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Natalie MacMaster
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In 2009, Natalie MacMaster appeared in
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Natalie MacMaster: Capturing And Interpreting The Cape Breton Sound
Meet Natalie MacMaster: wife, mother and virtuoso Cape Breton fiddler.
You know her more as the latter than the former; an electrifying performer whose passionate proficiency on the beloved four-string amplifies the traditional East Coast sound for contemporary times.
It’s a signature sound that has resonated with world audiences through 10 albums, multiple gold sales figures and 27 years; numerous Juno and East Coast Music Awards; two honorary degrees (from Niagara University, NY, and Trent University) and an honorary doctorate (St. Thomas University); the Order Of Canada – and a reputation as one of Canada’s most captivating performers.
She also has the respect and admiration of the crème de la crème of top-notch musicians: master violinist Mark O’Connor, whose camp MacMaster frequents as a guest instructor; legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma – who recently invited her to prominently participate as a guest performer on his 2008 holiday-themed album Songs Of Joy & Peace; banjo prodigy Béla Fleck; fellow fiddling marvel Alison Krauss; spiritually electrifying superstar guitarist Carlos Santana – the list goes on.
But to Natalie MacMaster, her beloved family now shapes and informs her musicianship as much as the jigs, reels, air, waltzes, strathspeys, marches and traditional folk that feed her spiritual soul.
As do her audiences, who are left clapping, hollering and screaming for more as MacMaster and her band wow them with stylistic diversity as reflected in such top-selling CDs as the Grammy-nominated My Roots Are Showing, Blueprint and Yours Truly.
The applause only increases in excitement when MacMaster incorporates step dancing into her performance.
“I was 16 when I started focusing on the step dancing, and it was kind of a joke at the time,” she recalls. But it’s her majesty with the bow and her intricate technique in making the fiddle sing and championing the Cape Breton tradition that floors her admirers for over 100 shows per year. “I guess culture and tradition never go out of style,” MacMaster explains. “For my crowds, they’ve been there for so many years – they just keep building and hanging on.
“I think they’ve seen me go from a very youthful new sound into a maturity and a confidence through the years.
“I also think they receive whatever it is that I give, not through me trying, but only through the nature of music itself. I always get the sense from them that they deeply understand the unspoken essence of what I do.
“That’s probably a combination of the Cape Breton tradition and a combination of personality and time.”
And she’s not simply sticking to her roots.
“I am a very musical person,” MacMaster declares. “I love music, and I don’t just love Cape Breton fiddling, although it’s my favourite: I love jazz and pop rock and country.
“I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Anne Murray -- if I hear something really great, like Bonnie Raitt’s Luck Of The Draw and ‘Good Man, Good Woman,’ I want to be a part of it.
“That love spawned a few tunes like ‘Catharsis’ I recorded on No Boundaries – my first rock piece – and ‘Flamenco Fling’ on In My Hands.
“I heard flamenco guitar playing and I thought it was awesome, and thought I could put a fiddle tune over flamenco rhythms.
Born June 13, 1972 to her parents Alex and Minnie MacMaster in Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Natalie MacMaster’s impressive musical lineage includes a cadre of amazing fiddlers, including her uncle, fiddle prodigy Buddy MacMaster (with whom Natalie recorded the 2005 gem Traditional Music From Cape Breton Island); her cousins Andrea Beaton and Ashley MacIsaac, and the late, great Canadian folk icon John Allan Cameron.
However, MacMaster forged her own sound, debuting her fiddling prowess at the age of nine-and-a-half years at a Glencoe Mills, N.S. square dance. She delivered her first album, Four On The Floor, at the age of 16.
“It’s been quite a journey, traveling through many different paths,” says MacMaster, who also holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Nova Scotia Teacher’s College.
Her strength and confidence has only manifested itself through the years, whether it’s through album such as the gold Fit As A Fiddle that marks her fueling tradition or exploring Texas and bluegrass swing, Gaelic singing on the gold No Boundaries; a touch of folk rock and new age during the gold In My Hands; a contrasting embrace of the modern and old roots on Live; or the upcoming new traditional-flavoured album she’ll record for release in the fall of 2009.
It has served Natalie MacMaster on stage, whether performing with The Chieftains, Paul Simon, Faith Hill, Luciano Pavarotti or in front of millions on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, the ABC 2002 New Year’s Eve Special and Good Morning America.
It has thrilled audiences throughout Europe and North America, especially in her native Canada, enabling MacMaster to passionately perform and promote the universal language of her Cape Breton sound.
And at a youthful 36, her strength and confidence in performing the fiddle continues to drive her passion and hunger to explore her love of music even further – and satisfy her audiences, and herself, in the process.
Which is why Natalie MacMaster is so thankful for her gifted talent.