John Kirkpatrick

A thorough understanding of folk traditions and a virtuosic mastery as an instrumentalist, John Kirkpatrick has risen to the top echelon of British folk music. A master of the button accordion, Anglo concertina, and melodeon, Kirkpatrick has balanced solo work; collaborations with his ex-wife and hammered dulcimer and oboe player Sue Harris in the 1980s; and session work with a lengthy and diverse list of artists, including Richard Thompson, Pere Ubu, Steeleye Span, Tarika Sammy, Gerry Rafferty, Tony Bird, and Loudon Wainwright III. Kirkpatrick has combined traditional folk music and modern sensibilities as a member of Brass Monkey, a group he founded with British guitar wiz Martin Carthy. Kirkpatrick's interests in traditional music was sparked when he joined a morris team sponsored by a local church youth group. Initially playing the melodeon, he moved to the button accordion within 15 months. After building a solid reputation with semi-pro bands, including the Troubadours, the Rhythmics, and the Dingles Chillybom Band, he made his recording debut as a sideman for Tony Rose's 1970 album Young Hunting. The following year, he contributed to Rose's Under the Greenwood Tree, Roy Bailey's Roy Bailey, and Shirley Collins & the Albion Country Band's No Roses. In 1972, he recorded a solo album, Jump at the Sun, with help from Ashley Hutchings and Richard Thompson; he soon followed it with appearances on Sandy Denny's Sandy, Thompson's Henry the Human Fly, and a multi-artist album of morris tunes, Morris On. 1974 marked one of Kirkpatrick's most success years of recording. In addition to his first duo album with Sue Harris, The Rose of Britain's Isle (named album of the year by Folk Review) he performed on Richard and Linda Thompson's I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight...