Joel Zifkin (born April 14, 1954) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. His primary instrument is the

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

and he is best known as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

and live performer.

Career

Zifkin has performed and/or recorded with the following artists:

Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of folk rock and country folk Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed together until Kate's death in 2010 ...

, Richard Thompson,

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger si ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. The ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'' described Thornton by saying: "Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound fra ...

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed "Cleanhead" after an incident in which his hair was ...

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

Rational Youth Rational Youth was a Canadian new wave synth-pop band that was originally active between 1981 and 1986, and at various points up until the end of 2021. History Rational Youth was formed in 1981 in Montreal, Quebec, by synthesizer players Tracy ...

Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (; November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter. In his career spanning sixteen years (1964–1980), he enjoyed numerous successes in France and the French-speaking world, as well as singing ...

, Roma Baran,

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

Wade Hemsworth Albert Wade Hemsworth (October 23, 1916 – January 19, 2002) was a Canadian folk singer and songwriter.Alan Hustak, "Canadian composer dies at 85". ''Calgary Herald'', January 20, 2002. Although he was not a prolific composer, having writt ...

Pierre Marchand Pierre Marchand (born 1958) is a Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer. Marchand is known for his ongoing collaboration with Sarah McLachlan, having produced all of her albums since '' Solace'' in 1991. He also co-wrote several of M ...

Robert Charlebois Robert Charlebois (born June 25, 1944) is a Canadian author, composer, musician, performer and actor. Charlebois was born in Montreal, Quebec. Among his best known songs are ''Lindberg'' (the duo with Louise Forestier in particular), ''Ordi ...

Les Colocs ''Les Colocs'' (The Roommates) were a Quebec rock band formed in Montreal in 1990 by singer-songwriter André "Dédé" Fortin. Known for their energetic performances and eclectic fusion of musical styles, they blended rock with folk, swing, blues ...

, Yaya Diallo,

Chaim Tannenbaum Chaim Tannenbaum is a Canadian folk musician and academic. A longtime collaborator of Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, he released his own self-titled solo debut album in 2016,Ezra Glinter"Chaim Tannenbaum Steps Out" ''The Walr ...

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked with Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny who was in Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The ...

The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...

Pat Donaldson Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition " Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay C ...

, Ravens & Chimes,

Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...

's '' Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited'', among others. He also appeared in the film '' Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave'' (1980) and the documentary " Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle", directed by Lian Lunson (2013). Zifkin released the self-titled solo album ''Joel Zifkin'' in 2004, ''Five Songs More'' in 2008, and the singles "When Insanity Reigns It Pours" and "The Glow" in 2013, all on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Selected credits

;Solo * ''Joel Zifkin'' (2004) * ''Five Songs More'' (2008) ;With Kate & Anna McGarrigle * '' Heartbeats Accelerating'' (1990) * "Was My Brother in the Battle?", "

Hard Times Come Again No More "Hard Times Come Again No More" (sometimes, "Hard Times") is an American parlor song written by Stephen Foster. It was published in New York City by Firth, Pond & Co. in 1854 as Foster's Melodies No. 28. Well-known and popular in its day, both in ...

", "Better Times Are Coming", on '' Songs of the Civil War'' (1991) * '' Matapedia'' (1996) * ''

The McGarrigle Hour ''The McGarrigle Hour'' is the eighth studio album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released on October 13, 1998. The album was recorded at a family gathering, including Kate's former husband Loudon Wainwright III, their son and daughter Rufus Wainwr ...

'' (1998) * ''

La vache qui pleure ''La vache qui pleure'' is the ninth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 2003. It is named after the prehistoric bas-relief (stone carving) of La vache qui pleure near Djanet in the south of Algeria which is pictured on the album cover ...

'' (2003) * '' The McGarrigle Christmas Hour'' (2005) * ''

Before Tomorrow ''Before Tomorrow'' () is a 2008 Canadian drama film, directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu. The film is an adaptation of the novel ''Før Morgendagen'' by Danish writer Jørn Riel. It was the third film released by Igloolik ...

'' (French title Le jour avant le lendemain) film soundtrack (2008) * '' ODDiTTiES'' (2010) * '' Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle'' (2013) * '' Tant Le Monde: Live in Bremen, Germany, 2005 '' (2022) ;With World Café * "DJ Serenade", on ''

Live at the World Café - Volume 9 ''World Cafe'' is a two-hour-long, nationally syndicated music radio program that originates from WXPN, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The program began on October 14, 1991

'' (1999) ;With Richard Thompson * '' Dream Attic'' (2010) (nominated for the Best Contemporary Folk Album award in the

53rd Annual Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights p ...

. ) * ''Live at Celtic Connections – The Richard Thompson Band'' (2012) DVD, Blu-ray Disc ;With Rufus Wainwright * ''

Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film ''Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film'' is the soundtrack album to Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film ''Moulin Rouge!'', released on 8 May 2001 by Interscope Records. The album features most of the songs featured in the film. However, some of the ...

'' (2001) * ''

When Love Speaks ''When Love Speaks'' is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets – some spoken, some set to music – and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April ...

'' (2002) * '' Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright'' (2014) ;With The Wainwright Sisters * '' Songs in the Dark'' (2015) ;With

* ''Les Colocs'' (1993) * ''Suite 2116'' (posthumous; 2001) * ''Il me parle de bonheur'' (2009)

References

External links

"Meet Joel Zifkin"
bio and interview on Richard Thompson's Beesweb site
Allmusic Selected Discography

Joel Zifkin's official Facebook Page

Joel Zikin Discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zifkin, Joel 1954 births Living people Canadian rock violinists Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Anglophone Quebec people Francophone Quebec people Musicians from Montreal Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Kate & Anna McGarrigle Canadian folk violinists 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers

Career

Selected credits

See also

References

External links