J. P. Cormier
Nova Scotia, Canada
Nobody really knows who J.P. Cormier is for sure. In 1974 he was a five year old boy, discovering an innate talent for playing the guitar. By the mid eighties, not out of his teens, he was a sideman for bands and artists of many different genres all across the deep south adding more instruments to his arsenal of capabilities. In the early Nineties, he became a staple of the recordings at Studio H in Halifax. All this before he was 20.
In the mid nineties he re-entered the musical scene and Cape Breton exploding onto the Trad music scene as a fiddler. His previous gig was in Nashville playing mandolin and banjo in a Grammy nominated bluegrass-gospel band and performing on the Opry and playing television shows with the likes of Waylon Jennings. In 1997, an album released in Canada called Another Morning received a Juno nomination and won an ECMA. Sixteen albums followed, winning 12 more ECMA’s, another Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and 5 Music Nova Scotia Awards. His catalog reveals the tapestry he weaves in live performance. Accolades aside, and there are many from people like Chet Atkins, Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot; J.P. sees himself as just a performer. Shy, but has a razor sharp wit and lightning sense of humor, he can be reserved or edgy. He speaks for soldiers, first responders, other artists, the forgotten and lost and sometimes only for himself.
“One of the most important guitar players of his generation.” – Chet Atkins
