Paul Cranford solo

 

Buddy MacMaster (1924-2014) was one of the most loved fiddlers of his generation. Remembered as a gentleman and fine fiddler much in demand for concerts and dances, his legacy includes a repertoire highly imitated by others. In addition to his stock of older traditional tunes, Buddy was often the first to play new tunes - both ones composed by younger local players as well as others learned from the musicians he met, or books he acquired during travels to Scotland, Ireland, The Shetlands, USA and other parts of Canada.

The first time I heard Buddy play was in 1977 in New Waterford's Heather Tavern. That afternoon he played hundreds of tunes. At the time I was fairly new to the music and since I was sitting with one of the local experts (Doug MacPhee) I was given a running commentary as the tunes were being played. It's a humourous memory for Doug as he recalls me frantically writing both titles and sources on scraps of paper, serviettes and cigarette packages. Many of the tunes Buddy played that day came from the Skye Collection, a book I later reproduced and published. I am grateful to Buddy for his inspiration and will miss his warm humour, generosity and friendship.

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last update 10/31/14