Jake Walton
Vocal/Guitar/Hurdy Gurdy/Dulcimer
Biography
It really started in the late 1950s; Radio
Luxembourg was inspiring many would be young bands all over the
country, so I started out first as a drummer before switching to
acoustic guitar. I took inspiration from the early albums of Bert
Jansch and Donovan whose fingerstyle playing was so fresh and
dynamic. I then turned my attention to the Cornish folk scene and later moved to London.
In the early 70’s, I met Appalachian dulcimer player Roger Nicholson
at the ‘Peeler’s’ folk club. He was looking for
someone to accompany him and I was happy to oblige and in a partnership
that was to last for several years we toured the UK, USA and Europe,
recording six LP’s together featuring Appalachian dulcimer, hurdy
gurdy, guitar and vocals.
One night around 1975 in a Paris
nightclub. I was on tour with Roger and we heard the hurdy gurdy for the first time. I’d
long been interested in the music of the 13th century troubadours
and I was captivated by its sound. I'd owned a symphonie for a couple
of years but was determined to have a gurdy for myself. I ordered a
classical Saunier model from Christian Labourie, a gurdy maker from
the foothills of the Alps and I collected it a year later. I became
a pioneer of the UK's hurdy gurdy
revival. So the instrument with its thousand year history covering
both middle and eastern Europe provided the inspiration for many of
my songs.
Back in 1973 I was fortunate to join legendary guitar player Wizz Jones in the band ‘Lazy Farmer’ along with his wife Sandy, Don Coging and John Bidwell. The music was primarily based around ‘Old Time’ American frailing banjo and I used the dulcimer almost exclusively with them. We only recorded one album together in Germany produced by the renowned Connie Plank; but I have fond memories of the long German tour that followed the albums release. It was wonderfully chaotic at times but definitely had its moments.
During the 1980s I went on to release two solo LPs, The Gloaming Grey and Sunlight and Shade before forming a successful partnership with Jez Lowe and recording Two A Roue which was Folk Roots #4 album of 1986. We toured extensively together throughout the UK, USA and Europe up until the end of the 1980s. I continued to play through Europe often with the Breton musician Eric Liorzou taking part in two ‘Irish festival’ tours through Germany and Switzerland (1991 and 2002) along with Altan and many others. The 1991 tour was to promote my first CD 'Songs from the Gurdy Man'. Wonderful times!..
Jake Walton
©Vivien Nicholson 2011