Wind Rose

For her third album, western Canadian fiddle player, singer and step-dancing specialist Jocelyn Pettit conjures up a dozen traditional, contemporary and original folk songs inspired by her variegated familial roots (Scottish, Irish, French, Malaysian) and global adventuring (a wind rose being the familiar star-shaped diagram indicating direction points imprinted on most maps).

A jaunty guitar riff kicks off ‘Wind Rose’, which showcases Pettit’s deft, feathery light fiddling style. Her pizzicato fiddle introduction to ‘Cowcaddens’ sets the stage for a spritely swinging evocation of the Glasgow arts and entertainment district in which EH Bostock’s Scottish Zoo and Hippodrome once thrived. ‘Silk and Spice’ brings chamber-style ensemble sophistication to a groovy folk ditty that pops with syncopated punch. ‘Ready for the Storm’, a melodically beautiful composition, is one of three songs on the album with lyrics, in this case about the importance of sharing strength and trust during hard times. Pettit’s accompanists include Joel Pettit (percussion, vocals), Siew Wan Khoo (piano), Adam Dobres (guitar), Erik Musseau (whistle, vocals), Boris Favre (bass), Ellen Gira (cello), Chris Gray, (piano, whistle), Ali Hutton (guitar), Lauri Lyster (percussion) and Martin O’Neill (bodhrán). Together, they make marvellous contemporary music rooted in multi-hued history.