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Natalie MacMasterBiography
"I gravitate toward quality musicianship--that's what I grew up with," says Celtic fiddling virtuoso Natalie MacMaster, who earned a Grammy nomination in 2000 for My Roots Are Showing in the Best Traditional Folk Album category. "Irish music affects me the same way as Cape Breton music because those are the sounds and instruments that I've heard since I was a child. It’s the same thing with bluegrass music, which has many of the same sounds and instruments. And, in a way, bluegrass musicians play reels, breakdowns and jigs too, so it’s all very similar." While still fairly new to songwriting, MacMaster is already a veteran of her instrument. She first picked up a fiddle at the age of nine and hasn’t looked back. The niece of famed Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster, Natalie quickly became a major talent in her own right. After winning numerous East Coast Music Awards for her early traditional Cape Breton recordings, she began taking Celtic music to new heights with albums like In My Hands, which featured elements of jazz, Latin music and guest vocals by Alison Krauss. To her accomplishments, she’s added a Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for Best Instrumental Album and several Canadian Country Music Awards for Fiddler of the Year. For every contemporary album, MacMaster is quick to respond with a traditional one, like My Roots Are Showing. Her most recent recording, Live, was two albums in one: the first disc showcased her Celtic rock band, including the big-concert sounds of synthesizer, drums and electric bass, while the other featured a down-home Cape Breton square dance with just piano and guitar. MacMaster, who plays with what the Los Angeles Times described as "irresistible, keening passion," thrives in both settings. |
