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January 31 2003

J.P. Cormier and uncle Joe Cormier have a lively tribute to Cape Breton fiddle tradition on Velvet Arm, Golden Hand - East Coast tradition strong on CD
by Stephen Cooke - SOUNDSCAPES, Halifax Herald

A NEW RECORDING by J.P. Cormier is always a cause for celebration, but a collaboration between Cheticamp's Jack-of-all-instruments and his uncle Joseph calls for a statutory holiday.

Pairing the younger Cormier with the elder pioneer of Cape Breton fiddle on Velvet Arm, Golden Hand (Patio Records) is such a genius idea, you wonder why it hadn't happened before. Sure, J.P. tours for roughly 300 days a year, what about the other 65?

Luckily, J.P. made time for the session at his home studio in Cap LeMoyne and Joe came up from the Boston States where he's lived for the past five decades to match bows on tunes by J. Scott Skinner, Angus Chisholm and Dan R. MacDonald. They're the lifeblood of Cape Breton traditional music, and also Joe's calling card when he became the first Cape Breton fiddler to sign with an American label, Rounder Records, for a historic series of recordings.

The two Cormiers have an instinctive sense of interplay, lending a playful swing feeling to the Hiawatha Set, while a trio of live sessions - with Gervais Cormier and Gelas Larade on guitars as well as Hilda Chiasson-Cormier's rock-solid rhythm on piano - burn with energy and spontaneity, augmented by the occasional bark of a dog for that real house party atmosphere.

In contrast with the veracity of the live sessions, the bulk of Velvet Arm, Golden Hand is produced with a sure touch by J.P., as he carefully layers his guitars, light percussion and Hilda's keyboards underneath the twin fiddles. The sound is both intimate and expansive with just the right mix of ingredients; a little lusher for the stately Killiecranchie or pure meat-and-potatoes fiddle and piano on Bonnie Isabelle Robertson.

It should also be noted that J.P. Cormier is performing a rare four-night stint at The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in Halifax starting Wednesday, Feb. 5. The last time I saw him play a pub, at Ginger's last year, people were being turned away an hour before showtime; so go early, go often.