Donna Hébert & Max Cohen

“”They are really a treat – fabulous musicians with a wonderful way of playing together.”  Jay Ungar, Dancing on the Air: WAMC – Albany NY, 2/10/10

Press release | Audio/video | Tech sheet | Photos | Donna bio | Max bio | Contact at right

Donna Hébert’s fierce fiddle rhythms and Max Cohen’s impeccable groove guitar link to create an orchestra of sound from a simple fiddle-guitar duet. Said Irish fiddler and Gaelic Roots concert series director Seamus Connolly at their Feb. 2009 concert:

“Donna is a gem – one of the best. And the ‘Raven’s Wing’ she and Max have written is a brilliant tune!”

Concerts draw from Donna’s 40 years of French-Canadian and Celtic fiddling with seminal folk bands, her original tunes and songs shared with Max’s effervescent guitar solos and original songs. Demonstrating their amazing musical chemistry, their joint composition, Raven’s Wing, (written in memory of Donna’s father), has become an audience favorite – a perfect example of the magic they create together!

Performing as a duo and a trio with Donna’s daughter Molly Hebert-Wilson, they expand with fiddler Katherine First into Celtic quartet Mist Covered Mountains. This ensemble joined Donna at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College, for her solo faculty recital. Donna, a fiddle instructor at the college, is also joined by fiddler and student Emmy Pierce. 

Donna, Max and Molly also perform with Irish accordion legend John Whelan and guitarist Flynn Cohen in an exciting new group exploring the edges of Irish and French-Canadian music. Fall performances include NYU’s Blarney Star Concert Series, Old Songs Concert Series (NY), Blackstone River Theatre (RI) and NOTLOB concerts in Somerville MA

With Josée Vachon and Daniel Boucher, Donna and Max groove on Donna’s native French-Canadian music. Donna, Max and Daniel also perform in the Beaudoin Legacy with members of Vermont’s Beaudoin family. With Jane Rothfield, George Wilson and Stuart Kenney, Max and Donna are Groovemama, teaching at Old Songs and Philadelphia Folk Festival every summer.

Just released! Donna’s “In Full Bloom” CD with Max on guitar and co-producing. Featuring Raven’s Wing, with 10 other tracks of French-Canadian music with Pascal Gemme, André Brunet, Rachel Aucoin, Sabin Jacques and more! Available for online download and mail order.

Upcoming duo dates:

July 21 - Strafford VT Arts Series – duo concert
July 23-25 - Quebec – Festival Memoires et racines – with Daniel Boucher
Aug 9-13 - Voorheesville NY: Fiddling Demystified Camp at Old Songs – with Liz Carroll and Jane Rothfield
Nov 19-21 – Shepherdstown WV – Upper Potomac Fiddle Retreat 

Audio/video samples

• YouTube: Max and Donna with Cape Breton step-dancer Christine Morrison MA Cultural Council concert: Dad’s Reel/Circular Reel/St. Antoine’s Reel
• YouTube: Groovemama & the 2009 Great Groove Bands for both Old Songs and Philadelphia Folk Festivals (Max conducting in Philly!)
• YouTube: 2009 Philly Folk Fest, Craft Stage, Groovemama: Raven’s Wing © 2008 D. Hébert/M. Cohen
• YouTube: Max solo guitar – Da Slockit Light
• Max solo guitar on George Wilson’s Sweet Journeys waltz from Donna’s Fiddlejam CD
• Max solo guitar on his original, November from his Saltwater Color CD

 

about Donna Hébert . . .

Recognized by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick for “outstanding artistic achievement” at the 2009 Commonwealth Awards, Donna Hébert was a 2008 Massachusetts Artists’ Fellow in the Folk Arts for fiddling. A pioneer in the Boston contradance revival, Donna founded seminal dance band Yankee Ingenuity in the 1970s and produced the Monday Scout House contradance until 1985. Winning an INDIE Award for ‘Best String Band’ for her Flying Fish recording with edgy all-women’s group Rude Girls in the 1980s, in the ’90s Donna formed Franco-American heritage group Chanterelle with iconic Franco singer Josée Vachon, recording tracks with them for a Smithsonian- Folkways anthology, “Mademoiselle, voulez vous danser?” “Donna’s fiddle speaks fluent français,” says Boston Globe columnist and NPR commentator Scott Alarik. Still performing as a duo with Josée, they are regulars at the Blackstone River Theatre in Rhode Island.

In 1999, Donna founded Groovemama with Albany NY fiddler Jane Rothfield, performing at teaching at festivals and camps in the Northeast. In 2005, Donna formed The Beaudoin Legacy with Beaudoin family and friends to document, present and preserve the music of Vermont’s Beaudoin family. Funded through the NEA’s American Masterpiece Roster, the group has performed at major festivals in the Northeast. Donna also performs in a Celtic/French-Canadian music duo with guitarist Max Cohen, featured on her new “In Full Bloom” CD of French-Canadian fiddling. Max and Donna are joined by Donna’s daughter, Molly Hebert-Wilson. In a new ensemble with Irish accordionist John Whelan, they are exploring the boundaries between Irish and French-Canadian music.

Says fiddle master Darol Anger in his Foreword to her Fiddling Demystified for Strings Vol. I, “Donna gets it all right!”

RECORDINGS:

• 2009 – Donna Hébert: In Full Bloom/en pleine floraison – available in store
• 2008 – Fiddling Demystified – Fiddlejam – available in store
• 2008 – Beaudoin Legacy
• 1999 – Donna Hébert: Big Boned Beauty – available in store
• 1999 – Mademoiselle voulez vous danser? (Smithsonian/Folkways)
• 1996 – Chanterelle: Soirée chez nous – available in store
• 1994 – Chanterelle: French in America
• 1987 – Rude Girls: Rude Awakening (1988 Indie Award, Best String Band)
• 1977 – Gerry Robichaud: Maritime Dance Party
• 1977 – Yankee Ingenuity: Kitchen Junket.

 

about Max Cohen

(link to Max’s new site) . . .

Max Cohen’s natural humility hides a huge talent. A virtuoso fingerstyle guitarist, his original melodies shine with elegant simplicity and his spacious arrangements leave room for the listener. Dar Williams calls him “an endearing and inspiring performer. I love Max!” A natural teacher and the ultimate accompanist, Max finds himself an essential member of ten ensembles, including several groups with fiddler Donna Hébert, Irish accordionist John Whelan, singer Priscilla Herdman and more. Influenced by fingerstyle guitar icons like Michael Hedges and Pierre Bensusan as well as the hot traditional musicians he plays with, Max fuses fingerstyle artistry with solid groove.

A guitar teacher based in Massachusetts, Max joins Groovemama at Old Songs and Philadelphia Folk Festivals to coach youth performances with the Great Groove Band. Max also teaches every summer at Old Songs Fiddle & Strings Camps in upstate NY. A songwriter with Kerrville honors, Max co-writes with Richard Berman, also composing instrumental music with Donna Hébert. His new guitar CD will be released in early 2010.

A studio musician, producer and digital editor, Max has worked in rock, children’s music, country, traditional folk and singer-songwriter genres. In the past two years, he’s helped produce CDs for Richard Berman, Katherine First, Donna Hébert and his own Renaissance Faire band, the Misfits of Avalon.

RECORDINGS: Saltwater Color – 2007, 1993 – instrumental
GUEST PERFORMANCES: Dar Williams: Honesty Room; Richard Berman: Love, Work & Play, Holding Hands, Now and Then; Katherine First: Sweet Spot; Coyote Sisters; Donna Hébert: In Full Bloom, Mrs. McLeod’s Reel, Fiddlejam

PHOTO

Donna and Max – JPG – 1 MB – 587x 640 pixels credit: Liz Marcotte photo