Little Jack MacDonald

Little Jack (1887 – 1969) was raised in Judique, NS by Annie MacMaster MacDonnell, the wife of his mother’s brother, Allan “Tal”. Raised in this culturally rich area, Little Jack was exposed to many fine fiddlers and the Gaelic language. As a youngster learning the culture, Jack attempted to construct a fiddle from a wooden cigar-box. Seeing such an interest, Jack’s foster father built a half-sized instrument for him, and thus was the beginning of Jack’s fiddling career. Jack spent many of his years away from Cape Breton due to work and lived in Montreal, New England, Northern Ontario, Windsor Ontario, and Detroit Michigan. He was known for his traditional style, attention to detail, excellent bowing and cuttings, and precise position work which lent themselves to his excellent expression of difficult pastoral airs. With such dedication, he has been described as “The Bard of Scottish Fiddling.” His styled is exampled in his eight recordings, most on 78 discs. His personal motto with regards to Cape Breton fiddle, appears in the book the “Cape Breton Fiddler” as “music must have soul to make it worthwhile.”