This singer-songwriter and guitarist has delivered a set of beautiful and lyrical acoustic gems. Some are performed solo, while others feature Dave's musical friends, including two-time Juno winner David Francey.

13 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Fingerstyle, FOLK: Urban Folk



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Dave Clarke's second solo album, Reunion, is poised to consolidate his reputation as one of Canada's finest acoustic guitarists and to launch his career as a singer-songwriter.

For the last decade, Dave has garnered kudos for his work with the acclaimed Montreal-based folkgrass trio Steel Rail, Juno-winning singer-songwriter David Francey, Canadian Folk Music Award-winner Penny Lang and the up-and-coming West Coast bluegrass band Shearwater.

On Reunion, though, he steps to centre stage, singing some of the songs he has been crafting over the last few years of a career that stretches back to the heady Montreal folk scene of the 1970s. Added to his playing style -- he has been called one of the country's "most fluid acoustic pickers" -- his gift for melody and his fluency in folk, Celtic, bluegrass and country, it makes for a powerful addition to the Canadian scene. And as the title might suggest, Reunion features many of the artists Dave has encountered along his musical journey.

Dave's interest in music stretches deep into his childhood in Montreal. He remembers taking naps with a beloved 78-r.p.m. recording of Casey Jones, and he played in a ukulele band with his brothers when he was in grade school. But it wasn't till he heard the strains of Mississippi John Hurt and Doc Watson that he fell under the spell of the guitar and began racing home at lunch time and after school to practise for hours on end.

He got his start as a professional musician with the legendary Quebec group the White River Bluegrass Band in the late 1970s and later with the jazz-folk-swing band Soupe du Jour in the 1980s. He played with such performers as Barde and Theresa Doyle, but it was his work with the Montreal-based folkgrass trio Steel Rail, starting in the 1990s, that brought him to national attention.

Dave also played with David Francey from 1997 to 2004. During that period, his versatile and sensitive guitar arrangements provided a musical bedrock for Franceyâs strong original material and powerful vocals. He co-produced three David Francey albums, including the Juno-winning Far End of Summer and Skating Rink.

Since moving to Vancouver Island in 2005, Dave has joined forces with renowned singer-bass player Tammy Fassaert and hot young mandolinist James Whittall to form Shearwater. The band, launched in mid-2006, has already performed in several West Coast festivals and is building a reputation for fine singing and hot picking.

Apart from his band work, Daveâs tasty playing and his 1938 D18 Martin guitar have been featured on everything from bluegrass albums to television soundtracks. One of his instrumentals is featured on the album Six Strings North of the Border, along with those of such other guitar luminaries as Bruce Cockburn and Don Ross. Dave's playing figured prominently in the TV documentary series Four Strong Winds, which celebrated Canadian singer-songwriters.

He has appeared on many other recent folk recordings including those by Penny Lang (the 2006 CFMA contemporary album of the year Stone and Sand and Sea and Sky), Bill Garrett and Sue Lothrop (Red Shoes), Eve Goldberg (A Kinder Season) and Rosemary Phelan (Avalanche Lily).

Dave's first solo album, the all-instrumental CD Guitar Songs, was released in late 2002. It has been called "an exquisitely executed collection of original solo instrumentals from a Montreal master of the acoustic guitar."

Daveâs songwriting with lyric partner Lucinda Chodan is showcased on Reunion and three Steel Rail albums, and their material is being covered by a growing number of folk and bluegrass artists. His highly original arrangements are showcased on the Steel Rail releases as well as three David Francey releases. They reflect both his formal musical training â- he has a music degree from Montrealâs Concordia University -â and his love affair with various genres of roots and acoustic music.

He also has a growing body of work as a producer, including the Steel Rail albums The Road Less Travelled and River Song and three David Francey albums, Torn Screen Door, Far End of Summer and Skating Rink.

ABOUT REUNION

Daveâs second solo album, Reunion, was released in September 2007 with a series of concerts in central Canada and on the West Coast. On the album, Dave has invited musical friends from various phases of his career to join him on seven of the 13 instrumental tracks and songs.
Among the artists who lend their talents to Reunion are Juno winner David Francey, Canadian Folk Music Award winner Penny Lang, bluegrass singer-bassist Tammy Fassaert and Dave's bandmates from the Montreal folkgrass trio Steel Rail.

Reunion features four new instrumentals of the kind that won Dave such acclaim for his first album, Guitar Songs. The other nine tunes, including a co-write with David Francey and several with his longtime musical collaborator, Lucinda Chodan, feature Dave in a new role: lead singer.