Danny Thompson teams up with protege Jon Thorne to deliver a stunning neo-classical suite dedicated the most influential British upright bass player in jazz, modern folk and pop...himself!
It was
Danny Thompson, arguably the most influential British upright bass player in jazz, modern folk and pop, that enthused
Jon Thorne, at age 23, to pick up a cheap ply-wood practice bass and intuitively pluck away until chaos became melody.
It was not, as you would expect, Danny's legendary partnership with the late John Martyn, or acclaimed recordings with Pentangle, Nick Drake, Ralph McTell or even Cliff Richard, that inspired Jon Thorne to mimic Danny's playing. It was in fact the rich rhythmic yet melodious driving tones that underpinned his contribution to Kate Bush's ‘Hounds Of Love' (1985) and David Sylvian's ‘Brilliant Trees' (1984) that inspired Jon Thorne to embark on a musical journey that would alter the course of his life, for good.
Testament to his grit and determination, Thorne waited patiently in wind and rain for two hours, clutching his double bass, until Thompson arrived to perform at Manchester's Band on the Wall. In his customary patience and good-nature, Thompson ushered him in and before he knew it, Jon Thorne was receiving a free instrumental lesson and the soundest advice he would ever hear, from his bass playing idol!
No motivational encounter could have meant more to a young Jon Thorne, who after years of graft on the northern jazz and blues circuit, found success in the highly-praised Mancunian trip-hop group Lamb.
The bass players' paths did not cross for over ten years, until news of Danny Thompson's major heart surgery in 1998 reached Jon Thorne, who immediately wrote the most heart-felt of thank you notes for the affirmative impact Thompson's chance meeting had on Jon Thorne's life and career as a bass player.
Six months after the correspondence, Thorne received a surprise phone call from Thompson himself remembering their chance meeting and thanking him for his sentiments. Jon Thorne and Danny Thompson remain great musical companions and friends to this day.
Originally commissioned by Manchester Jazz Festival, Jon Thorne wrote Watching The Well, in celebration of Danny Thompson's illustrious career, unique talent and affecting nature, but ultimately as a personal thank you. The twelve-part suite, in three movements, performed by Thompson (with a host of guest stars) and written and conducted by Jon Thorne was premiered at The Royal Northern College of Music in 2007 (the same year that Danny Thompson received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards).
Jon Thorne continues to perform as double bassist with a crop of talented new folk artists, including John Smith, Lou Rhodes (previously of Lamb), Donovan, Sam Carter (BBC Radio Folk 2 Awards Best Newcomer 2010) and Martha Tilston (amongt others). Though Danny Thompson's reputation as the ultimate sideman, as well as a pioneering band-leader, can never be matched, perhaps Watching The Well's matrimony lives and breathes, because Jon Thorne is the response, to Danny Thompson's call.