Starting back in late September, Folk Radio UK has been sharing a series of videos filmed and recorded in the beautiful Welsh Chapel (on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross in London) as part of a new project from the James Patrick Gavin Trio. The basque Set is the fourth and final of those videos, needless to say, it’s been an absolute pleasure to share these with you.
James on The Basque Set
“To be honest, I still don’t have a name for the first tune in this set. If anyone out there has any suggestions then feel free to get in touch. What I can say about it, is that it was influenced by the music I heard and played while visiting Tommy Black-Roff (TEYR) in Finland.
“The second tune is called Bok Espok and was written by Kepa Junkera, a master Trikiti player. For those of you who haven’t heard of a Trikiti, it’s a two-row diatonic button accordion. I do recommend you check him out, as he does make the odd appearance in the UK.
“I was inspired to learn Kepa’s tune as my mother is from the Basque country in northern Spain. It dawned on me a couple of years ago that I didn’t know a single song or tune from there. The last tune is one of the earliest melodies I ever learned and one of my favourites. It’s powerfully simple and a classic amongst Irish music players out there. It’s called Castle Kelly’s. I rediscovered my love of this tune through the playing of Liz Carroll, in her album with John Doyle called Double Play.
“If you haven’t heard of Liz then you need your head examined, especially if you’re a fiddle player. She also makes the odd appearance around the UK so don’t take my word for it, go check her out!
“I’ll finish by saying it was a real pleasure to work with Hannah Myers at Stone Nest, Alastair Caplin (Band of Burns, Langan Band) and Joseph Harvey on these four videos. We are also very grateful to all Folk Radio UK and all of you who have taken the time to watch and listen.”
For all the videos and more Folk Radio UK features on James, click here.
The James Patrick Gavin trio consists of James, alongside Adrian Lever (Alma, Horses Brawl) and Tim Fairhall (Yasmin Levy, Piano Interrupted).
Follow here: https://www.facebook.com/jpgavinmusic/