Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 12/05) - After finishing his latest album, Chris Jagger travelled from his small acreage in England to visit his brother, Mick, of the Rolling Stones, in Toronto this month. Somehow he ended up jamming in a few Yellowknife bars.

"It seemed crazy to come all the way over to Canada and not take a trip somewhere, so I started looking at what there is you can do here," he said.

The musician and occasional journalist decided on a week-long journey down the Nahanni River. He'll chronicle the experience for a travel article in London's Mail on Sunday newspaper.

During his five-day stopover in Yellowknife, he hung out with Rick Poltaruk, who guided Jagger through Yellowknife's music scene. The tour started with dinner at the Wildcat followed by a spontaneous jam that filled the cabin.

Went to Rae-Edzo

"We just started playing and that whole Wildcat crew that's there for the weekly jam on Friday just showed up," Poltaruk said. "It almost went until 1 a.m."

Next, Poltaruk brought Jagger up to Rae-Edzo, where he met some elders who were fans of his brother's music. Jagger makes a point of meeting people as he sees the sights.

"We've enjoyed the cross-cultural exchange, as it were," Jagger said.

Wednesday night saw Jagger on stage again at the weekly White Fox jam. The evening peaked when Jagger sang All Along the Watchtower with Jesse James on guitar.

"I like Jesse," Jagger said. "He's kind of quiet, except when he plays the guitar - then he's quite loud. Music is quite a good way for him to express himself."

Zydeco cajun groove

Jagger said he was pleased to see Lou Delaney on the accordion, one of the instruments featured in the zydeco cajun groove he plays with his band back in England. He prefers small stages in small venues in small towns, he said.

"The thing about big cities is they're very anonymous," he said. "If you go to a small town, you tend to get a whole string of people that all know each other and you make contacts. Especially with roots music, which I play - it's a better environment."

Jagger might return to Yellowknife again some year, he said, with "some of the guys" from his band. "It's really good to make some friends here," he said. "I thought it would be a hokey little town in the middle of nowhere. It's bigger than I thought."

Jagger's short time in Yellowknife generated a little spark in the music scene, said Poltaruk.

"He's been an inspiration to some of the Northern performers here just in the fact that he is a down-to-earth guy," said Poltaruk.

"I think he's done a really nice job encouraging Northern performers."