Great Week on Canada Live: Joel Plaskett, Corb Lund, the Great Canadian Song Quest, Leif Vollebekk, and a tribute to Neil Young

This is the weekly thing where I tell you what's coming up on Canada Live, or rather I pass it along. Every weeknight Canada Live on CBC Radio 2 brings you live concerts recorded all over Canada. Someone at Radio 2 passes the list on to me, and I pass it on to you.

This week you can hear Part 2 of the Great Canadian Song Quest as well as shows by Joel Plaskett, Corb Lund, Leif Vollebekk, and a tribute to Neil Young

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February 1 to 4, Canada Live presents Idols and Inspirations -- concerts featuring mentors, protégés, and musical heroes.

Monday, February 1, 2010
concert 1: Fathers & Sons
recorded at Capilano University in North Vancouver
Mentor and Protégé. In most cases, these roles are clear. But when you bring together Jim Byrnes, Doug Cox, Steve Dawson and Amos Garret as Fathers & Sons, the roles get blurred. These four musicians set the standard for folk and blues and yet seem to pick up fresh ideas from one another along the way. Hear them exchange ideas tonight on Canada Live and discover why they command so much respect.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010
concert 1: Eval Manigat
recorded at the 2009 Festival international de Jazz de Montréal on July 6, 2009
A concert tribute to the late Eval Manigat. In the '70s, before la belle province knew what world beat was, Eval Manigat came from Haiti to open ears to a new kind of sound. Celebrating the immortal legacy of this world music giant, sadly lost to us in August of 2008, is an all-star lineup of musicians he collaborated with: Jean Vanasse, vibraphone; Jean-Pierre Zanella, saxophone, song-stylist Karen Young, pianist Tim Jackson, and a expanded brass and rhythm section led by saxophonist Yvan Belleau and guitarist Martial Méroné.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
concert 1: Corb Lund
recorded at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg
Country-roots musician Corb Lund is the product of four generations of Canadian ranchers and cowboys. He grew up in rural southern Alberta riding horseback, chasing cattle, and rodeoing. His songs tell stories about those formative years, while also drawing inspiration from the lives of both his ancestors and modern-day ranchers. "Losing Lately Gambler" is Corb Lund's latest release, which also features his rock-solid -- and rockin' -- band, the Hurtin' Albertans. The crowd at this concert showed its appreciation for the new songs, hooting and hollering and crowding the stage of the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg.
concert 2: Ian Tyson
recorded at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove, Alberta
He is one of the greatest songwriters in Canadian music history. In the 1960's Ian and Sylvia were the king and queen of the folk scene in Canada. In the 70's formed the band "Great Speckled Bird", which helped define the country rock genre. Ian quit the music biz in the late '70's to become a rancher and rodeo rider but, lucky for us, came back to the music in the 80's. Though he continued to ranch and breed cutting horses, his return to music saw a natural focus on the loosely defined 'Cowboy music'; reflections on the lifestyle both historically and from a modern perspective. In the fall of 2008 Ian turned 75, and despite an injury and illness that has forever changed the sound of his voice, he wrote and recorded a new album: "Yellowhead to Yellowstone and other love stories". The new songs have an intimacy and urgency beyond most of Ian's previous work, and the old songs have an emotional resonance due to his vocal sound and his 5 decades as a writer and performer.

Thursday, February 4, 2010
concert 1: Neil Young Tribute
recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto
Relive a milestone in Canadian music history. On January 19, 1971, legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young gave a solo concert at Toronto's Massey Hall. Audiences there heard for the first time several of the iconic songs that would later appear on his albums, including his best-selling LP Harvest -- yet the live concert recording itself wasn't released until 2007. As part of last year's Luminato Festival in Toronto, a new generation of musicians led by Juno Award-winning music director Kevin Breit, recreate that landmark concert, performing their own distinctive arrangements of the album's classic songs. Tune in for highlights from this unforgettable concert.

Friday, February 5, 2010
Canada Live kicks off Next! – a ten-week series featuring Canada's up-and-coming musicians
concert 1: Ali Milner
recorded at the Telus Theatre, Vancouver, October 1, 2009
Ali Milner's a young one, just 19 years old but surprises with her skills both as a performer and songwriter. Naturally comparisons are being made - Joni Mitchell for one, a female Sam Cooke for another. Sam Cooke? No, really - check out "I Dare You." Ali brought her band plus some quality string players to round things out for this concert at the Telus Theatre on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She will play several concerts soon in her hometown of Whistler during the Olympics. Find out now about this talented young woman, Ali Milner.
concert 2: Leif Vollebekk
recorded at The Black Sheep Inn (Le Mouton Noir), Wakefield, Quebec
Here's what Leif Vollebekk wrote when we asked what set-up he would have on the 29th: "At present, it is just me at the Black Sheep: electric guitar, violin, acoustic guitar and piano. I'm still most comfortable playing solo and I've almost always done so at the Sheep and the sound has been superb each time. So I think solo would be the best way to go anyhow...think Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall 1971. I think we can get it to sound that good." If it were someone else we would be saying, "Bwah!" but Leif's name is on everyone's lips around Ottawa. He's a charming talent with a voice like Patrick Watson, style like early Bob Dylan, and lyrics like Leonard Cohen. He re-released is debut full-length album, Inland (independent, 2009), on Nevado Records in January 2010.

CBC Radio 1 broadcast, Fridays at 2:05 PM
Friday, February 5, 2010 on CBC Radio 1
concert 1: Great Canadian Song Quest - PART 2
recorded at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
Last fall, CBC Radio 2 brought Canadians the chance to share their passion, and nominate their favourite locations in the country to be celebrated in song through The Great Canadian Song Quest. Canadians also got the deciding vote on who would write and perform the songs. The result is an incredible cross-country playlist, with 13 brand-new, original songs. Canada Live presents the final step of the process -- the musicians gather together at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto to perform their brand new songs in front of a live audience.
concert 2: Joel Plaskett
recorded at The Capitol Theater in Moncton, NB
Joel Plaskett wears many hats as a songwriter and touring artist. When he is fronting his band 'The Emergency' his shows are pure high-energy pop / rock. But Joel has another side - that of the solo, unplugged performer, and as witnessed on his most recent recording 'Three' -- aptly titled as it is a triple CD release in one package -- he is quite comfortable writing with the solo, more acoustic performance in mind. But, with whatever performance style he has in mind, the one thing Joel does is write good songs - songs with strong lyrics and melodies that can stand on their own, whatever the instrumentation

Canada Live podcast, released on Fridays
Friday, February 5, on the Canada Live podcast
Corb Lund
recorded at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg
Country-roots musician Corb Lund is the product of four generations of Canadian ranchers and cowboys. He grew up in rural southern Alberta riding horseback, chasing cattle, and rodeoing. His songs tell stories about those formative years, while also drawing inspiration from the lives of both his ancestors and modern-day ranchers. "Losing Lately Gambler" is Corb Lund's latest release, which also features his rock-solid -- and rockin' -- band, the Hurtin' Albertans. The crowd at this concert showed its appreciation for the new songs, hooting and hollering and crowding the stage of the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg.

Great Canadian Song Quest concert on Canada Live this week

This is the weekly thing where I tell you what's coming up on Canada Live, or rather I pass it along. Every weeknight Canada Live on CBC Radio 2 brings you live concerts recorded all over Canada. Someone at Radio 2 passes the list on to me, and I pass it on to you.

In addition to the many other great concerts this week you will get a chance to hear Part 1 of the Great Canadian Song Quest concert. I was lucky enough to be at this show when it was recorded. It features ALL of the Song Quest artists peforming the songs they wrote about favorite Canadian places - in many cases it is the first time the songs have been performed in front of an audience. Listen Thursday on CBC Radio 2 or Friday on CBC Radio 1.

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Monday, January 18, 2010
concert 1: Lhasa De Sela
Montreal-based singer Lhasa De Sela -- usually known simply as Lhasa -- was easily one of Canada's most important and loved world music artists. Her unique vision and beautiful sound world won her devoted fans all over the planet. Her 1997 debut disc "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman) sold half a million copies worldwide and her second, "The Living Road," won her the world music equivalent of a Grammy -- a BBC 3 World Music Award -- in 2005. So people everywhere were saddened to learn of Lhasa's tragic death, on January 1, of breast cancer at the terribly young age of 37. As a memorial to her, we rebroadcast this fantastic concert, recorded at CBC Montreal soon after the release of "The Living Road."

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A special episode of Canada Live, featuring concerts by two Maple Blues Awards winners. The awards will be handed out at Koerner Hall in Toronto on January 18.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010
concert 1: Caracol
recorded at Club Soda in Montreal
Carole Facal, also known as Caracol, was a member of the female duo Dobacaracol, a world beat group that sold more than 100 000 records worldwide and performed over 400 shows in 16 countries. Recently, Caracol has become a solo artist. Her style fuses American folk, soul and reggae. In this Canada Live taping she brings along a cracker jack band to the Club Soda in Montreal.
concert 2: Carl Bray Trio
recorded in the CBC Regina Galleria
It's always a delight to showcase a talented group of young musicians - and the Carl Bray Trio is a perfect example of this. These three young men are some of the hottest performers in Toronto's Humber College Jazz program. Pianist Carl Bray grew up in Regina, but it's in the years since moving to Toronto that he's started to make a name for himself outside the province. He's won several awards, notably among them CBC Galaxie Rising Star award. His band mates are young bright lights, too - Toronto bass player Liam Morin and drummer Will Fisher, who hails from Birch Hill, Nova Scotia. This is truly a cross-Canada trio. They delighted the full house of jazz enthusiasts at the CBC Regina Galleria with some Carl Bray originals along with a couple of jazz standards.

Thursday, January 21, 2010
special start time of 18:30
concert 1: Great Canadian Song Quest
recorded at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
Last fall, CBC Radio 2 brought Canadians the chance to share their passion, and nominate their favourite locations in the country to be celebrated in song through The Great Canadian Song Quest. Canadians also got the deciding vote on who would write and perform the songs. The result is an incredible cross-country playlist, with 13 brand-new, original songs. Canada Live presents the final step of the process -- the musicians gather together at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto to perform their brand new songs in front of a live audience.

Friday, January 22, 2010
concert 1: The Duhks
recorded at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg
After a huge American tour, The Duhks return to their hometown to give a concert for their adoring fans. They play selections from their newest CD, "Fast Paced World", which was nominated for a Juno and a Western Canadian Music Award, plus some arrangements of some old favourites. The band's newest members are the brother-sister team of Sarah and Christian Dugas, and they add a special new sound to the mix.
concert 2: Zal Idrissa Sissokho
recorded at The Lion D'or in Montreal
Born in Dakar, Senegal, Zal Idrissa Sissokho descends from a long line of griots, musicians and storytellers who are the keepers of the oral tradition. When he was still a child he learned to play the kora (a traditional African 21 stringed harp), a skill passed down from generation to generation. As part of CBC Radio's Mundo Montreal series, Sissokho brings together Quebecois vocalists Carole Facal and Charles Dubé, along with flautist Guy Pelletier and percussionist Mohamed N'Diaye in a performance which blends Western melodies with African beats - all before a sold-out crowd at The Lion D'or.

CBC Radio 1 broadcast, Fridays at 2:05 PM
Friday, January 22, 2010 on CBC Radio 1
concert 1: Great Canadian Song Quest - PART 1
recorded at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
Last fall, CBC Radio 2 brought Canadians the chance to share their passion, and nominate their favourite locations in the country to be celebrated in song through The Great Canadian Song Quest. Canadians also got the deciding vote on who would write and perform the songs. The result is an incredible cross-country playlist, with 13 brand-new, original songs. Canada Live presents the final step of the process -- the musicians gather together at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto to perform their brand new songs in front of a live audience.

note that Part 2 will air on Friday January 29.

Canada Live podcast, released on Fridays
Friday, January 22, 2010 on the Canada Live podcast
TBA

Great Canadian Song Quest Concert Coming to Your Radio Soon

Last night I was lucky enough to be at CBC Radio 2's Great Canadian Song Quest Concert - 12 of the 13 Song Quest artists were there playing their songs live in front of an audience. If you remember they only had four weeks to write the songs, so given a few more weeks to tweak them the songs were all even more polished than the originals (currently available on iTunes.) Martha Wainwright was, sadly, unable to be there because of a prior commitment (she gave birth a few days ago). She is though professional show people and she recorded a live acoustic version anyway at CBC's small London, England studio.

The good news, for everyone who didn't get to be there is that you'll still hear it. It was recorded for play on CBC Radio (1 and 2) and Bold TV! As a side note I am very confused by Bold TV, I don't know anyone who actually gets it and I'm not sure how a concert with Joel Plaskett, Hawksley Workman, Hey Rosetta!, Chantal Kreviazuk, Martha Wainwright etc., is all that bold other than having an insanely amazing lineup) - this really should have gone out live on CBC's broadcast network.

I'll give you a heads up with broadcast times/dates closer to the fact!