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In Praise of Great Musicians: Hugh Marsh May 3rd, 2009

During the recent mixing sessions for my forthcoming CD, Canadian uber-violinist Hugh Marsh showed up at the studio to lay down tracks for my musical versions of John Keats’s “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” and Lord Byron’s “Stanzas for Music.”  Anyone familiar with Hugh’s music–whether it be his solo work, his contributions to Hollywood film scores, or his performances with such musical icons as Bruce Cockburn, Lorenna McKennitt, Robert Palmer, and Daniel Lanois–will understand how immensely excited I am to have him play on my album.  The first time I saw Hugh perform live was in the early 1980s, when he played with Bruce Cockburn’s band on the Inner City Front tour.  To this day I distinctly remember his thrilling violin solo on “Loner,” which brought tears to my eyes and sent shivers up and down my spine.  If anyone had told me then that Hugh would play violin on one of my future albums, I would have turned cartwheels in the aisles!  His appearance on my new CD–which is in the final stages of completion–is one of the highlights of my musical life.  Check him out at www.hughmarsh.com or at www.myspace.com/hughmarsh.