La Famille Leger

Bertrand Déraspe's Magdalen Fiddle Albums

10/15/2011

Our good friend, Bertrand Déraspe, is one of the great fiddlers from the last bastion of traditional Acadian culture: The Magdalen Islands. He visited the Northwest in 2011 and attended the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes to great success. But because of travel issues, he couldn't bring his albums along to share his music. Now he's sent us a stash of albums and we're happy to sell for him! Albums cost $20 each, and that includes the shipping costs. You can pay with PayPal or check. Make checks out to Hearth Music and mail to: Devon Leger, 14879 6th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155. All money goes straight to Bertrand.

Mes Racines Bertrand Déraspe 2006
This is the first of Bertrand’s solo fiddling CD’s and definitely the one to start your collection. What you get is just Bertrand on fiddle and feet and Alain Turbide on piano, exactly as they appeared at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes last summer 2011 and with many of the tunes that they taught, including “Pu yèque sur le pu yinque” and “Cé fret su’l picassou”. There are also some of Bertrand’s beautiful waltzes. Bertrand channels tunes from the Magdalen Islands as well as Cape Breton in this recording. A must-have for any fiddle fan.

Vent Arrière: Bertrand Déraspe, Patrice Déraspe, Carole Painchaud 2003
This is the cd that started it all for us at La Famille Léger and especially the first track: “Reel à Célestin à Jos”. The track starts off with the sound of the ancient Toc à Toc motor of the maritime fishermen and Bertrand dives in with his fiddle, never missing a beat and keeping the motor going feverishly to the end. It took our breath away and we wanted to hear more of this great “madelinot” fiddler. Vent arrière means tale wind in French and there definitely is a strong wind driving this collection of songs and tunes.

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Contra Dances 2011-2012

09/16/2011

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La Famille Léger
We are a family band based in Seattle that specializes in Quebecois and Acadian dance music. The members of our band are : Louis, accordion and fiddle, Devon, fiddle and foot percussion (les pieds), Dejah, les pieds, keyboard and guitar and Barbara, guitar. Louis was born in New Brunswick and our family keeps the tradition of dancing and kitchen parties alive. We play all French-Canadian tunes from Quebec, Gaspesie, New Brunswick, PEI and the Magdalen Islands. We have played for contra dances in Ashland, Seattle, Olympia and Portland, as a family band and in bands with local musicians. We have worked with Tony Mates, Woody Lane, Luther Black and other callers. Our band has played at the Northwest Folklife Festival, Festival du Bois, Bastille Day and has tutored at Fiddle Tunes and Lark in the Morning music camp. As well, Louis and Devon have taught workshops on French-Canadian dances to both adults and children. "Great driving dance music from Quebec and beyond, played with the skill, verve and precision of a well oiled machine. This is what "family values" should be all about- a grand bash of generations, all in the service of a much larger family- the rest of us. I don't know what would be more fun- calling to them, dancing to them, or playing with them. I'm hoping they'll adopt me." Tony Mates

We’d love to play for your contra dance! For more information, you can visit our website at : http://www.lafamilleleger.com/ For music samples from our CD and live concerts, go to either: CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lafamilleleger or Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/familleleger
You can contact us by email: legerdeuxmains@yahoo.com or phone (206) 355-6763. Thanks for your time and hoping to hear from you,
Louis

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Akpiq Jam 2011

08/15/2011

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Baba, Lulu, and Devon: Les Légers sitting pretty outside of Kuujjuaq, Québec. We were invited by the Makivik Corporation to perform at the Akpiq Jam Festival in Kuujjuaq, Québec from August 10th to 12th. Here are some photos we took, along with some info and commentaries.

First Air, the airline owned and operated by the Makivik Corporation, our hosts for the Akpiq Jam. We first flew to Montreal on Delta, then after an overnight in Montreal, we caught the daily flight to Kuujjuaq, about a two and half hour flight north. Great service, with warm serviettes and a meal.

The Kuujjuaq Inn (Auberge Kuujjuaq), the only game in town. Restaurant, bar, and hotel with a well-decorated lounge.

The Akpiq Jam: there were performances every evening from Tuesday, August 9th to Friday, August 12. The acts included native singing, throat singing, accordion playing, rock and roll, blues, hip-hop, and comedy. Our concert was on Thursday, August 11th in the evening. As we started the first tune, children streamed down from the bleachers and started dancing, forming circles of boys and girls. For the Inuit, the accordion is a powerful instrument, allowing them to dance the long winter evenings away. The most busy time of the year is Christmas time and the folks in the different communities often charter a plane just to bring out the good accordion players.

We were invited to a community feast next to the town hall. There were boxes of frozen game and fish to share and tables laden with Inuit tradional dishes. We tasted caribou stew, atlantic char, raw seal and beluga, akpiq berries, fish stews, bannock, and homemade cakes.

The many modes of transportation in the Arctic. Snowmobiles and sled dogs in the winter, ATV's in the summer.

Arctic Architecture

A trek through the tundra: we took a short walk outside of town and found some interesting flora and fauna.

Shopping in Kuujjuaq: we ate mostly at the Auberge but searched for a few items in town. There was one general store that sold gas, groceries, hardware, furs, food, and you could also buy an ATV. Supplies came in via plane or boat.

The Inuit native language is Inuktitut. Children are taught in their native language from kindergarten up to second grade, then they can choose either French or English. Inuktitut is a beautiful sounding language and most of the performers talked, sang, and told jokes in their native tongue. They have a fascinating writing system based on syllables. Check the photos below for examples of Inuit writing.

Inuksuk: We found many of these stone sculptures in Kuujjuaq, especially outside of town on our hikes. There have many purposes: orienting beacons that mark trails, good hunting and fishing places and caches for meat. They also look cool.

The Makivik Corporation: a word must be said of our hosts. The Makivik Corporation was established in 1978 after the signing of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. They are the legal representatives of the Inuit people and their mandate is the administration of Inuit lands and the management of the 120 million Canadian dollars in compensation funds under the terms of the agreement. The Akpiq Festival is just one of their many projects to promote the culture and well being of the Inuit people. We would like to thank Pita Aatami, the president of the Makivik Corporation, as well as Bob Mesher, publications editor, Paul Parsons, the mayor of Kuujjuaq, and Inuit Accordionists Lucy Johannes and David Angutinguak for their warm welcome.

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June Fiddler of the Month: Avila Leblanc

06/11/2011

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This month we feature another fiddler from the Magdalen Islands: Avila Leblanc. Avila was born March 14th, 1914 and died July 13th 2010 at Gros-Cap in the Magdalen Islands off the coast of Canada. He was 96 when he died and during his lifetime he was celebrated as a fisherman, folklorist and fiddler. He fished for lobster and herring in Baie de Plaisance with his father and brothers. During his lifetime he gathered stories about the life and times of the Madelinots and was a respected storyteller and oral historian. He was a friend of Père Anselme Chiasson, the great collector of folklore and a co-author with Jean-Claude Delorme of the book « Histoires Populaires des Iles » (A Popular History of the Islands). He is cited in another book as the guardian of the oral tradition of the islands: « Deux Cents Ans d’Histoire aux Iles de la Madelaine » (Two Hundred Years of History in the Magdalen Islands). Above all, Avila was a great fiddler. His father bought him his first fiddle for 38 cents. Finally, his uncle bought him a Simpson/Sears fiddle for $50 and this is the one he played for gatherings and dances through the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Many of his tunes were recorded by the department of folklore studies at the Université Laval and there are also recordings at the University of Moncton. Robert Richard, the Archivist at the Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes Anselme Chiassson has graciously sent us some recordings of Avila Leblanc which we share below along with an approximate notation. We have also included one of Avila's famous stories. Many of Avila's tunes are without titles and are known as either Rabestans (short pieces), Cotillons, Reels, and Gigues (Stepdances). La Bottine Souriante featured one of his tunes "Air de Cotillon" in a Pot-Pouri (medley) called "Surf and Turf" on their CD: "Tout Comme au Jour de l'An". Another great fiddler who knows and plays many of Avila's tunes is Lisa Ornstein. On her CD: "Par un Beau Samedi d'Eté" (One Fine Summer Day), she plays a medley of a cotillon sandwiched between two rabestans in "La Suite des Madelinots"

Le Reel des Iles

Le Reel des Iles.pdf
File Size:	25 kb
File Type:	pdf

First Air, the airline owned and operated by the Makivik Corporation, our hosts for the Akpiq Jam. We first flew to Montreal on Delta, then after an overnight in Montreal, we caught the daily flight to Kuujjuaq, about a two and half hour flight north. Great service, with warm serviettes and a meal.

We were invited to a community feast next to the town hall. There were boxes of frozen game and fish to share and tables laden with Inuit tradional dishes. We tasted caribou stew, atlantic char, raw seal and beluga, akpiq berries, fish stews, bannock, and homemade cakes.

The many modes of transportation in the Arctic. Snowmobiles and sled dogs in the winter, ATV's in the summer.

Arctic Architecture

A trek through the tundra: we took a short walk outside of town and found some interesting flora and fauna.

Shopping in Kuujjuaq: we ate mostly at the Auberge but searched for a few items in town. There was one general store that sold gas, groceries, hardware, furs, food, and you could also buy an ATV. Supplies came in via plane or boat.

Inuksuk: We found many of these stone sculptures in Kuujjuaq, especially outside of town on our hikes. There have many purposes: orienting beacons that mark trails, good hunting and fishing places and caches for meat. They also look cool.

Le Reel des Iles

Vieux Cotillon des Iles

Vieux Cotillon d'An Premier

C'est l'Avarie Qu'a Passée Par Ici

Une Histoire de Pêche Pour la Morue

Magdalen Islands

Prince Edward Island

New Brunswick

Gaspésie

Cape Breton

Reel à Célestin à Jos

Reel de la Morte

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