Ottawa Citizen   

When folkfest brass hold a meeting, get ready to party

Tuesday October 10,. 2006

Patrick Langston

    So you think folk music enthusiasts are an earnest, sedate bunch? Check out the late-night showcase parties at this weekend's 20th annual Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference in Ottawa. 

    The parties are whoop-'em-up mini-concerts hosted y independent record companies and running from 11:30 p.m. through the wee hours.  What's more, they're just part of the four-day Council of Folk Festivals bash, most of it at the downtown Crowne Plaza Hotel. 

    And while the conference- a professional development and networking shindig for music industry insiders - is largely restricted to delegates and artists, organizers have lined up a cavalcade of music and other events, including those late-night showcases, open to the public.

    Thursday night, Canadian folk music heavyweights and OCFF award winners like Jackie Washington, Sylvia Tyson and Ian Tamblyn launch the conference with an everyone-welcome 20-Year Celebration of Folk Music concert at the Canadian Museum of Civilization Theatre.

    The Six String Nation Guitar will also be on hand.

    The guitar, 11 years in the making and unveiled at Ottawa's Canada Day celebrations this year, is the brainchild of broadcaster Jowi Taylor and the handiwork of luthier George Rizsanyi.  It was built with 64 bits of Canadiana, including a piece of one of Pierre Trudeau's canoe paddles and part of a walrus tusk from Rankin Inlet.

    Ken Whiteley will be among the musicians playing the guitar on Thursday.

    Other performers that night include Ana Miura and Phil Lafreniere.  The two Ottawa musicians are this year's winners of the OCFF English and French Songs from the Heart Songwriter Awards and the accompanying $1,000 Galaxie Rising Star prizes. 

    "Wow! Someone thiniks I'm good aside from my mum," says the 26-year-old Miura when asked about winning the award for her song He Swallows Whiskey.  "It made me think, 'I can do more than I thought I could.' It pulled out the limitations I'd put on myself in my head." 

    Miura plans to be a familiar face at the conference, schmoozing with the record industry and folk festival honchos who can help her pursue her musical dreams.

    Miura will also be soaking up music, including some of the 24 showcases starting at 7:45 Friday and Saturday nights.

    Open to the public, these mostly Canadian showcases feature everything from the cool cowboy jazz of the Bebop Cowboys to Grouyan Gombo's spicy Cajun and Creole flavors and the Afrobeat of Mr. Something Something. 

    But be warned: There are a scant 100 tickets available each night for the official and late night showcases, and you can purchase them only at the registration desk in the Crowne Plaza after 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

    Don't forget to check out other public events, says the council's interim Executive Director Jennifer Fornelli.

    THose include panels on blues, women in roots music and Ottawa's booming music scene.  And keep your ears open for those unscheduled hallway and lobby jam sessions.

    "Every jam needs an audience," says Fornelli, adding, "It's a prime opportunity for non-musicians to educate themselves about music and instruments... you walk past someone playing something different and you say, 'Oh, do you might if if I have a try?' "

    "And it's, 'Yeah. Absolutely. Take it.' "

    The council began life two decades ago in "someone's living room" in Toronto, says Fornelli, and moved to Ottawa in 2004.

    Dedicated to fostering folk and roots music, artists and festivals, the 1,400 - member organization receives both provincial and federal funding, the latter thus far intact despite the Harper government's belt-tightening.

    The council's initiatives include Art Beat, a community outreach program that this year will see 27 artists teaching children and seniors everything from songwriting to belly-dancing.

    And as this weekend's conference will underscore the Canadian folk and roots scene is in fine fettle.

    "The OCFF travels to conferences outside the country," says Fornelli, "and the word south of the border is that Canadian music is really strong.  People are hot for it."