The Polaris Music Prize honoured legendary Québecois singer-songwriter and SOCAN member Jean-Pierre Ferland during a ceremony that was held on Monday, Mar. 25, 2019, in the offices of Éditorial Avenue and Audiogram, in Montréal. Ferland’s album Jaune, released in 1970, was awarded the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Music Prize.
The Heritage Prize recipient is determined by a panel of experts composed of music journalists and historians.
Ferland was accompanied by his partner Julie-Anne Saumur, and Michel Robidoux, a close collaborator in the creation of Jaune. They were presented with a framed poster of the album’s cover by Claire Dagenais, events director for the Polaris Prize; Magali Ould, the Prize publicist in Québec; and SOCAN’s Geneviève Côté, who also sits on the Polaris Music Prize Board of Directors. The poster was created by illustrator Estée Preda.
“I’m very touched by this prize, especially since it’s awarded to me from outside of my Québec,” said Ferland. “It’s deeply moving to think that this album still resonates over 50 years after we created it. I thank the Slaight family for this pan-Canadian recognition, it is a beautiful gesture.”
Considered by the jury as a major milestone of Québec musical history, Jaune was recorded with a plethora of remarkable American studio musicians who, according to Ferland, helped shape its reception in a musical landscape that was undergoing deep changes, as was the world in general. Ferland has recorded more than 30 albums, received the Order of Canada, and was made a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec.
Jaune is one of eight albums that received the 2018 Heritage Music Prize. The other honourees are:
Broken Social Scene — You Forgot It in People
Bruce Cockburn — Stealing Fire
Dream Warriors — And Now the Legacy Begins
Kid Koala — Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Alanis Morissette — Jagged Little Pill
RUSH — 2112
Neil Young — Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize honours Canadian albums of the past released during four distinct periods: 1960–1975, 1976–1985, 1986–1995, and 1996-2005. The winners and finalists are judged solely on artistic value, regardless of musical genre, or sales considerations.