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Currently he most frequently performs as a solo artist, and as an accompanist for his wife Lynda on vocals. Jim is also a member of singer/songwriter Berna Dean Holland's band, and can also be heard accompanying his brother Hugh McLennan in the Western Spirit Band at Western Music and Cowboy Poetry gatherings throughout the West. He also appears occasionally on recordings or in public performance with Cowboy Celtic, Tom Cole, Joe Cunningham, Steve Fisher, John Fraser, Paul Rumbolt, Tanya Ryan, David Wilkie, and Denise Withnell. In 2011, Jim's first solo CD, "Six-String Gumbo" was released. Shortly after, it was chosen by CKUA Radio as their "CD of the Week." See more information about the CD and how to purchase one below. _______________________________________________________________________________ Concert Information Upcoming Concerts Thursday, June 7 Mikey's Juke Joint, Calgary, AB
1901 10 Ave SW, Calgary Saturday, June 9 Carlson's on Macleod, High River, AB Read About Jim in Two Magazines Penguin Eggs (Canada's Folk, Roots and World Music Magazine) has a story about Jim and his music in the current (Spring, 2012) issue. Here's a brief quote about Jim's CD: "Six-String Gumbo is a canny collection of diverse work, stretching from Dvorak to Joplin to Billy Joel to Jerry Reed - along with original tunes - that showcase the player's alchemy in transforming solo guitar to a near-orchestral realm." You can find Penguin Eggs at most Chapters stores, or you can visit their website at www.penguineggs.ab.ca Routes Magazine (which calls itself a "rural, hip, lifestyle magazine") has a story on Jim in its upcoming May issue. If you live south of Calgary, between Okotoks and the Claresholm/Vulcan area, you'll find it in a number of places. It's free.
Jim McLennan is a contemporary of U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship winner, (the de facto fingerstyle world champion), Bob Evans. Evans says this about McLennan's acoustic playing: "I first met Jim almost forty years ago. At the time he had one of the smoothest fingerstyle guitar deliveries I had ever heard. And now, all these years later, I'm happy to report the magic is still there. Jim's playing combines a deft touch on the strings with a wonderful sense of musicality that continues to delight aficionados of great guitar music."
McLennan first recorded for American acoustic-guitar guru Stefan Grossman's Kicking Mule Record Company in the 1970s. Grossman, who performed at Eric Clapton's 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival, recently had this to say about Jim and his playing: "Classic rags to Jerry Reed to the Beatles - Jim Mclennan has it all. His playing has grown since his first classic rag recordings in the late 1970s. He is now a full-fledged guitar picker, at home with blues, folk, jazz and pop." If you attend a McLennan concert you'll hear Jim play a number of his solo fingerstyle pieces, many from his Six-String Gumbo CD, and you'll hear Lynda's great voice as she interprets some old standards with Jim's guitar accompaniment. Here's a Youtube sample of Jim at their concert at the Blue Chair in Edmonton in February, 2012. Here's a Youtube sample of Lynda and Jim together. __________________________________________
NEW CD REVIEW From Minor 7th magazine Jim McLennan "Six-String Gumbo." Listeners might not notice at first that Canadian Jim McLennan's playing is effortless and tonally luscious, because the tunes on his collection "Six-String Gumbo" are so diverting. The title perfectly captures this zesty soup of songs, which includes both McLennan's own compositions -- like sumptuous "Mamoo's Dream" and "Prairie Rose," with their lovely chiming harmonics, and the virtuosic, zippy "Sweet Tooth" -- as well as arresting instrumental arrangements of a range of styles that spice up the broth. Covers include a slow jazzy Beatle's medley; intricate, show-stopper pieces like "Sunwheel Dance" (Bruce Cockburn) and "Drumheller Circle (Steve Bell); the bluesy traditional "Amazing Grace," and swing and ragtime numbers. McLennan has had a long career in music, playing with various bands and on recordings, so it's especially surprising that this is his first solo outing. Such exceptional fingerstyle playing and top-notch arranging well deserve guitar maven Stefan Grossman's endorsement on the cover: "hot pickin'" indeed! © Céline Keating
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CD Information Six-String Gumbo Jim McLennan Solo Acoustic Guitar $20.00 + gst. We pay postage. Send us an email to purchase.
“Six-String Gumbo,” the CD, is exactly that - a smooth, yet surprising plateful of solo instrumental guitar pieces, served with a variety of pleasing musical spices.
Shortly after its release, "Six-String Gumbo" was chosen "CD of the Week" by CKUA radio. Here's part of the CD review by CKUA's respected music journalist, Peter North:
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Jim's guitar playing featured on four other CDs
Steve Fisher's CD, River,
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