Jim Fidler
Encyclopedia
Jim Fidler is a singer, producer, and musician living in St. John's
, Newfoundland and Labrador
.
section of St. John's. As a youth, Fidler spent a great deal of time along Conception Bay, where he developed an appreciation for Newfoundland's music and culture. Fidler's family found that he frequently picked up instruments and mastered them with ease as a child.
Blind
since age 9, he continued to develop his talents. By the age of 10, he had formed his own band with friends. He attended school in Halifax
, where he continued his musical studies and eventually earned a degree in classical piano and music theory at the Maritime Conservatory of Music
in Halifax.
Fidler plays many of the instruments used on his albums including accordion, guitar, whistle, bodhran
, and keyboards. The styles of music that he plays range from reggae
to bluegrass
, Celtic
to North Africa
n. He formed a successful reggae group called Pressure Drop in the late 1980s and was their drummer and songwriter. Between Pressure Drop and his first solo CD, Fidler arranged some songs on Great Big Sea
's debut CD.
In addition to his solo albums, his project Gypsy won awards for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year and Independent Album of the Year in 1996. In 1998 and again in 2000 Jim was featured in the Toronto production of The Needfire. Fidler has collaborated with Great Big Sea, Paddy Keenan
, Celtic Connection, the Masterless Men, Atlantic Union and others.
Fidler continues to live in St. John's, Newfoundland with his wife, Lillian, a graphic designer, and their cat, Gypsy.
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
Biography
In the 1960s, Jim and his mother relocated to Newfoundland where he grew up in the diverse RabbittownRabbittown, St. John's
Rabbittown is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located near downtown, and is bounded approximately by Empire Avenue, Freshwater Road and Newtown Road.-History:...
section of St. John's. As a youth, Fidler spent a great deal of time along Conception Bay, where he developed an appreciation for Newfoundland's music and culture. Fidler's family found that he frequently picked up instruments and mastered them with ease as a child.
Blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
since age 9, he continued to develop his talents. By the age of 10, he had formed his own band with friends. He attended school in Halifax
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...
, where he continued his musical studies and eventually earned a degree in classical piano and music theory at the Maritime Conservatory of Music
Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts
The Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts is a Canadian performing arts school in Halifax, Nova Scotia that offers courses in higher education in music, dance, and theatre. The school was founded in 1954 when the Halifax Conservatory of Music and the Maritime Academy of Music merged after the...
in Halifax.
Fidler plays many of the instruments used on his albums including accordion, guitar, whistle, bodhran
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
, and keyboards. The styles of music that he plays range from reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
to bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n. He formed a successful reggae group called Pressure Drop in the late 1980s and was their drummer and songwriter. Between Pressure Drop and his first solo CD, Fidler arranged some songs on Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
's debut CD.
In addition to his solo albums, his project Gypsy won awards for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year and Independent Album of the Year in 1996. In 1998 and again in 2000 Jim was featured in the Toronto production of The Needfire. Fidler has collaborated with Great Big Sea, Paddy Keenan
Paddy Keenan
Paddy Keenan is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes who first gained fame as a founding member of The Bothy Band. Since that group's dissolution in the late 1970s, Keenan has released a number of solo and collaborative recordings, and continues to tour both as a soloist, and with...
, Celtic Connection, the Masterless Men, Atlantic Union and others.
Fidler continues to live in St. John's, Newfoundland with his wife, Lillian, a graphic designer, and their cat, Gypsy.
Discography
- Gypsy (1995)
- Friendly Fire (1999)
- Musaik: In This World (2003)
- Midnight Rover (2005)