REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

BOOK - JOHN KIRKPATRICK - Jump At The Sun
Quarry House Publishing
ISBN9780953791415

The cover of this tune book shows John jumping over a park bench on Hampstead Heath.  This is based on the cover of his first solo LP – Jump At The Sun on Trailer Records.  This was one of the first tunes he wrote, inspired by a walk across Wimbledon Common.  It’s a tune that has become famous and recorded by numerous artists of many genres – often thought to be traditional.  The inside covers are full of photos showing John from a fledgling melodeon player to a squeezebox aficionado supreme.

The book with 137 titles represents over 40 years of music making on the folk scene.  Most are designed to accompany dancing of various kinds and can obviously be played on any instrument.  That said, the tunes are influenced by the squeezeboxes John himself plays:  the melodeon, with one or two rows; the Anglo concertina; and the three row button accordion.  The key chosen is arbitrary – The Seven Coloured Linnet is written in G but played in C on the Anglo, D on melodeon and A on button accordion.  Tunes are often written in G or D because they are common in this repertoire and it’s easier to see how they will “sound”.

We’ve always loved some of John’s titles for tunes and here we have a wealth of them, all arranged in types.  Polka’s and reels include Windfall Polka and Dance Of The Demon Daffodils.  Jigs:  The Pig Swill Quadrille, Living In The Sun, and the Tuppeny Two-Step.  Who could resist playing a slip-jig called Rosy Cheeks And Purple Bloomers?  Hornpipes and schottisches include The Citroen Took Unleaded After All – there hangs a tale surely? – Puddleglum’s Misery and Scraping The Mould Off The Marmalade.  How about Kerlebbeddy’s Hat Trick for a triple hornpipe?  Then there’s Nodrog’s Woofing Waltz.  Tunes written for morris dance team, The Shropshire Bedlams, include April Fool, Knucklebone Jenny and The Tun Dish.  In the miscellany section, one tune is On Pulling Down The Rail Of Parky’s Shower Curtain.  Every day’s little disasters turned into brilliant tunes.

The discography fills one page of this A4 publication and the index lists what album any particular tune was recorded on.  The book has been clearly printed and is a grand tribute to one of folk’s most enduring musicians.

Kathy & Bob Drage