Several artists with connections to Ottawa picked up JUNOs in Vancouver at a Saturday night gala.
Electronic ensemble A Tribe Called Red won their third JUNO, this time for Group of the Year. Bruce Cockburn picked his 13th JUNO for his latest album Bone on Bone winning in the Contemporary Roots category.
The stellar blues trio MonkeyJunk (Steve Marriner, Tony D and Matt Sobb who has also nabbed a Maple Blues Award this year), are celebrating their 10th anniversary. They picked up their second JUNO with their album Time to Roll.
The band Kobo Town, with Ottawa-raised Drew Gonsalves in the lead, won in the world music category with Where the Galleon Sank.
And the National Arts Centre Orchestra commission My Name Is Amanda Todd by Vancouver’s Jocelyn Morlock won Classical Composition of the year, beating out a second NAC commission by Andrew Staniland called Phi/Caelestis. Morlock’s piece is part of NACO’s Life Reflected series of new music
There were plenty of other nominees with capital connections: Ottawa-born, Montreal resident Leif Vollebekk, for Alternative Album of the Year for Twin Solitude won by the late Gord Downie. Kellylee Evans was nominated for her jazz album Come On in a category won by Diana Krall. Krall picked up two JUNOs Saturday night. University of Ottawa professor and pianist David Jalbert was nominated for his classical album Stravinsky & Prokofiev: Transcriptions pour piano in a category won by Janina Fialkowska.
Three Ottawa singers were nominated in the category Classical Album of the Year (Vocal or Choral): Bass-baritone Philippe Sly with John Charles Britton for Schubert Sessions: Lieder with Guitar; countertenor Daniel Taylor with The Trinity Choir for the CD The Tree of Life and bass-baritone Gerald Finley with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra for In the Stream of Life: Songs by Sibelius. The category was won by soprano Barbara Hannigan.
Carleton grad Kapri was up for best Dance Recording with the album Deeper, a category won by Nick Fiorucci. METZ lost out on the Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year to the band Anciients. And Esmerine, led by Bruce Cawdron, was up for best album artwork. The category was won by Stubborn Persistent Illusions and their album Do Make Think Say.
The rapper Belly was nominated for his song Mumble Rap but lost out to Tory Lanez with his song Shooters; Keshia Chanté was up for R&B/Soul Recording for Unbound 01, but she was derailed by Daniel George.
The main awards will be handed out Sunday in Vancouver in CBC broadcast hosted by Michael Bublé.
Perennial art-rock favourite Arcade Fire, a trio of rising star singer-songwriters – Jessie Reyez, Ruth B and Daniel Caesar – as well as Downie, are among the top nominees this year.
