the set. As a flavourful chaser to the dance set, Howie served up another whopping set of tunes. Marches and strathspeys were followed by yet another crowd-pleasing bunch of reels and a bit of stepdancing. About halfway through the set (though no one knew it was only half done at the time), Howie paused, looked indecisive (for a grand total of about two seconds, and maybe four bow strokes), then launched into another good blast of reels that went on for about five minutes. At this point, he picked up the pace again, and with flying fingers and stomping feet (both his and the crowd's) the band treated its guests to a few more frenetic minutes, much to the crowd's delight. A few dabs at their brows, and the band was ready to go again, and dancers began to fill the floor for another square set -- two sets of jigs, and a set of reels. These sets I heard from the dance floor, where the band's vigorous playing could be best appreciated. And appreciated it was -- familiar faces blended with those of newcomers, but the smiles remained the same. Now, I've said quite a bit about MacDonald's fiddling here, but Howie was not the only one to shine. Both Gillis's guitar playing and MacIsaac's piano playing were fabulous. The three musicians played together as though they do it every day. Transitions between tunes were almost seamless, and the energy level was extraordinary. Everyone looked to be having a good time up on stage, which is something that can often make or break a performance. And this performance was definitely made. Everything you want in a decent Cape Breton-style show was there -- spirited playing, tons of tunes, variety, and a chance to move those restless feet. If you missed this one -- shame on you!
............................................................................................................................................................... CD
Review: That's What You Get What you get is a choice selection of Celtic material performed with great spirit by one of Cape Breton's most talented young fiddlers. Accompanied on piano by her cousin, Ashley MacIsaac, and by Celtic guitar greats Dave MacIsaac and Gordie Sampson, Wendy also incorporates stepdancers in the recording (including her mom and dad). In addition to the talents of Jamie Gatti, Tom Roach and John Alphonse, Wendy managed to lure previously unrecorded fiddle great, Willie Kennedy, into the studio. With this recording, Wendy continues a tradition that has been nurtured for almost 200 years in her Inverness County home and for centuries before that by her Scottish ancestors. Wendy MacIsaac began her performing career at the age of four as a stepdancer. She started fiddle lessons with Stan Chapman at the age of twelve, travelling back and forth from her home with neighbours Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac. By 1990, Wendy was well established as one of the best of the new young fiddlers and was in great demand for dances and fiddle festivals throughout Cape Breton, where she is also recognized as an accomplished pianist. Wendy has since entertained audiences across Canada and in the United States, Scotland and Italy. She has performed with the Rankin Family, the Barra MacNeils, Ashley MacIsaac, John Allan Cameron, Valdy and The Cape Breton Summertime Revue. Wendy has most recently become a prominent and featured member of Mary Jane Lamond's touring band.
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Review: The Reel Thing Wendy MacIsaac, a popular young Cape Breton fiddler, pianist, and step dancer based in Creignish, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, has appeared at dances and ceilidhs throughout the Maritimes, Ontario, and parts of the northeastern United States. A cousin of Ashley MacIsaac, she plays in a traditional Cape Breton style influenced by two fiddlers in particular: John Morris Rankin and Willie Kennedy. Her sure, fast-paced touch make The "Reel" Thing an engaging fiddle CD.
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There's
something about the down-home music of Cape Breton that can throw off
the chill of a winter night.
One
of the hottest tickets at this year's annual Cape Breton music festival,
Teacher's Pets: A Tribute to Stan Chapman, brought out the big guns to
salute the Antigonish-based instructor at the Judique Community Centre
on Monday night.
Cape
Breton fiddler Wendy MacIsaac starts her new CD with a blast from the
past, all too appropriate for a disc called Timeline. A decades-old clip
of her grandfather Donald Angus Campbell singing and playing the jaw
harp lets us know that MacIsaac comes by both a love of music and a
healthy sense of humour naturally.