About Jeff

...Wee Jeffy lost in Manhattan, April 2002...

The Beginnings of a Piper:

What drew Jeff to the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipes? He started working at the Stewart Museum at the Fort on Saint Helen’s Island at the age of 17 in the parking lot. Every summer he was intrigued by the wild Celtic sounds coming from within the Fort.  He knew that in the Fort there was a re-enactment group known as the 78^th Fraser’s Highlanders. After a few summers he was working as a guide inside the Fort and this brought him even closer to the bagpipes, as he watched the 78^th Fraser’s march by day in and day out. Jeff enjoyed this music very much, and found himself humming along to their various tunes.

In the summer of 1988 a special event took place. 4 Fraser pipers decided they were going to break the record for endurance bagpipe playing. This event brought Jeff together with the lads in the squad like never before, and over that time he was asked to apply to get into the squad. He made his application and spent the summer of 1989 wearing the signature rust red kilt of the 78^th.

In the fall of 1989 Jeff had made contact with a few good pipers who had decided to return to the Frasers to help out. Paul Gardner (ex- Pipe Major of the Black Watch Cadet Corps) was one of them, and offered to help Jeff on his way to learning the pipes. By the end of the summer of 1991, he had absorbed most of the Frasers’ repertoire, including tunes they weren’t even playing anymore.

Playing Soldier

Jeff served as Pipe Sergeant of the 78th Fraser Highlanders, Fort St. Helen's Garrison in 1995 and as Pipe Major  in 1996 and 1997. During this time he was responsible for preparing the music for the band, and teaching the band the new tunes in the repertoire. He was responsible for no less than 8 pipers, and sometimes as many as 16, so Jeff is no stranger to leadership and/or responsibility. 1997 especially was a year in which the pipe band of the Frasers had reached a new peak, according to many. That year the squad went to Scotland, and entertained crowds in Aberdeen and Inverness and in front of Castle Fraser where the band got to meet Jack and Terry Lee of Simon Fraser University fame! Jeff stayed on at the Frasers for a year or so as an Ensign but by 1999 got the boot, something about being "too old and ornery to be allowed to play with muskets..." ;-)

The Military Beckons

Jeff worked several years as member of both the 78^th Fraser Highlanders and the Black Watch, during which he became aware of his Scottish ancestry. His mother was born and raised in Jamaica, but Jeff learned after that his great grandmother was affectionately known as “The Scot”! So to his mother, it was somehow no surprise that her son liked this music.

Jeff’s progress attracted the attention of Pipe Major Andrew Kerr CD, who offered to get Jeff’s paperwork going to join the Black Watch (RHR) of Canada as a piper. In December 1991 Jeff was sworn in by Lt. Colonel D.F. O’Connor. He completed his basic training in May 1992. 

In 2000, Jeff was asked to head up the Black Watch (RHR) of Canada Pipes & Drums at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Marching in the Pipe Major's position at the front of a file of 11 pipes and drums was a big honour but with the glory there came much responsibility. For this 4 week performance Jeff wore the rank of Sergeant and represented the band as such. 

From 2000 to 2004 Jeff served as the Pipe Sergeant of the Black Watch (RHR) of Canada Pipes and Drums, teaching as many as 10 students a week, attending training nights, and continuing weekly practices with the Monday Night Group of intermediate pipers (which he founded in 1998). He also created several music books for the band,  the last version having no less than 90 pages. Between all that and having events and taskings to fulfill for the Pipes & Drums, Jeff decided to "tone things down" in early 2004, in order to spend more time with family. His fondest memories as Pipe Sergeant certainly included the 2001 Ceilidh for which he did the legwork for booking Canadian celtic group Slainte Mhath (never saw an armoury floor so full of people), and 2 very successful fundraising concerts for the Pipes & Drums in Gould, just past Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Later in 2004 Jeff started his Primary Leadership Qualification, a military course which was run in the Montreal area, and he completed it in the Spring of 2005. He and the band's Drum Major got to learn about the joys and responsibilities of being a leader. He was a section commander and instructor on 2 Basic Military Qualifications for 34 Brigade, in the Winter-Spring 2007 and Fall 2007-Winter 2008.

Jeff has played for many events in Canada and the United States, and across the ocean in places such as Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Japan and Hong Kong. He has played in several big military tattoos, including The Edinburgh Military Tattoo (twice) and The Halifax International Tattoo. He has competed for many a year in pipe band and solo events, in Ontario and the U.S.

And Furthermore... 

Composing tunes and music arrangement are just some of Jeff’s favourite pastimes. He currently has over 50 tunes under his belt and is working on a music collection for the Great Highland Bagpipe. He hopes that one day a few of his tunes might make it to “the Worlds”.  Go to the "tunes" page to see one of Jeff's compositions.

Jeffrey McCarthy is currently the second longest serving piper in the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada Pipes & Drums. Jeff is a Highland Bagpipe fanatic, pure and simple. He has over 18 years of experience but for most of that time he has been helping others learn how to play. It is this desire to help others that made his exercise book, The Piper's Companion, a reality. Jeff has worked with students of all ages, and enjoys seeing them make progress. All pipe bands in the Montreal area and many beyond have pipers that have benefited from Jeff's sage advice.

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