Rachel Davis
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Rachel Davis

Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada | SELF

Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada | SELF
Solo Folk Celtic

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"Rachel Davis - Review"

January 2011
By: John Ferguson

Rachel Davis is a young fiddler from Baddeck, Cape Breton her self-titled CD is her recording debut. She was the recipient of the Festival Volunteer Drive 'er Award and this CD was released at the 2009 Celtic Colours Festival.

Rachel plays with a maturity tha belies her age and gives us twelve cuts of great music in the Cape Breton tradition. Many Cape Breton composers, past and present, are represented as are some of Scotland's classic tunesmiths such as Marshall, Gow, Walker and Skinner. A few Irish tunes are intermingled and Rachel has included her own "Long's Barbershop Strathspey". Rachel's tone and note control stand out as she moves from tune to tune on a beautiful sounding fiddle built by Clay Carmichael of Tarbot, Victoria Co. Her medleys are well constructed with a good mixture of contemporary and traditional tunes. On the eighth cut Rachel plays a jig medley with her grandfather, Clarence Long, her first teacher and mentor in the wide-reaching scope of Cape Breton fiddle. The last track has St. Peters fiddler Meagan Burke joining Rachel for a "live in studio" set. This is a great march, strathspey and reels medley and a fitting way to end a recording.

A very pleasant surprise was to hear Rachel singing a traditional Gaelic song, Dh' falbh mo run 's dh'fhag e'n cala. This song has a beautiful melody and Rachel sings it in a clear, expressive voice. A great job indeed.

This CD is a Lakewind Studio production with Mike Shepherd as engineer and co-producer with Rachel. Able studio musicians include Tracey Dares-MacNeil and Joey Beaton on piano, Buddy MacDonald on guitar, Brona Graham on banjo and Meagan Burke and Clarence Long on fiddle. A fine debut from a talented young musician with years of promise ahead of her. - Celtic Life Magazine


"Review: Rachel Davis - Rachel Davis"

July 23rd, 2010
By: Anne Louise Campbell

Rachel Davis
Rachel Davis
Independent (2009)

With the release of her self-titled debut album in October 2009, Rachel Davis of Baddeck, Cape Breton Island has been busy playing for audiences throughout Cape Breton, parts of mainland Nova Scotia, and throughout the United States. This collection of twelve tunes, along with a vocal selection, proves why Rachel is quickly making a name for herself on the music scene.

Rachel is joined on the album by well-known Cape Breton singer and songwriter Buddy MacDonald. The composer of the Cape Breton sing-a-long hit “Getting Dark Again” proves that he is also a first-rate accompanist.

What goes best with a fiddle? The banjo of course! Brona Graham from Ireland joins Rachel for two tracks. The sound of the two instruments playing together adds a light airy feel to the tunes. Her style of playing is neat and clean. Each track is played with great drive yet you hear every note crisp and clear.

Rachel included one of her own compositions to the cd “West Side Reel”. If this is any indication of her writing ability, I cannot wait to hear her other tunes.

She takes a turn at singing a tradition Gaelic song which can be commonly heard sung around the island at concerts, Dh’fhalabh Mo Rùn ’s Dh’fhàg E ‘n Cala (“My Love Has Left the Harbour”). She enlisted her mother and grandmother as well as local Gaelic singers to help her out in the chorus. If you listen closely you will hear her mother Pauline’s voice singing out in the background! Rachel has a lovely voice and it lends itself nicely to the song. Maybe we will see Rachel adding more songs into her performances.

Rachel’s style of playing jigs has a great lift which makes it easy to pick her out. She turns out a dandy set of jigs near the end of the recording with her Grandfather, whom she credits for her playing of the fiddle. She has developed a style of playing that is neat and clean. Each track is played with great drive yet you hear every note crisp and clear.

Rachel Davis is a wonderful cd that should be in all fiddle collections, a delightful taste of Cape Breton fiddling for all to enjoy. If you would like to find out if Rachel will be playing in your area, or would like to purchase a copy of her cd you can check out her website at rachel-davis.ca. - www.whatsgoinon.ca


"Cape Breton Fiddler and Singer Rachel Davis"

September 2010
By: Kerry Dexter

Though still at university, she's no novice on the fiddle, and raised in Baddeck on Cape Breton, she's been at the center of the island's music most of her life. On her self-titled debut album, she has a fine hand for interpreting tunes from Scotland and pieces from Cape Breton with grace and flair. In doing so, she shows a distinctive voice without saying a word. The one song, My Love Has Left the Harbour, which she sings in Gaelic, shows her to be a thoughtful and gifted singer as well, and the tunes she’s composed stand well in sets with distinguished company.

Davis lets her joy in music come through too, especially in a set where her guest is her grandfather, Clarence Long, who was her first fiddle teacher. She closes out the project in true Cape Breton fashion, by getting friends and family together to share a lively set of tunes. The Drive’ers, those dedicated, kind, and resourceful folk who, among other things drive artists all across the island during the Celtic Colours Festival, helped make this recording possible. It’s clear why Davis won their support. - Music Road


"Cape Breton Fiddler and Singer Rachel Davis"

September 2010
By: Kerry Dexter

Though still at university, she's no novice on the fiddle, and raised in Baddeck on Cape Breton, she's been at the center of the island's music most of her life. On her self-titled debut album, she has a fine hand for interpreting tunes from Scotland and pieces from Cape Breton with grace and flair. In doing so, she shows a distinctive voice without saying a word. The one song, My Love Has Left the Harbour, which she sings in Gaelic, shows her to be a thoughtful and gifted singer as well, and the tunes she’s composed stand well in sets with distinguished company.

Davis lets her joy in music come through too, especially in a set where her guest is her grandfather, Clarence Long, who was her first fiddle teacher. She closes out the project in true Cape Breton fashion, by getting friends and family together to share a lively set of tunes. The Drive’ers, those dedicated, kind, and resourceful folk who, among other things drive artists all across the island during the Celtic Colours Festival, helped make this recording possible. It’s clear why Davis won their support. - Music Road


""Canada continues to produce some outstanding female fiddle players...""

October 2010
By: Vic Smith

Rachel is still a student at Cape Breton University studying for her degree in Celtic Studies, but she is already a very assured and accomplished fiddler in the Cape Breton style, interpreting its range of melodies and rhythms with her pleasing dry-toned playing.

She usually plays to that rollicking piano that characterises Cape Breton fiddle accompaniments, but there's also guitar, banjo, and bouzouki used sparingly. There are also a number of fiddle duets and it is particularly apt that she plays one track with her inspirational first fiddle teacher who is also her grandfather. She includes one song sung in Gaelic - singing is also part of her degree course - and on this evidence, her singing reaches the same high standard as her fiddle playing. In fact, to have included more singing may have given the album a wider appeal, but there is time. This debut shows that it is by an emerging major talent. - fRoots Magazine


""Canada continues to produce some outstanding female fiddle players...""

October 2010
By: Vic Smith

Rachel is still a student at Cape Breton University studying for her degree in Celtic Studies, but she is already a very assured and accomplished fiddler in the Cape Breton style, interpreting its range of melodies and rhythms with her pleasing dry-toned playing.

She usually plays to that rollicking piano that characterises Cape Breton fiddle accompaniments, but there's also guitar, banjo, and bouzouki used sparingly. There are also a number of fiddle duets and it is particularly apt that she plays one track with her inspirational first fiddle teacher who is also her grandfather. She includes one song sung in Gaelic - singing is also part of her degree course - and on this evidence, her singing reaches the same high standard as her fiddle playing. In fact, to have included more singing may have given the album a wider appeal, but there is time. This debut shows that it is by an emerging major talent. - fRoots Magazine


""I'm impressed. Big on quality and on quantity..." - CD Review"

June, 2010
By: Alex Monaghan

I'm impressed. Big on quality and on quantity, this debut recording from Cape Breton student Rachel Davis has all the hallmarks of brilliance. Davis isn't a name I associate with fiddlers, but Rachel's main influence comes from a long line of Longs. Her grandparents, Clarence and Anna Long, fiddle and sing respectively on the CD, and Rachel has picked up both skills from them. Her talent is remarkable: reels, jigs, strathspeys, marches and airs stream from her assured bowing, and those big dance medleys beloved of Cape Breton crowds are effortlessly delivered by this youngster. There are two seven-tune monster medleys of march, strathspeys and reels here, each over eight minutes long.

Picking favourites from Rachel's music is tough. There isn't a bad track in the round dozen, so instead let me pick some favourite tunes. Memories of Fr Angus MacDonnell is one helluva good tune, and Rachel handles it superbly: it opens one of the big medleys. Miss Admiral Gordon is another great melody, a big strathspey written by William Marshall a couple of centuries ago, demanding good technique which is not lacking here. The Rights of Man is much more recent, frivolously named despite its menacing minor cadences, and Rachel plays some lovely variations. The Marquis of Huntly's Snuff Mill is a fabulous title, and the air it belongs to is simply beautiful, delivered with expression and understanding as well as wonderful tone. The other slow air on this CD, Hector the Hero, irritates me slightly because of Rachel's unusual use of the 4th note in the scale, but it's still a stunning performance.

The opening track on this recording gives considerable prominence to Rachel's accompanists, and rightly so. Buddy MacDonald on guitar and Tracey Dares on piano are key components of the album's exceptional quality. I'd also like to draw attention to Brona Graham's inspired banjo, particularly on the medley ending with Highway Reel: powerful playing and a very tight duet sound. Rachel is lucky enough to have her grandfather Clarence join her for a set of timeless jigs, and grandmother Anna backs Rachel's very pleasant voice on a Gaelic song learnt from Hector MacNeil. Family and friends join in for the final MSR set, full of life and lift, finishing with another great favourite of mine, The Famous Bridge. There are so many good things to say about this CD, but I'll have to stop: www.rachel-davis.ca has more information and samples. - The Living Tradition Magazine


"CD Review"

By: Jim Scarff
San Francisco & Monterey Bay Celtic Music

I first heard Rachel fiddle at the Celtic Colours Festival in 2006 at 2 in the morning. I stopped in mid-conversation, thinking "who is that very young girl who clearly gets it and has the skill to play it?" She fired up the exhausted audience who knew good music when they heard it.

Well, three years have passed, and Rachel has just released her first CD. And an impressive debut it is. Most importantly, Rachel's playing has the drive and lift that I associate with the best Cape Breton playing, and that I find lacking too often in non-Cape Bretoners playing the same tunes.

As very pleasant surprises, Rachel even includes the J. Scott Skinner air "Hector the Hero" which I had thought I had heard way too many times until I heard Rachel's and Tracy's lovely version, surprising in that I find few Cape Breton fiddlers capable of drawing out all the emotion of airs. We also get Rachel singing a lovely Gaelic song in which she gets her mom and grandmother to join her on the choruses. Rachel has a lovely voice, so I hope she will continue singing.

Rachel is joined by Tracey Dares-MacNeil on piano and Buddy MacDonald on guitar and various others -- an indication that Rachel's playing attracts other great CB talents. (Hightly Recommended) - www.sfcelticmusic.com


"CD Review"

By: Jim Scarff
San Francisco & Monterey Bay Celtic Music

I first heard Rachel fiddle at the Celtic Colours Festival in 2006 at 2 in the morning. I stopped in mid-conversation, thinking "who is that very young girl who clearly gets it and has the skill to play it?" She fired up the exhausted audience who knew good music when they heard it.

Well, three years have passed, and Rachel has just released her first CD. And an impressive debut it is. Most importantly, Rachel's playing has the drive and lift that I associate with the best Cape Breton playing, and that I find lacking too often in non-Cape Bretoners playing the same tunes.

As very pleasant surprises, Rachel even includes the J. Scott Skinner air "Hector the Hero" which I had thought I had heard way too many times until I heard Rachel's and Tracy's lovely version, surprising in that I find few Cape Breton fiddlers capable of drawing out all the emotion of airs. We also get Rachel singing a lovely Gaelic song in which she gets her mom and grandmother to join her on the choruses. Rachel has a lovely voice, so I hope she will continue singing.

Rachel is joined by Tracey Dares-MacNeil on piano and Buddy MacDonald on guitar and various others -- an indication that Rachel's playing attracts other great CB talents. (Hightly Recommended) - www.sfcelticmusic.com


"Young fiddling sensation Rachel Davis is a rising star"

November 12th, 2009
By: Dan MacDonald

One of the great things about Celtic Colours is gathering up new CDs that come along. This year I received several. I mentioned the new Celtic Colours CD a few weeks ago, but I also received a new CD from a young fiddler from Baddeck.

Rachel Davis is a name to remember, a great little fiddler with great dance timing and a nice variety of tunes. Her self-titled CD was released during the Celtic Colours festival, very appropriate considering the production was sponsored in part by the Celtic Colours International Festival Volunteer Drive’ers Association. After all, she was the winner of last years Frank “Big Sampie” Sampson Award, given to an up-and-coming young Celtic talent to aid them in financing their first recording. The cash prize is matched by studio time from Lakewind Sound Studios in Point Aconi, which brings with it the expertise of people like Fred Lavery and Mike Shephard.

Rachel has taken her great talent, her musical background and her ability to select some good tunes and combined them very successfully with the available expertise and opportunity to bring forth a great new recording.

She’s not alone in her musical venture, getting solid backup from people such as Buddy MacDonald on guitar and Tracey Dares-MacNeil on piano. She was also joined, at different times, by a number of special guests who included Joey Beaton, Brona Graham, Ciarán MacGillivray, Meagan Burke and Clarence Long.

Clarence is Rachel’s grandfather, known in the Baddeck area as both a fiddler and as a barber. He was also her first fiddle teacher, helping her hone her initial skills and getting her well on her way with music. Rachel is also quick to point out that he put up with a lot as she sat in the corner of his barber shop, scratching away as she learned new tunes, often taken from his vast collection of music books.

Rachel picked a lot of tunes from those old fiddle books, but she also went to many of the local sources. She has a number of tunes that were written by people like Dan Hughie MacEachern, Dan R. MacDonald, John Campbell, Sandy MacLean, and so on. She also taps more contemporary composers like John Morris Rankin, Stan Chapman, Maynard MacKenzie, Paul Cranford, Otis Thomas and David Papazian.

There’s even a tune from Buddy MacDonald, who contributes the Stupidity Jig. That’s a story in itself.

Not to be outdone, Rachel has one of her own compositions on the recording. “The West Side Reel” was written in honour of the all the great parties with the folks on the West Middle River Road.

While the majority of her recording is hard driving, close to the floor music, there are a couple of lovely exceptions. Rachel does a powerful and very moving rendition of J. Scott Skinner’s “Hector The Hero.” It’s never an easy tune for even the most experienced players but she certainly does a masterful job on this lovely slow air.

Rachel also throws in a very interesting surprise when she sings a lovely Gaelic song, backed up by a number of family and friends. Singing is something that she needs to do more of, as her vocal skills have been hidden behind her fiddle playing abilities for far too long.

Rachel’s new CD is something to look for. Well worth getting, I think that it will be enjoyable for one and all. - Cape Breton Post


"CD REVIEW"

March 13th, 2010
By: Tom Knapp

I wasn't having a very good week. To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention when I picked up a CD from the waiting stack and slid the disc into my car stereo.

Within minutes -- perhaps even seconds -- I was tapping my foot. My mood had measurably improved. The day was looking up.

I owe my thanks to Rachel Davis, a 20-year-old fiddler from Baddeck, Cape Breton. And, although this self-titled CD is her first, it wasn't my first exposure to this young firecracker; we met in October 2007 in the green room at the Celtic Colours Festival Club, where I had the good fortune to interview her as an up-and-comer of the Canadian maritimes.

Fair's fair, and I'll admit that it's not Davis alone that had the power to lift me out of my doldrums. A well-played Cape Breton fiddle will almost always have that effect, and there are plenty of fiddlers on that magical island to fit the bill. But it's a testament to the thriving tradition -- and, of course, to Rachel's own skill and dedication -- that this young master of the craft has risen so far, so fast.

Backing Davis on this recording are a number of Cape Breton luminaries, including Tracey Dares-MacNeil and Joey Beaton on piano and Buddy MacDonald on guitar. Meagan Burke adds her own fiddle to Rachel's on the final, live-in-the-studio track, which includes a march, two strathspeys and several reels. The pace of the album is nicely balanced, with a few slow tunes, such as J. Scott Skinner's "Hector the Hero," fitting comfortably in with faster sets like "Dan Hughie & Buddy Jigs," "In the Driver'ers Seat" and "The Rights of Man on the West Side."

"Tunes with Grampy" is an especially poignant piece, as Davis sits down to play with her grandfather, Clarence Long, who she has always cited as her major influence, to run through a jig set. Nice touch!

Davis redirects the spotlight on "Dh'fhalbh mo run 's dh' fhag e 'n cala," which translates as "My Love Has Left the Harbour." If the title isn't a giveaway, the album's only song is in Gaelic, and Davis -- aided and abetted by a gang of Cape Breton's Gaelic-speaking population, including mother Pauline Davis and grandmother Anna Long, on the choruses -- gives sweet voice to the wistful words.

I've been waiting for a recording from this young fiddler since I first heard her play in 2007. I'd say her CD debut was worth the wait -- but I don't want to give Rachel the notion that it's OK to keep me waiting this long again. I hope this is the first of many excellent recordings, and I'm thrilled to know Rachel Davis is carrying this rich musical tradition forward into the next generation. - www.rambles.net


Discography

"Turns" 2013 - Independent Release
www.cdbaby.com/cd/racheldavis12

"Rachel Davis" (self-titled) 2009 - Independent Release
www.cdbaby.com/racheldavis1

Rachel is also featured on:

Celtic Colours International Festival 2010 Compilation CD - Odyssey Records

Celtic Colours International Festival 2013 Compilation CD - Odyssey Records

Photos

Bio

With a hard driving fiddle style and an infectiously joyful stage presence, Cape Breton fiddler Rachel Davis is quickly moving to the forefront of the traditional music scene in Atlantic Canada. Born and raised in Baddeck, Cape Breton, Rachel feels as comfortable on a festival or concert stage as she does in a dance hall back home. She has brought her music to venues around the world, including across Canada, the United States, England, Scotland, France, and Australia. First learning the fiddle from her grandfather, Clarence Long, she fondly recalls sitting in a corner of his barbershop, squeaking away at tunes under his careful guidance. Her musical roots run deep, which becomes very apparent from her obvious joy that she exudes on stage, and has earned her a reputation as one of the best Cape Breton style fiddlers on the go.

Rachels latest recording, entitled Turns (released in April 2013) sees a marked maturity in her playing since her debut album. It includes a wide variety of her musician friends coming along for the ride, including Canadian vocalists David Francey and Carmel Mikol, and instrumentalists Tony Byrne and Darren McMullen. From driving reels to dreamy slow airs, Turns provides true variety for the listener. It also sees Rachel come to the forefront as an impressive vocalist, with four vocal tracks highlighting her interpretations of traditional and contemporary songs in both English and Gaelic. Described as delicate and haunting (Dan MacDonald, Cape Breton Post) and spine-tingling (Davie Gardner, Shetland Times), she is proving to be a force to be reckoned with both as a fiddler, and a singer.

Rachels debut album was released in 2009 at the age of 20, and proved that she was one to be watched as an up and coming artist. She was awarded the Frank Big Sampy Sampson Award from the Celtic Colours Festival Volunteer Driveer Association to make the album, which included the powerful team of Tracey Dares-MacNeil and Buddy MacDonald accompanying her. Sticking to her traditional roots, she did not disappoint with an album full of driving jigs and reels, along with a haunting Gaelic vocal number, with many family members taking part. The album earned Rachel a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Young Performer of the Year, and she was featured on the cover of the Living Tradition magazine in 2010. It also received rave reviews from Penguin Eggs Magazine, the Living Tradition magazine, fRoots magazine, Rambles.net, and the Cape Breton Post.

As well as keeping busy with solo shows, Rachel has also collaborated with many musicians and singers, most often with her partner in crime, Cape Breton singer/songwriter Buddy MacDonald. She has also shared the stage with The Cottars, Bruce Guthro, Darren McMullen, Carmel Mikol, and most recently with her new traditional Cape Breton supergroup Cig, alongside Darren, Colin Grant, Chrissy Crowley, and Jason Roach. She was also asked to join the cast of Women of Ireland for a leg of their national tour of the US. She was awarded the Tic Butler Memorial award in 2007 for outstanding contribution to Cape Breton culture.

Band Members