Jon ThorneWatching the Well
Danny Thompson's deep, tumbling bass tones emerged in the Jazz Britannia generation, playing with Tubby Hayes and Harold McNair. He provided the jazzy element in Pentangle, the most organic folk hybrid ever, and partnered John Martyn through his more turbulent and creative years. Jon Thorne first heard him on Kate Bush's Hounds of Love and David Sylvian's Brilliant Trees.
'His was the first double bass sound I was drawn to,' says John Thorne. 'He inspired me to buy a cheap plywood one from Loot, and about two weeks later I watched him play on Band On The Wall with his Whatever Band. I was standing in the rain, waiting for him to arrive for soundcheck. Not only did he invite me in, but he let me play his bass and gave me a lesson. It was amazing. I was 3ft off the ground, and I've never come down since.'
Then in 1998, Thorne was touring the world with Lamb when Thompson fell seriously ill, suffering a stroke during heart surgery. Thorne wrote him a letter beginning: 'You won't remember me but....' In fact, Thompson did remember. 'He called six months later to say the letter stayed with him through physiotherapy, and he showed all the family,' says Thorne.
Watching The Well is subtitled Jon Thorne Celebrates Danny Thompson. In the first set, Thorne (plus guitar and sax) performs pieces associated with Thompson's Whatever. In the second, a suite of original music for voice, guitar, harp and string Quartet provides a sumptuous setting for Thompson's bass. 'I phoned to ask if I could write him some music,' says Thorne. 'Then I panicked and wondered what the hell I was going to do.'
The task is daunting because a rejuvenated Thompson is playing at his peak, serving consecutively on Richard Thompson, Martin Simpson and Eric Bibb tours. Earlier this year, Pentangle reformed for the BBC Folk Awards, which gave him a Lifetime Achievement gong, but it could equally have been earned for jazz or world music: Thompson is simply too big to classify......Mike Butler
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