The godfathers
Chantal's 'Peg mentors are proud & happy

WINNIPEG - She may not have mentioned their names on-air, but Winnipeggers Chris Burke-Gaffney and Danny Schur were thrilled Chantal Kreviazuk picked up two Juno awards over the weekend.

Burke-Gaffney, a veteran musician and producer, and Schur, an eager talent-hound, manager and producer, were the savvy pair who first discovered the young singer/songwriter five years ago, recorded her first tunes and persuaded Rich Camilleri from Sony Music Canada to come to Winnipeg to see her perform in studio.

In large part it was their persistence which landed Kreviazuk a deal with Columbia Records and Sony Music Canada.

Burke-Gaffney and Schur no longer work with the 26-year-old singer after (amicably) turning over management reins to Christine Kerr following the release of her first album, Under These Rocks and Stones. But they remain close to the Charleswood-raised chanteuse.

"Chris was out in Toronto for the awards and he's just on his way back now," Schur said yesterday.

Saturday night, Kreviazuk won best pop/adult album honours for her recent recording, Colour Moving and Still and she shocked herself and a crowd of 15,000 at the SkyDome Sunday night with her win as best female artist over the likes of Alanis Morissette and Celine Dion.

"It was great to see her win. The two of us are just ecstatic for Chantal, she deserves it, she's worked super super hard, not just on this record, but she's worked hard for five years," Schur said.

News of the Juno laurels had the Winnipeg music maven reflecting on the young woman who presented herself to him five winters ago.

"We always believed she was extremely talented, and now I think the Juno wins have validated that belief in a big way, so congratulations to her."

Kreviazuk herself was unavailable for comment yesterday, preferring to stay at her Toronto home and rest before playing a show in Nepean, Ont., tonight and heading for Hamilton Friday and Montreal Sunday.

"It was a big one, that's for sure," said Amber Meredith, director of media relations for Sony Music Canada, of the awards.

Kreviazuk's Colour Moving and Still album has sold more than 150,000 copies in Canada. It is about to be released in the United States, where expectations are that she will make her big breakthrough following the industry buzz that greeted her version of Peter, Paul & Mary's Leaving on a Jet Plane, which appeared on the Armageddon soundtrack.

Obviously, winning a Juno over the likes of Dion and Morissette won't hurt her cause any.

By: John Kendle