‘The Gift’ That Keeps on Giving

‘The Gift:’ A Tribute to Ian Tyson
Edmonton Folk Music Festival
Gallagher Park
Saturday, August 1 – Stage 1, 4:45 p.m.

by Jerry Ozipko

Alberta singer, songwriter and guitarist Ian Tyson is a national musical institution. His career began in folk music in the 1960s but soon developed into a unique genre of poetic cowboy music that was distinctly Canadian in character.

About ten years ago, Peter North, the Music Director for CKUA radio in Edmonton, and long-time fan of Tyson and his songwriting, thought that it would be a great idea to organize a tribute concert to him while he was still alive. “There have been some very good tributes made to people over the years, but too often, I think, it comes after the fact. . . . We start remembering how great people were after we’ve lost them. I had worked with Ian on his TV series.” North thought that a unique spin could be put on some of Tyson’s material by having other artists perform it. The first performances with a core band were held in February 2002 at Festival Place and then the Arden Theatre. Calgary audiences saw it about a year-and-a-half later. “Then a few other organizations phoned and asked if they could have it for corporate functions and it just sort of got a life of its own.” It soon spawned an album of the same name and according to North “it seems to have more legs than ever right now.”

Pianist Stewart MacDougall, who tickled the keys for Tyson for a fair number of years, is the Music Director for ‘The Gift.’ His role is not an easy one when the music already exists in different arrangements and with a whole long list of possible performers to choose from. “There’s always a variety of technical stuff to be addressed. The show is always really well prepared on short notice. So somebody has to direct traffic.”

Fiddler Myran Szott began his association with Tyson as the studio fiddler in Ian’s TV programme “Sun Country” between 1981-1985. After recording Cowboyography with Tyson in 1986, he was asked to play in Tyson’s road band, where he stayed for 10 years. As a bandleader Tyson proved to be a tough customer. “He’ll tell you exactly what he wants. He’ll explain it to you in no uncertain terms. . . It’s his ideas, his band, his songs and this is how he wants it, and if you don’t like it you can leave.” Szott added a respectful corollary to his remarks – “It was very good playing in his band because he’s very demanding and you get to play with the best musicians, the best producers, the best situations and he was a stickler with dynamics.” Rehearsals proved to be extremely important to the development of the band over the years. After having played in ‘the real band,’ Szott feels honoured to now be playing in the tribute group.

This presentation of ‘The Gift’ will see the return of special guests Tom Russell, Cindy Church, Zachary Richard and Amos Garrett – alumni of the original tribute disk. Who knows whether or not someone else might just show up?