Nadina Mackie Jackson & Guy Few Win '2009 Just Plain Folks Best Classical Orchestral Album'

What do you get when you cross a bassoon and a trumpet?

Most would never think of making this combination work, but with the artistic acumen of Canadians Nadina Mackie Jackson, bassoon and Guy Few, trumpet, it just won them the 2009 Just Plain Folks Best Classical Orchestral Album for their recording BACCHANALE with the Toronto Chamber Orchestra. The JPF Awards are the largest international music awards in the world and included hundreds of musicians from 165 countries. The ceremonies held in Nashville, Tennessee on August 28 and 29, 2009, celebrated 95 genres of music, including Nadina and Guy's first recording with full string orchestra, BACCHANALE.

An exciting milestone in these artists' careers, bassoonist Nadina Mackie Jackson said "that the recognition and award for her CD was exhilarating given the high level of competition but the biggest thrill of all was to perform at the Wild Horse Saloon in the company of incredibly talented musicians from other walks of our profession. It was both humbling and inspiring to meet and hear so many extraordinarily dedicated and enthusiastic musicians."

Over the awards weekend there were over 100 performances, from Classical to Metal to Native American. In the spirit of the Just Plain Folks celebration, Nadina pulled on her boots and performed "Bassango", one of the title tracks from BACCHANALE, at the Awards Concert held in the grand Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville on August 29, 2009. The sole classical performer featured at the awards concert, organizers said that this was the first time that a solo bassoonist has ever performed at the Wild Horse Saloon.

BACCHANALE passed through 5 rounds of screening and an 18 month jury process by the Just Plain Folk's panel of 10,000 judges to emerge the first place winner in the Classical Orchestral category. One third of one percent of all entries made it past the initial nomination phase. BACCHANALE is the first CD ever to present two double concertos for trumpet and bassoon along with solo works for each instrument, including music by Hindemith, Mathieu Lussier, Persichetti and Shostakovitch. With this recording, Canadian composer Mathieu Lussier also won third place in the Best Classical Contemporary Song for his composition ‘Bassango' for bassoon and string orchestra (Track 10).

Just Plain Folks has a membership of 50,000 independent musicians from around the globe. The judging criteria are based on music and performance that moves the listener. In total, 42,000 recordings spanning 95 genres were submitted for consideration to the 2009 awards. These CDs represent independent musicians of all ages, musical styles and nationality.

The production of BACCHANALE was generously supported by a Sound Recording Loan and a Marketing and Promotion Grant from FACTOR (The Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Recording).

Nadina and Guy continue to commission new double concerti for trumpet and bassoon. They have also recorded an album of nineteenth century concerti (ROMANZA) and are slated to record an album of new works by Quebecois and French composers (FRANCOPHONIA). They were appointed the artistic directors of the Grand River Baroque Festival in 2008. For more information on the Grand River Baroque Festival, visit www.grbf.ca.

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