Barry brings French twist to awards

Some expressions come easier to Mary Barry in French than English.
Fresh off the stage from her first of five ECMA performances this weekend, the St. John's jazz songbird was excited and radiant, her mascara just a little smudged, as she spoke to The Telegram, her interview peppered with French words and small sayings.
"Some things just se dit," Barry said, explaining how sometimes inspiration for her music comes to her in French; other times in English. "I never write an English song and translate it. Certain expressions and thoughts just don't translate."
Barry, with her smooth, husky vocals and piano skills, is nominated for the ECMA for jazz recording of the year for her latest album "Red Eye Tonight." The album was inspired by her move back home after living in B.C.
Barry first moved to Vancouver after studying French at the University of Ottawa and studied music at the local community college. She later moved to Quebec, where she spent 10 years, travelling around the province, singing and playing piano.
She was influenced then by Quebec culture, but said she's felt a connection to the French language since she studied it in school as a child.
"It's a thread that's always been there throughout my life. Being bilingual opened up cultural opportunities for me, and it's a big part of my identity as an artist," she said.
After spending the past year touring the continent in support of "Red Eye Tonight," Barry's got enough inspiration for a few new albums.
A guest spot as the only female performer at the Magnolia Jazz Festival in Magnolia, Ala., gave her the opportunity to experience the slower pace of southern American life, and she adored it, she said.
"I was so impressed. I said to (an acquaintance from Alabama), 'Things in Newfoundland are slow, but here, they're even slower.' He said, 'Well, we have nowhere to go and all day to get there.' I asked him if I could use that in a song, and he said, 'I'd be honoured if you wrote a song about Magnolia.' I did, and it's called 'Magnolia Magic.'"
Having been a featured performer in the St. John's Francophone community over the past year, including opening for Quebec artist Daniel Lavoie, after the ECMAs Barry will turn her attention to recording a French album. While "Red Eye Tonight" and her previous CD, "These Days," both contain French songs, this will be her first full-length album in the language, and it's highly anticipated - members of the Francophone community have been asking her to record one, she said.
The album, which she plans to call "La fille de la mer" ("The Girl from the Ocean") will be a compilation of original songs, songs by Quebec musician friends of hers, and classic French standards, like "Ne me quitte pas" by Jacques Brel. Where her last album contained the trumpet and vibraphone, this one will be string-based, she said, including the standup bass and a four-string quartet.
"When I listen to French music, I cry. I don't want it to sound like I'm sad, but it's very moving," Barry said.
Barry plans to market "La fille de la mer" across the Atlantic provinces and Quebec, as well as in Ontario and Manitoba, where there are large Francophone communities.
She'll be performing some of her songs from the album this evening at the ECMAs French Cabaret at the Crown and Moose Pub in the Greenwood Inn and Suites in Corner Brook. She'll also perform on the MusicNL stage at the same venue at 10 p.m., before jetting across town to Gitano's restaurant to perform at 10:45. On Sunday, Barry will perform on the Francophone Discovery Stage at the Corner Brook Legion at 11 a.m.
Barry was one of five artists performing in the roots room Friday, including Steady Brook native Brian Byrne, Gypsophilia from Nova Scotia, the Chrissy Crowley Band, also from Nova Scotia and St. John's-based The Idlers, who are nominated for the ECMA for World Recording of the Year. The Idlers were the only band to have audience members out of their seats and dancing in front of the stage to their typical energetic reggae performance.
Friday night was set to be a jam-packed musical evening, with Damhnait Doyle expected to debut her new alt-country band at the ECMA Concert Series at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, followed by performances by New Brunswick's David Myles, Ron Hynes and Hey Rosetta! Rex Goudie was scheduled to headline at rock concert at the Marble Mountain ski lodge later in the night.
Events planned for today include the CBC Galaxie Rising Star showcase, the ECMA Bluebird North showcase, the daylong Fan Fest stage, and a second Marble Mountain rock concert, headlined by Nova Scotia's In-Flight Safety.
The ECMA conference and awards show will end Sunday evening with the music awards gala at the Pepsi Centre.

tbm@thetelegram.com