JMI: Artist Roster

Please note: The "active content" on this JMI web site simply enables use of the drop-down menus for ease of navigation.

Artist Roster To view an artist's short bio:
	PERLA BATALLA (USA) Grammy nominated vocalist and composer Perla Batalla first gained international attention performing and recording with various artists including Leonard Cohen, who encouraged Perla to embark on a solo career. Since then, Perla’s six CD releases have become favorites throughout the U.S. and Canada. After leaving Warner-Discovery, Perla’s first releases, Mestiza and Heaven and Earth on her own Mechuda Music label garnered Best Independent Release and Emerging Artists Awards from Amazon.com. The past five years have found Perla touring extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, performing in venues as diverse as UCLA’s Royce Hall, The Getty, Joe’s Pub and The Kennedy Center. [top]
	BELLOWHEAD (UK) In two years, eleven piece folk-big-band Bellowhead have literally exploded onto the festival scene and fast became one of the most talked about bands on the contemporary folk circuit. To describe Bellowhead’s music is a very difficult thing indeed - the material is steeped in the English folk traditions of song and dance, but the feel is exciting, intoxicating, slightly sinister and deeply funky. [top]
	BLACK UMFOLOSI (ZIMBABWE) Black Umfolosi much loved around the world, offer their sweet sounds of acapella with their marvelous harmonies and gospel singing as well as their captivating dancing including the gumboot dancing of South Africa. Black Umfolosi deliver their performance with fun and joyful enthusiasm. This bare-torsoed, hard-hatted group, never fail to captivate their audience and encourage them on to the stage to join in the performance. Equally at home on the concert stage and leading workshops for all age groups.[top]
	RAY BONNEVILLE (QUÉBEC) Juno Award-winner Ray Bonneville is a superb singer-songwriter who currently calls Montreal home, but has lived from Alaska to Memphis, to Paris, France. Bonneville's smooth blues styling features impeccable guitar and harmonica, whether he is working solo or with a full band. Ray's *Gust of Wind* was produced by Juno Award winning guitarist Colin Linden, and which took the Juno Award for Blues Recording in 2000. Ray's 2001 mainstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival with Colin Linden and a full band was one of the highlights of the festival. "A guitar style of exacting persuasive nuances, gut-felt harmonica lines and a voice soaked in whiskey and road-weary sentiment." Planet Jazz. [top]
	ALISON BROWN QUARTET (USA) Jensen Music international is very pleased to have negotiated an exclusive signing for Canada with the Alison Brown Quartet, a jazz-inspired bluegrass group from Nashville who won the Grammy in 2001. Alison got her start playing with artists like Michelle Shocked and Allison Kraus, before taking the music in her own unique direction with the Quartet, and along the way she has performed at The Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall and concert and festival stages all over the world. With banjo, drums, bass and piano, the ABQ is hardly a traditional bluegrass group. Alison is an innovator in the tradition of the finest artists we have worked with, and the musicians ship in the quartet is dazzling. ABQ are unique in that they are equally suitable for folk, country and jazz audiences. [top]
	CHIRGILCHIN (TUVA) The three members are all grand prix winners in the biggest international throat singing competitions, and sing in a wide variety of styles, playing on traditional Mongolian instruments, in traditional costume. Igor Koshkendey is one of the finest throat singers from Tuva. His singing of six styles of throat singing includes unique Oidupaa style, which is used by only two singers - Oidupaa and Koshkendey. Igor is the Winner of Grand Prix of International Competition of Throat Singing in 1998, Winner of Grand Prix of International Competition in Llangollen (England) in 2000. [top]
	DANÚ (IRELAND) "Best Overall Traditional Band" 1999 Irish Music Awards. Want to know what the future of Celtic in music in Ireland will sound like? Check out Think Before You Think (Shanachie) and see what all the buzz is about. Ireland's Danú have been turning heads all over the world with their exciting blend of traditional music, played on accordion, Uilleann pipes, flute, whistles, bouzouki, fiddle and Mandola. And vocals! Give a listen to the fluent Gaelic singing of Ciaran o' Gealbhain and see why the Chieftains invited him to perform on their latest recording. Danú has completely sold out theatres in the Maritimes, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. and will tour all regions of Canada in 2001/02. [top]
	GUY DAVIS (USA) Hailing from Harlem, New York, Red House recording artist Guy Davis is simply one of the finest Delta bluesmen on the circuit today. He is an electrifying performer who has wowed sold out houses from Halifax to Yellowknife to Vancouver Island, and has been featured at major festivals such as The Montreal International Jazz Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, Chicago Blues Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival. "Davis hits all the right notes all the time .. this is blues made for humming.... greasing your skillet." (Playboy) [top]
	ARCHIE FISHER (SCOTLAND) Archie Fisher is a singer-songwriter of legendary status in the world of folk music. From the early 1960s, Archie has been the leading proponent of Scottish traditional music, and he has taken his songs and those of Scotland to stages around the world, influencing a couple of generations of musicians on both sides of the Atlantic. Archie has performed many times in Canada, both solo and on several tours with Garnett Rogers. Garnett and Archie recorded two albums in Canada; Off the Map - Live and the beautiful Sunsets I've Galloped Into. Two of Archie's songs (Dark Eyed Molly and The Witch of Westmoreland) were covered by the late Stan Rogers. Archie has also toured and recorded with Ireland's Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy. [top]
	John Wort Hannam (ALBERTA) Canadiana artist John Wort Hannam is known for his distinctive Blue Collar Roots Music. Described as a unique fusion of styles from folk to country and western, to maritime music, his songs champion the way things used to be, the working class, scraping by, falling in love, and falling apart. He is a 2007 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Winner. He won the 2007 and the 2004 Calgary Folk Festival Song Writing Competition. He is a CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award Winner, and a National Campus Radio Association Song Writing Competition Winner. . [top]
	Graham Isaacson (USA) -To categorize Graham Isaacson as a typical singer-songwriter, one would be missing the point. On his debut, Memories in Shadows, Portland, Maine-based Graham Isaacson sounds like an old soul. His Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen-inspired music evokes feelings of intimacy, truth, and heartfelt emotion. His straight-from-the-heart lyrics would make most think he's been around the block more than the rest of us. And yet at 23 years old, it's clear his gifts have only just begun.-[top]
	JAMES KEELAGHAN (ALBERTA) Juno Award winning singer-songwriter James Keelaghan is one of Canada's most successful and respected musicians, and one of the brightest stars on the world folk scene today. James spent 300 days on the road last year. His touring seldom stops, taking him across North America, Europe, the UK and Australia on a regular basis. James Keelaghan has an uncanny knack for finding incredible stories and turning them into finely crafted songs. A commanding performer, he develops an intimate rapport with audiences through his stories and sense of humour, and then leaves them spellbound with passionate renditions of songs that touch on universal emotions and relate historical events to the present. [top]
	THE MACKENZIE PROJECT (CANADA, IRELAND) The MacKenzie Project is simply one of the most exciting new ensembles in Celtic music today. This “supergroup” features some of the hottest young performers from both sides of the Atlantic . Led by 16 year-old fiddle/stepdance dynamo Roseanne MacKenzie, the band also features: the stunning Irish vocalist Pauline Scanlon, 25; fiddler, stepdancer, and pianist Richard Wood, 28; and Roseanne’s guitarist/bodhran player brother, Jimmy, 19. A world-class Celtic band at its core, The MacKenzie Project will bring to the stage an unforgettably potent blend of styles and traditions. [top]
	JUAN MARTÍN (SPAIN) Originally from Spain, and now based out of London, Juan Martin was voted one of the top three guitarists in the world by the prestigious "Guitar Player Magazine." This is authentic Flamenco, but it is also contemporary and accessible. One of the world's greatest Flamenco artists, Juan has played The Royal Albert Hall and the Montreux Jazz Festival, and has collaborated with the likes of Paco de Lucia, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Juan has performed the great concert halls of the world in Russia, Europe, America, Turkey, Hong Kong, Beijing, etc. Truly a giant of the genre. [top]
	MIGHTY SAM MCCLAIN (USA) From cotton fields to the Apollo Theater to the park bench, living the songs that would re-start his career in the mid 1980s, Mighty Sam has forged ahead with his signature sound, recording for AudioQuest Records, Telarc, Cross-Cut and his own Mighty Music label. From his beginnings at Bell, Amy and Atlantic Records in the 60s and 70s, when Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams" (made famous by Patsy Cline) sent him to the Apollo Theatre, to his present world wide acclaim as the "Soul of America", Sam McClain has stayed true to Louisiana roots and the New Orleans brass that has been his trademark. He is one of the "great voices" of our time. His biography is written in the music he sings![top]
	KATE & ANNA McGARRIGLE (QUÉBEC) Kate & Anna McGarrigle need little by way of introduction. Since their debut album in 1976 their distinctive harmonies and songs have given their music a world stage, with festival and concert tours of Canada, America, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. They have collaborated on recordings and performances with The Chieftains, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Joan Baez to name but a few Their latest CD, The McGarrigle Hour, won the 1999 Juno in the Roots/Traditional category, and features specials guests Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Loudon Wainwright III. [top]
	OYSTERBAND (UK) Oysterband occupies an unusual position in the world of music, combining folk sensibility and acoustic instruments with rock dynamics and sharp, engaged songwriting. The passion and energy of their live performances has become legendary. Starting as an amateur ceilidh band, their career has grown exponentially to include festivals and tours in 35 countries across Europe, Asia and North America; 12 studio albums, including one with June Tabor; and a collaborative project called The Big Session, which is also the name of the festival they host each year in UK. A new studio CD will be released in 2007. [top]
	QUARTETTE (CANADA) Since their first appearance at Toronto's Harbourfront venue in the summer of 1993, Quartette has quickly become one of the most electrifying collaborations on the Canadian music scene. The four women, Cindy Church, Caitlin Hanford, Gwen Swick and Sylvia Tysoncombine formidable individual talents into an astonishing whole. The soaring harmonies and unique arrangements create a musical mosaic with flavours of folk, country, swing and bluegrass all solidly rooted in traditional music.[top]
	RAYLENE RANKIN (CAPE BRETON) For more than 10 years, Raylene Rankin's sweet, pure voice joined those of her brothers and sisters as part of the internationally acclaimed recording act, The Rankin Family. At the height of their popularity, the group toured the world, and sold over two million albums. Raylene Rankin is back with Lambs in Spring (EMI), a beautiful acoustic recording that features several traditional numbers and two David Francey Songs. Raylene's live shows are a mix of new material, Rankin Family favourites, and traditional Celtic music, including some of the Gaelic songs she is so fond of. [top]
	RATTLE THE BOARDS (IRELAND) Rattle the Boards are a group of fine musicians based in Waterford and South Tipperary in Ireland. They met in 1992 and have played to thousands of music lovers since. In 1995 Benny member McCarthy founded the band Danú, which garnered international renown and was a favourite on the JMI roster. Rattle the Boards have performed many concerts and Fleadh Ceoils in Ireland over the years and also to audiences in The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. They also performed at the 2006 Regional finals for Ireland's celebrated festival “The Rose Of Tralee.” Beside all their achievements to date their priority remains to enjoy playing music... and it shows. [top]
	ROSHEEN (QUÉBEC) Hailing from the province of Quebec, Rosheen is a seven piece group that seamlessly combines traditional Celtic music with smatterings of Quebecois folk and original material to make for one of the most exciting folk sounds to come out of Canada in years. Already booking up all over America, and with confirmed Canadian dates into 2006, Rosheen is a group to watch for - incredible musicianship, breathtaking vocals and a high energy show that has built the group a reputation for live shows at home - JMI is now planning on taking Rosheen to stages around the world. [top]
	PAULINE SCANLON (IRELAND) Though only 25 years old, Pauline Scanlon (Compass Records) galvanized the Irish music scene with her stunning album, Red Colour Sun. Deeply immersed in the tradition and yet completely aware of the edgier developments in contemporary alternative music, Scanlon is capable of making the oldest ballads sound immediate and fresh while granting newer material a timeless resonance. As featured vocalist with the Sharon Shannon Band for three years, Scanlon has entranced audiences the world over with her distinctly delicate intensity. [top]
	SHOOGLENIFTY (SCOTLAND) Scottish supergroup Shooglenifty, or The Shoogs as they are affectionately known to their fans, are a six piece Celtic band who perform instrumental music at the speed of light. Their style is a hybrid of traditional and contemporary influences that caused one audience at the Opera House in Sydney, Australia to leave their seats and join the band on stage. Festival Records' top-selling import, they are a major draw on the North American circuit and have performed in Europe, Australia, South America, Japan, the UK and Malaysia. Shooglenifty has performed at dozens of major Canadian Festivals, headlining outdoor dates from Nova Scotia to Yellowknife. [top]
	THE STRAWBS (UK) The Strawbs have enjoyed major success on both sides of the Atlantic. In the early 1970s, as well as the hit albums, their hit singles "Part of the Union" and "Lay Down" topped the charts. From the mid-1970s they spent more time in the States and Canada where their albums charted for five years as they toured with Santana, Peter Frampton, The Eagles, Joe Walsh, Blue Oyster Cult, King Crimson, and Frank Zappa. The Strawbs also headlined major Canadian venues, such as Maple Leaf Gardens and The Montreal Forum. Rick Wakeman played with the Strawbs for two years before he achieved world-wide success with Yes, and as a solo artist, and the much loved Sandy Denny made an album with the Strawbs before she joined Fairport Convention. [top]
	TÉADA (IRELAND) Téada’s lively blend of instrumentals and vocals in the traditional Irish idiom has seen the band evolve into one of the busiest bands in the traditional music scene in recent times. In the first eighteen months as a band they carried out highly successful tours of the United States, Finland, Germany, Canada, Austria, Italy and the United Kingdom. In 2003, Irish Music Magazine presented Téada with the “Best Traditional Newcomers.”[top]
	SYLVIA TYSON (ONTARIO) Sylvia Tyson is no less than an icon in Canadian country and folk music. From her collaboration with Ian Tyson (Ian & Sylvia) on stage, studio and television in the sixties and seventies to seven solo albums, her career has earned her a place in the Canadian Music, Country Music and Songwriter's Halls of Fame, not to mention receiving Canada's highest civiian award, the Order of Canada. Sylvia is also currently a vital part of Quartette, along with Cindy Church, Caitlin Hanford and Gwen Swick. [top]
	JERRY JEFF WALKER (USA) Jerry Jeff Walker is a true legend, and one of the greatest singer-songwriters America has ever produced. While he is best known for penning *Mr. Bojangles, which has been covered by a wide variety of major artists, Jerry Jeff is a prolific artist who has turned in many fine records, and who is as busy as ever, recording and touring. Jerry Jeff has worked with some of America's most respected singer-songwriters, including Willie Nelson* and Jimmy Buffet, with whom he penned *Railroad Lady*. He is no stranger to Canadian audiences, and we look forward to bringing him back to the True North. [top]
	ZAR (DENMARK) ZAR has already proven themselves as one of the most innovative and interesting young acts on the booming Danish folk scene. ZAR has produced two albums, both of which have been awarded with Danish Music Awards. The setup includes vocals, two fiddles, guitar and double bass and the result is a tight, powerful and dynamic sound that has been compared to great bands such as Solas and Union Station. ZAR's material is traditional Danish music but the sound is new and has been very well received by audiences all over the world. [top]