| NATALIE MACMASTER |
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| REELIN� AND ROCKIN� WITH NATALIE! Reviewed by Diane Wells On December 8, 2003, I had the good fortune to witness a live performance, at Kitchener�s posh Centre in the Square, by Canada�s First Lady of the Fiddle, Natalie MacMaster. What I found very commendable, apart from her hard-earned virtuosity and versatility, was her onstage presence and demeanour, suggesting a woman in total control of her musical presentation, but with a genuine love and enjoyment of it, not as a means to parade her coincidental good looks or physique � a true professional and a classy one at that! Refraining from an initial greeting to the audience, the band got right down to business by launching into an instrumental medley, followed by a fiddle-guitar duet with Toronto-born, Gander-raised Brad Davidge, whose brand-new daughter has already attended her first gig! After offering a warm hello to the nearly sold-out crowd, Natalie participated in a bit of one-to-one interaction with the crowd, which included as many Cape Bretoners as it did Newfoundlanders (�but they�re just louder�). Natalie, a Cape Bretoner herself, has recently become a permanent resident of Ontario, having just married Donnell Leahy, lead fiddler of the famous 9-piece musical extravaganza known as Leahy. She made no bones about how delighted she was with this turn of events and proudly directed the audience to the flashy new accoutrement on her left hand! Imagine the future prodigy of this particular matrimonial union! Many of the selections played that evening were from Natalie�s just-released (and seventh) CD, Blueprint, which highlights the connection between bluegrass and Celtic music, an observation brought to Natalie�s attention by Alison Krause. Blueprint features a long list of guests such as bassist Jerry Wooten, octave violinist Darol Anger, Bela Fleck and Alison Brown on banjo, Sam Bush and Matt Flinner on mandolin, Jerry Douglas on dobro, and multiple guitarists and pianists. Mr. Fleck�s appropriately titled �Bela�s Tune� is also included on this CD. While Crowbar drummer Larry Atamaniuk performs on Blueprint, Natalie has recently enlisted the aid of Miche Pouliot, formerly with Heaven�s Radio (a blues-reggae band I heard at Le Hibou in Ottawa, on a double-bill with Murray McLachlan, way back in the early �70s)! The first tunes showcased from Blueprint were compositions by Scottish accordionist Phil Cunningham - �Eternal Friendship� and �Appropriate Dipstick� (co-written by Iain MacDonald and featuring 23-year-old award-winning bagpiper Matt MacIsaac on a mysterious tubular instrument held at his waist but fingered like a flute - it was quite interesting to hear and observe! Natalie then asked if we were familiar with the East Coast tradition of partying in the kitchen, which got a great response, and that led to a recital of the �Jig Party�, featuring the wildly energetic tapdancing/jigging of Tiffany (Hughson?), from Woodstock, Ontario. That kind of dancing is not for the faint of heart! Bassist (electric and modified upright) John Chiasson (Lennie Gallant Band; The Rankins, John Chiasson Quartet), sang a charming version of �Autumn Leaves� (popularized by Johnny Mercer but originally composed by poet Jacques Pr�vert as �Les Feuilles Mortesor�). Born in South Africa, to Cape Bretoner parents, he has years of experience, culminating in a solo smooth jazz CD entitled �Here in the Moonlight�. Lead guitarist Brad Davidge (Soul�s Road; Mary Jane Lamond; Terry Kelly) is also a solo performer in his own right and has recently released his d�but CD, Unfolded, produced by Gordie Sampson, who plays guitar on Blueprint and who also produced Natalie�s In My Hands, a prior CD with guest Jesse Cooke. A Myra Brooks Welch poem, �Touch of the Master�s Hand� (jokingly referred to as Touch of MacMaster�s Hand), was transformed by Natalie and Brad into a magnificent musical opus, along the lines of Charlie Daniels� �The Devil Went Down to Georgia� (on the Coyote Ugly soundtrack LP) and featured Brad on lead vocals that could melt one of those East Coast glaciers. The well-attended concert (one of the few scheduled in Southern Ontario that was not completely sold-out) closed with the 300-year-old �Coyle�s Field House�, that morphed into a funkadelic funfest featuring Antigonian pianist Allan Dewar, which liberated Natalie to kick up her heels, but without her fiddle! |