Buddy MacMaster has been called "the dean of Cape Breton fiddlers." Although MacMaster was little known outside of Cape Breton, an island off the coast of Nova Scotia, until retiring as an agent operator from the Canadian National Railway (C.N.R.) in 1988, his subsequent tours of the United States and the United Kingdom and his two albums -- Judique On The Floor in 1988 and Glencoe Hall in 1991 -- have enabled him to share his waltzes, jigs and reels with an international audience.
Although MacMaster was born in Ontario, his life has been profoundly influenced by the musical culture of Cape Breton, where he moved with his family in 1929. As an infant, MacMaster spent hours listening to his father play Cape Breton tunes on the fiddle. At the age of three and four, he imitated the fiddle style with small pieces of wood.