Jack Nissenson (1933-June 24, 2015 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

) was a member of the

Mountain City Four The Mountain City Four were a Canadian folk music group, based in Montreal and active from 1963 to 1967. The group consisted of Jack Nissenson, Peter Weldon, Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle. They are primarily remembered for popularizing a num ...

, a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

group, based in

and active in the 1960s. In addition to Nissenson, the group consisted of Peter Weldon,

Kate McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010)Obituary at CBC ...

and

Anna McGarrigle Anna McGarrigle, CM (born December 4, 1944) is a Canadian folk music singer and songwriter who recorded and performed with her sister, Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010. Early life Anna McGarrigle studied at the École des beaux-arts de Montré ...

. Before the

, Peter Weldon and Jack Nissenson were members of a traditional folk band called Pharisees. When Weldon and Nissenson met the McGarrigle sisters, they formed the

. Nissenson recorded an early concert performed by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

at the Finjan Club on Victoria Street in Montreal in July 1962. He made the recording with an old British-made reel-to-reel tape recorder, so the quality of the recording is exceptional. This recording remains as one of the most sought-after early recordings of Bob Dylan with collectors and fans. Nissenson moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

in 1975. During the late 1970s and 1980s he sang and played guitar with a political folk group in Toronto called Bread and Roses. Upon returning to Montreal, Nissenson continued to play folk music for many years as a solo singer and with a group named "The What Four" (with Peter Weldon, Marvin Segal, John Knowles and often Jane McGarrigle). He was also an accomplished storyteller and belonged to a group called

Word of Mouth Productions A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...

with storytellers

Dylan Spevack-Willcock Dylan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Bob Dylan (born 1941), American singer and songwriter ** ''Dylan'' (1973 album), a 1973 album by Bob Dylan ** ''Dylan'' (2007 album), a 2007 compilation album by Bob Dylan * Dylan (musician), profess ...

, Sarah Comrie, and John David Hickey. Nissenson died in Montreal on June 24, 2015.

References

* "Kate & Anna McGarrigle" ''Folk & Blues: An Encyclopedia'', St. Martin's Press, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nissenson, Jack Canadian folk musicians Living people 1933 births