Canadian-born Jocelyn Gould is a JUNO award-winning guitarist, vocalist, composer and professor of jazz studies who performs at the highest international levels.
Jocelyn is one of those musicians that I could listen to for hours. She is a force of nature, too. She tours constantly. I was delighted to fly back from Norway in time to catch up with her in the days around her debut at one of London’s top jazz venues in Soho.
Like many people, I first encountered her work online and was impressed with her lyrical phrasing and beautiful touch. However, it was at the Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival in 2022 – when I filmed a session with her on Bob Benedetto’s contribution to The Blue Guitar collection – that I got to experience her extraordinary musicality firsthand. It left a lasting impression and here is the resulting video.
We started what was to become an epic three-day hang in London but then took a train to the picturesque market town of Frome at the end of the Mendip hills in Somerset.
After a wonderful afternoon with Mick and Dan of That Pedal Show, we took a walk through the cobbled streets of Frome before enjoying a frankly sensational dinner at a French brasserie. After that, we made our way back to our accommodations – a slightly eccentric pub slash castle affair – ideal conditions for recording this in-depth podcast interview.
We talked about Jocelyn’s childhood fascination with guitar, the challenge of learning to learn individuality in music, setting lofty goals, and the almost telepathic levels of communication enjoyed by jazz musicians at the highest level. And then, just like that, Jocelyn was off to Barcelona to play with another pickup band before returning to Winnipeg to launch her new YouTube podcast. Like I said, it’s non-stop!
Jocelyn is up for another Juno award for her latest album, Sonic Bouquet. You should check it out…it’s wonderful. For now, you join us for a moment’s reminiscence about the cherry clafoutis we had just encountered.
https://www.instagram.com/jocelyngouldmusic/
This episode of Life on the Fretboard was brought to you by the kind sponsorship of Elixir Strings https://www.elixirstrings.com. I use Phosphor Bronze 12-53s on all my acoustic guitars
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