(b. 1947, Montreal, Quebec; d. 2007, Edmonton, Alberta)
Bruce had an extraordinary career as an academic and scholar and was a world-renowned expert on author Jane Austen. But his other passion was the American blues. Upon his arrival to Edmonton in 1985, he would fill in for Doug Langille on his CJSR radio show Off the Wall. After Doug left Edmonton, Bruce and his son Grant produced and hosted Calling all Blues. It was at this time that he took the responsibility of booking blues acts for the Yardbird Suite. Bruce’s genius was two-fold. First was his insight to team seasoned blues men and women with younger Edmonton performers. He was responsible for inviting musicians like MoJo Buford, John Primer, Byther Smith, Lazy Lester, Texas Johnny Brown, Joe Beard, Deitra Farr, Jody Williams and Eddie C Campbell, to name a few. He then secured the younger Edmonton talent such as Jimmy Guiboche, Roger Stanley, Harpdog Brown, Lionel Rault, Ron Rault and Rusty Reed. He had a good ear and selected fine side men like Chris Brzezicki, Jeff Lisk, Scott Anderson, Dave Babcock, Dave Bridges, Dave “Crawdad” Cantera and his son Grant Stovel, to create an ensemble to support these out of town performers. At the same time, he introduced unknown artists that were just beginning their careers such as Ruthie Foster, Dawn Tyler Watson, Gary Clark Jr., and local talent Kat Danser and Lester Quitzau.
Along with his radio endeavors, Bruce wrote about his passion in a column titled Long Distance Call for the UK publication Blue Print in the early 1990s, as well serving as a media person for the Edmonton Blues Festival. The book “Jane Austen Sings the Blues” (UofA Press, 2008) was a tribute to Bruce, published after his untimely death. This married his two major passions (Jane Austen and the blues). Included was a CD highlighting blues recordings that were close to his spirit, featuring artists Ann Rabson, Maurice John Vaughn, and Eddie “Vann” Shaw (son of our 2014 inductee Eddie Shaw) along with the support of Kat Danser, Larry Lever, Tim Williams and Big Dave Mclean. The accompanying CD was produced by Edmonton’s Graham Guest and Bruce’s son Grant Stovel.
Bruce has been described as a bluesman who didn’t whine. He was highly respected for his counsel and opinion by fans and musicians alike. He had a fine ear for the art form, and astute sense of its social context and history.
