John Kirkpatrick's English Choice

In this lively romp through seven centuries of English dance music, John Kirkpatrick shares the passion that has led him to become one of the foremost champions and interpreters of our native traditions. Driven always by his love of dancing, John has constantly been striving to inject the maximum amount of energy and life into these lovely simple old tunes. In fact, as any dance musician will tell you, the simpler the tune is, the more opportunity you are allowed to add your own kind of zest into its performance. Here John presents 101 examples that are tailor-made for the strong rhythmic approach inspired by English dance steps and rhythms. With melody, chords and variations, the book is ideally suited for any instrument, but one of the prime factors in the selection of the tunes has been the fact that they sit so happily on the push-pull squeeze-box scale. Although the melodeon came along long after the style and substance of this music was well established, its breathtaking how perfectly the one can match the other. On the two accompanying CDs - Orlandos Return (AP108C) and Garricks Delight (AP108D) - you can hear John playing every one of these tunes on his various squeeze-boxes, joined on many of them by his son Benji on guitar or bouzouki. You can follow the dots and play along at your leisure. With over forty years playing experience behind him, you couldnt be in safer hands. This collection is an absolute must not only for melodeon players, but for anybody who likes their music with an uncompromising English accent.