By Jay Scott Kanes

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, Canada -- Bluegrass “daughter” Janet McGarry chose Just Passing Thru as the title for her most recent CD. But anyone familiar with her music knows it’s here to stay, and so is she.

“So many of life’s greatest treasures are experienced while ‘just passing through’ – the people you meet, the places you see, the moments you cherish,” Janet said. Words from one song about the loss of a long-time friend inspired the album title. “It reminds you how important it is to spend time with those you love.”

The album’s 14 tracks deliver smooth sounds and meaningful messages. Among the highlights are “Goin’ Home”, “One Way Train”, “With Tears in My Eyes” and “Too Late, Too Late”.

“We listened to lots of old albums to find things that fit what our listeners want to hear,” Janet said. “We like traditional music, so many of the selections are older songs that we’ve done in our style.”

One mark of Janet’s ambitious scope is that Just Passing Thru has songs written by creative masters. There’s “How Are You?” by Dixie and Tom T. Hall, “Forsaken Lover” by Woody Guthrie, “Wildflowers on the Hill” by Louisa Branscomb and “Heartbreak Hill” by Emmy Lou Harris and Paul Kennedy.

Branscomb wrote the song “Steel Rails”, a big hit for Alison Krauss. “We’ve become friends with Louisa,” Janet said. “When I was in Nashville, we went to her farm (she has horses and a donkey named Elmer) and spent an evening going through her extensive collection of songs, listening to different ones and jamming them out. We decided on ‘Wildflowers on the Hill’.”

When Janet visited Blue Circle Records the next day, she encountered fellow musicians Heather Berry and Heather’s husband, Tony Mabe. Always charming, Janet convinced them to join her in recording “Windflowers on the Hill”. Heather played autoharp and Tony a kalamazoo-guitar. The resulting sound resembles the legendary Carter Family.

One disappointing downside is the absence of songs penned by Janet herself. That’s a pity! Both Janet and her husband, Serge Bernard, are accomplished songwriters too.

Frankly, Janet has so many songs available to her that she’ll never run out of material. “We get fans bringing songs to us too,” she said.

Just Passing Thru benefits from stellar supporting musicians. Troy Engle is on fiddle, mandolin and dobro, Bernard on rhythm guitar, bass, banjo and harmony vocals, and Roxeen Roberts on harmony vocals.

With the band Wildwood, co-starring Bernard on banjo and another married couple, Roxeen (bass) and Ryan Roberts (guitar) of Nova Scotia, Janet appears at bluegrass events in Atlantic Canada, Nashville and elsewhere. More than once, her powerful voice has won top-female-vocalist honors at the Eastern Canadian Bluegrass Awards in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Recently, Janet became a “Daughter of Bluegrass”, selected for a special recording project. “Definitely, that’s a thrill,” Janet said. “I’m the first Canadian ever invited to join. The Daughters of Bluegrass is an all-female series of recordings. Women play all the instruments and do all the vocals. I’m on volume three singing ‘Scenes From an Old Country Graveyard’, a song written by Dixie and Tom T. Hall.”

Along with continent-wide exposure, the Daughters project earned Janet a mention in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. “It’s time to branch out,” she said, expressing a desire to appear at more distant festivals in the United States or even Europe.

Janet's journeys to Nashville have become more frequent. She appeared there last October for the International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass, again in February for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America and then last month at Leadership Bluegrass 2009.

Since 2000, Janet has issued eight CDs. In 2007, the title was Love and Learn. Earlier, she had My Heart Is a Diamond (2000), Hills of Home (2001), Looking Toward Sunrise (2003), Christmas by the Fireside (seasonal, 2004), He Will Bring You Home (gospel, 2005) and My Dixie Darlin’ (2006).

In some respects, Just Passing Thru sounds like Janet's best album yet. But probably she will try to surpass it. “As soon as we finish one CD, we’ve got ideas for another,” she said.

For more information: www.janetmcgarry.com

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