ArtistInfo

David MacIsaac

vn, *1955 CA
Musician of World

Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin, Dobro - Celtic - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada born 1955 Internationally recognized as a master of stringed instruments, Dave MacIsaac is a musician's musician and is widely admired as such. He plays traditional fiddle tunes with fiery passion, and his stunning guitar playing, whether solo or as accompaniment, is industry legend. Always interested in expanding his knowledge of Celtic music, Dave has thousands of recordings of Cape Breton traditional music. He also possesses an archival knowledge of tunes, and is often called upon to name that tune for recordings, as well as being in high demand for session work. John Allan Cameron often stated that, "If a cod fish had strings... Dave MacIsaac could play it!" Dave MacIsaac is from Halifax and grew up in a musical household, his father Alex Dan being a fiddler. His introduction to the music was also through the generous fiddlers visiting his home and Cape Breton 78 rpm recordings. Dave provided guitar accompaniment for Buddy at Cape Breton Club dances in Halifax, performed with him on the "Ceilidh" television shows and many times at Glencoe Hall. He fashioned his guitar accompaniment after the piano playing of Mary Jessie MacDonald, developing his own techniques to imitate her walking bass lines and, like Mary Jessie, he is daring in his interplay between chording and melody.As a fiddler he is well known for his rich Gaelic brogue. 'He is a brilliant fiddler, mandolinist and dobroist but it is on the guitar that he has excelled and been a trailblazer in the field of fiddle tunes on the guitar. He was recently awarded album of the year at the East Coast Music Awards for his latest album Nimble Fingers and for good reason. On Nimble Fingers [Pickin Productions P.O. Box 46043 Novalea RPO-Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B3K 5V8] the listener is introduced to fiddle tunes played by MacIsaac on solo acoustic guitar, dobro and mandolin. The album also includes his magnificent old time fiddling as well as full blown Celtic rockers featuring Dave's sizzling fender strat. MacIsaac is a brilliant musician as well as a walking historian on traditional Cape Breton music. He is bar none the most impressive musician I have ever come across." - Copyright 1996, Cliff McGann Originally published in Celtic Heritage, reproduced by permission.

Instruments

• Violin
• Mandolin
• Guitar
• Steel guitar
• Acoustic guitar

Genres

• World
• Folk
• Rock
• R&B/Soul
• Blues

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