12th Annual Healing Garden Music Fest (Waltham)
Event Summary
- Date
- 2008 April 26 (Saturday)
- Time
- 19h30
- Venue
- French-American Victory Club, 193 Elm Street, Waltham, Massachusetts
- Description
- Hosted by Terry Eagan, the annual “Fiddle and Strings” Benefit Concert will present J.P. Cormier and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier; Edmond Boudreau, who’ll be releasing his mandolin CD; Valerie Thompson & Vessela Stoyanova on cello and MIDI marimba; Joe Cormier on fiddle; Jim Spellman on guitar; Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, guitar, and bass; Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums; Jim Blais on bass, and, Terry himself giving us a tune or two on bass.
- Admission
- $20.00 at the door; $16.00 in advance
Review for the Cape Breton Music List
(Posted 2008 April 30)
The sold-out 12th annual Healing Garden Music Fest took place this past Saturday evening at the French-American Victory Club in Waltham (Massachusetts); it was the best concert that I have attended to date in this series of superb annual concerts. Their purpose is to raise funds for creating and maintaining healing gardens, patio gardens where those undergoing treatment for cancer can find a place of tranquillity and beauty in which to gather the hope and strength necessary to continue their battle. Constructing such a garden was the desire of Terry Eagan’s wife Mary, who succumbed to leukæmia in 1992; as a result of Terry’s tireless pursuit in realizing her wish, the Mary Eagan Garden opened in Waltham in 2001, where it is nestled alongside the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Care Center, and a similar garden is to be unveiled this summer in Ottawa, Ontario. These achievements result from the collaboration of many musicians from both the United States and Canada, who have come together under Terry’s leadership in concerts and other endeavours to raise the required funds. As the president of the Patio Records label, Terry has initiated and produced a number of excellent recordings, several featuring Cape Breton artists, whose profits also go to this cause.
Terry opened the evening with a brief welcome and then invited to the stage Marcia Young Palmater, hostess of Downeast Cèilidh, the popular Maritime music show that airs Saturdays on WUMB and is available on demand on the Internet. Marcia then introduced the initial performers, a combo of her dear friends, Joe Cormier and J. P. Cormier on dual fiddles, accompanied by Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on piano and Edmond Boudreau on bass. They gave us two very fine traditional sets that had the whole audience tapping their feet to the joyful music.
Each year, Terry invites performers that are new to me and outside the usual realm of traditional music; this year, Valerie Thompson (originally from Kansas City) on cello and Vessela Stoyanova (originally from Bulgaria) on MIDI marimba gave us several very different numbers that showcased their talents. The initial set was of three tunes Valerie had written: a slow air, another written for a guitar player, and the third for the birth of a friend’s daughter; I found the music very interesting to listen to and to watch—the MIDI marimba, an electronic instrument I had not previously encountered, is played with four mallets and sounds somewhat like a piano. The second number, sung by Valerie, was a spurned lover’s lament with the refrain “I never will marry, I’ll be no man’s wife, I intend to stay single for the rest of my life”, accompanied by sad and angry tones from the cello and marimba. The third set was rather less lugubrious and featured the tune Let the Bottle Circulate from Laura Cortese’s CD Hush, and a tune Valerie wrote, The Good Excuse. The fourth set was an original song Valerie had written, whose title I did not get. The last number was a jig that Valerie wrote followed by a Bulgarian folk tune. These two talented young ladies were well received by the audience and deservedly so.
Edmond Boudreau, originally from Chéticamp and a mainstay of the Boston Celtic and country music scenes, then took the stage for the release of his Lifetime Favorites CD on the Patio Records label, a result of a Father’s Day gift of studio time from his three children so that he could produce a recording on his favourite instrument, the mandolin. Joining Edmond on stage were many of those who collaborated on his CD: Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums[1], Matt Leavenworth on fiddle and guitar, Jim Spellman on guitar, Jim Blais on bass, and Brian Clancy on guitar; they played several selections from the CD. The first set was composed of a favourite tune of Edmond’s brother, Simon Peter, that is of Québecois provenance although no one has been able to definitively identify it and was followed by the Cottonwood Reel and Ste Anne’s Reel. Joe Cormier on fiddle and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards then joined most of the group for first a jig set consisting of Margaret Chisholm’s Jig, The Chanter, and Capers and then a second set made up of the King George Strathspey, the King’s Reel, and The Bridge of Bamore. Joe and Hilda then left the stage and the group continued with the Joyous Waltz. A bluegrass number, Bowin’ the Strings, was next. It was followed by a set formed of the Maple Leaf Two-Step and Don Messer’s Breakdown. Terry Eagan on bass replaced Jim Blais for the final number, Home Sweet Home. The CD, to which I have greatly enjoyed listening several times since that evening, is a fine compilation of traditional (mostly Scottish) tunes with a few interspersed bluegrass selections. Cape Breton’s Doug MacPhee is the pianist on nine of the tracks. Edmond’s playing is impeccable throughout and the supporting musicians continually add fine touches that distinguish each number, making for eminently listenable music. It is another fine addition to the Patio Records catalogue; if you enjoy traditional music featuring the mandolin backed by a combo featuring fiddle, piano, guitar, banjo, bass, and drums, you will not want to miss this CD!
After the intermission, Lianne Wand and Tara Beechey of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation brought us up to date on the progress of the healing garden in Ottawa.
Most of the remainder of the show was a top-notch concert by J. P. Cormier and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier. They began with J. P. singing a song, whose title I failed to write down, accompanying himself on guitar with Hilda on keyboards. Next came an instrumental guitar piece, a fine pickin’ session that showcased J. P.’s superb skills on the guitar, which seems to have become his favourite instrument. This was followed by Talking in Your Sleep, a Gordon Lightfoot song. Then came J. P.’s own song, Progress Avenue. Next was a fiddle set dedicated to J. P.’s uncle, Joe Cormier, ending with a fine Tulloch Gorm; while I also appreciate J. P.’s skills on the other stringed instruments he plays, I most enjoy his fiddle playing, which, alas, he avoids, wrongly in my view, as he says he feels inadequate when in the presence of “better” fiddlers. Returning to the guitar and song, J. P. next dedicated his song, The Molly May, to his friend Gabe Arsenault, another Cape Breton émigré who has become a stalwart of traditional music in Boston. Changing to the mandolin, J. P. dedicated the next set to Edmond Boudreau, which contained a blazingly fast rendition of The Arkansas Traveller; I could not decide whether J. P.’s or Hilda’s fingers were moving faster on their respective instruments and ended up deciding it was a draw! Returning to guitar, J. P. then gave us the song Leaving Charlottetown. Another wonderful guitar pickin’ set followed. To conclude their concert, J. P. and Hilda finished off with another fast set, this time on the banjo. As his web site rightly proclaims, J. P. is indeed a “Lord of the Strings”! Hilda, one of Cape Breton’s finest keyboard accompanists, is always a joy to hear as she adds her energetic and distinctive music to the mix.
After this bravura performance, nearly all of the evening’s performers (there wasn’t room on stage for the MIDI marimba) returned to the stage to give us a final couple of sets of traditional music. Marcia said the tunes in the first set included Big John McNeil and The Joys of Québec, which latter appears on Joe Cormier’s recording, Masters of the Folk Violin. The second set included Ste Anne’s Reel, one of the few tunes which I can identify by name, and Ragtime Annie, which Marcia named. It was a rousing finale for a great evening of music.
It was a joy to be present at this concert and to once again be in the presence of Terry Eagan, a kind and generous man whose huge heart inspires others and whose gentle leadership, passion, and drive bring so many fine projects to fruition. I thank him very much for his great hospitality, which allowed me to see the show being put together in the afternoon (a first for me) and to attend his post-concert celebration. The whole day was a real blast!
[1] On the CD, Alfred Larade handles the drums, but for this concert, Jason played both drums and banjo, often concurrently!↩
Photos
I’m generally pleased with the way the photos turned out; I got a first row seat that allowed my camera’s limited range to work well. The only downside was that I was too close to get a view of the entire stage at once, so several photos here are split views showing first the left side of the stage and then the right. As always, alas, microphones obscured some of the musicians and, not infrequently, musicians obscured other musicians—I never did get a good shot of Jim Spellman.
Terry Eagan opening the concert
Marcia Palmater introducing the initial combo
Edmond Boudreau on electric bass, Joe Cormier and J. P. Cormier on fiddle
Joe Cormier and J. P. Cormier on fiddle and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
Edmond Boudreau on electric bass
Joe Cormier on fiddle
J. P. Cormier on fiddle
Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
Valerie Thompson on cello
Vessela Stoyanova on MIDI marimba
Valerie Thompson on cello and Vessela Stoyanova on MIDI marimba
Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums, Jim Blais on electric guitar,
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, Jim Spellman on guitar, and Edmond Boudreau on mandolin
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, Jim Spellman on guitar,
Edmond Boudreau on mandolin, and Brian Clancy on guitar
Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums
Jim Blais on electric bass
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle
Jim Spellman on guitar and Edmond Boudreau on mandolin
Brian Clancy on guitar
Jason Sawyer on drums
Joe Cormier on fiddle
Joe Cormier on fiddle, Jim Spellman on guitar, and Edmond Boudreau on mandolin
Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
Matt Leavenworth on electric bass
Joe Cormier on fiddle, Jim Spellman on guitar,
Edmond Boudreau on mandolin, and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums
Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums, Jim Blais on electric guitar,
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, and Jim Spellman on guitar
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, Jim Spellman on guitar,
Edmond Boudreau on mandolin, and Brian Clancy on guitar
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle
Terry Eagan on electric bass
Jason Sawyer on banjo and drums, Terry Eagan on electric bass,
and Matt Leavenworth on fiddle
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle, Jim Spellman on guitar,
Edmond Boudreau on mandolin, and Brian Clancy on guitar
Lianne Wand and Tara Beechey
J. P. Cormier singing and accompanying himself on guitar
J. P. Cormier on guitar and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
J. P. Cormier pickin’ up a storm on guitar
J. P. Cormier on guitar and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
J. P. Cormier on fiddle and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
J. P. Cormier on mandolin
J. P. Cormier on guitar and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
J. P. Cormier on banjo and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards
Jim Blais on electric guitar, Jason Sawyer on drums,
Joe Cormier on fiddle, and J. P. Cormier on guitar during the finale
Jim Blais on electric guitar and Jason Sawyer on drums during the finale
Joe Cormier on fiddle and J. P. Cormier on guitar during the finale
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle (obscured), Edmond Boudreau on mandolin,
Jim Spellman on guitar, Valerie Thompson on cello,
Brian Clancy on guitar, and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards (obscured)
during the finale
Joe Cormier on fiddle, J. P. Cormier on guitar,
and Edmond Boudreau on mandolin during the finale
Matt Leavenworth on fiddle (obscured), Edmond Boudreau on mandolin,
Jim Spellman on guitar (obscured), Valerie Thompson on cello,
Brian Clancy on guitar, and Hilda Chiasson-Cormier on keyboards (obscured)
during the finale