‘Cooper and Bolton’ are Pete Cooper (fiddle, mandolin and vocals) and Richard Bolton (cello and guitar). They’ve played numerous foyer gigs at London’s National Theatre and Festival Hall, at the National Portrait Gallery, at folk clubs around London, and selected folk festivals - they select the ones that book them (in recent years, Warwick, Oxford and Cheltenham). Their musical influences are diverse, but they identify their music - both traditional tunes and songs, and their own highly original new pieces - as ‘Contemporary English Roots’.

Cooper and Bolton are available for club, concert, private and festival bookings. For all details and inquiries, please contact:

pete@petecooper.com
phone +44 (0)20 8340 7760

‘The Savage Hornpipe’ (Big Chain BC 103), Pete and Richard’s new CD, boldly juxtaposes new tunes with ‘traditional’ material from the manuscript notebooks of English rural fiddlers of the late 1700s and 1800s, like John Clare, Joseph Kershaw and William Irwin. They find a potent source of musical inspiration, and historical focus, in the strange affinity between English fiddle music in its pre-Victorian heyday, which was surprisingly diverse in its sources and inspiration, and the musical multiculture of Britain today. Pete and Richard add guitar, mandolin, English concertina (played by Dave Townsend) and piano accordion (from Sue Lee and Ann Sloboda) to the trademark fiddle-and-cello sound of their previous CD, ‘Turning Point’. There are also four vocal tracks, including ‘The World Turned Upside Down’, as performed by Pete in the recent BBC ‘Lefties’ film, ‘Property Is Theft’.

Several tunes on the album, including the Savage Hornpipe itself, are from the 1820s manuscript notebooks of poet and fiddler John Clare.
It’s hard to be sure where Clare found the Savage Hornpipe, but its title possibly refers to poet, playwright and convicted murderer Richard Savage (c. 1697-1743), author of ‘The Bastard’ (1728), who roamed the brothels and society salons of Augustan England, creating a legend of poetic injustice, and was the subject of one of Samuel Johnson's most elaborate ‘Lives of the English Poets’.

The Savage Hornpipe - Reviews

“Heady Rhythms”
‘This album incorporates a mixture of songs and tunes, a combination of traditional numbers and Cooper’s own. Cello and violin take turns to play the melody in many of these unique arrangements... From the heady rhythms of Roadrage to the eerie harmonies of Wilbye’s Lament this album is lively and accomplished... Described as “contemporary English roots”, Cooper and Bolton bring fresh ideas to old tunes and mix these with several creations of their own, all played with drive.’

- Alice Little, Fiddle On, Summer/Autumn 2006

“Not A Dud Track”
‘The central theme and starting point of this new CD from Pete Cooper is the manuscript notebooks of the ‘peasant poet’ and fiddler John Clare (1793 -1864). An agricutural labourer, John Clare ‘pricked out’ a mixture of songs and tunes from local fiddlers in the east midlands as well as from the printed sources available at the time. This is no dry recreation of ancient source material, or designed strictly for dancing, but each track is played with the pleasure and discovery of a new tune. Each tune is charged with the emotional energy that comes from the piece itself.

In the repertoire in John Clare’s time were American, French and German tunes as well as those from all the regions of the British Isles. Pete Cooper has followed this by interweaving with his own contemporary pieces the styles and influences of music from all over the place. ‘Acton Town’ is named for Richard Bolton’s nearest tube station and as homage to the cello playing of Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) the South African jazz pianist. ‘The Sleeper’ is described as a collision between the styles of Donegal and the Balkans. ‘Maiden Lane/ The World Upside Down’ joins up a 1651 Playford dance tune with Leon Rosselson’s classic song about the hopes and ultimate fate of the Diggers. ‘Wilbye’s Lament’ is a lovely elegaic piece by Richard Bolton in the style of John Wilbye (1574 - 1638) on the early death of a musician friend.

There is not a dud track on this CD, and for anyone who loves our tradition it is well worth keeping on the CD player for a long time.’

- TF, Folk London October-November 2006

Background
Midlanders by birth, Richard from Birmingham, Pete from near Stafford,  they met in London in the 1990s, at the multicultural hothouse that was, and still is, the London Fiddle Convention. Pete was one of the dozen fiddlers performing at The Weavers, Joe Giltrap’s legendary pub venue in Newington Green. Richard was playing guitar in the ‘house band’.

They formed their duo in 2000. Richard’s playing, on both guitar and cello, came out of a long engagement with the multiple grooves of blues, funk, contemporary jazz and world music, while Pete had spent much of the previous twenty years studying, teaching and playing tunes from different, and variously related, fiddle traditions - English, Irish, Scottish, Old Time, Cajun, central and eastern European, and Scandinavian.

Turning Point

Cooper and Bolton’s first (2002) album, ‘Turning Point’ (Big Chain 101), was of fiddle and cello duets, with just one vocal track. They decided, at the the risk of sounding too ‘classical’, not to use guitar. The album was recorded live in the studio, with minimal cut and paste, by Jon Wilkinson, better known for his work with the Alabama Three (who recorded ‘The Sopranos’ theme music). The fiddle/ cello duo has long ‘folk’ precedent in both Scotland and England, from 18th century fiddler Niel Gow and his cello-playing brother, Donald, to the 1830s village bands described by Thomas Hardy in his Wessex novels. But how does  the combination sound today? ‘Chamber music with an erection,’ was one, er, positive we think, listener reaction to ‘Turning Point’, while both Fiona Talkington and Verity Sharp played tracks from the album on BBC Radio-3’s ‘Late Junction’ show. ‘Turning Point’ also got airplay in Russia, America and elsewhere:

“Worth To Check Out”
‘Is this just another English folk music duo? Definitely not; the music of Pete Cooper and Richard Bolton is unique on the English scene. As the sub-title of the CD already suggests, this is a fiddle/ cello duo, and this is where the uniqueness already starts. The two musicians are highly respected in the worlds of traditional fiddle music and jazz improvisation. A lot of the material on their debut album is written by Pete Cooper, alongside some traditional numbers. The roots of the music are in England, yet they take up influences from the ‘Celtic’ countries as well as the Balkans and Sweden. The musical pace changes between quiet and lively, and between improvising and straightforward traditional... the cello adding that special spice and jazzy-classical atmosphere to the music. Worth to check out!’

- Michael Moll, www.folkworld.de

“Bright Artist”
‘We were glad and proud to discover for us and our audience such bright artist as you... Thank you for joy of dealings with your wonderful music. Much friendly love from Siberia’

- Radio Penguin, Novosibirsk

(Note: It turns out that old Serge Tikhanoff says this to all the girls that he blags free CDs off - stylish con though, if that’s what it is. Anybody ever tune in to Penguin?)

‘Turning Point is one of our favorite CDs. We cook dinner to it and put it on when seeking some solace in these crazy times’

- email feedback, Iowa City

Folk press reviews of ‘Turning Point’ in England were also good.

“Extrapolated”
‘Pete Cooper’s fiddle playing will be well known to fR readers, and here he’s joined by cellist Bolton (who’s played on the last two June Tabor CDs amongst many other things). Add this one to the fast growing genre of ‘folk extrapolated into classical’. There’s plain honest dance tunes in there - not least the ‘Abbot’s Bromley Horn Dance’ - but the duo find new and fascinating places to lead them to. A lot of the pieces are Cooper compositions, although I wouldn’t underestimate the amount of improvisation and mutual intuition that’s applied to them. His wistful ‘August’ is a particular highlight.’

- Nick Beale, fROOTS, June 2002

“Feel and Focus”
‘Their music engaged me directly by its ability to express a wide range of moods and rhythms. On the lighter side Pete sings and plays the bluegrassy song ‘Handsome Molly’ combined piece with a tune called ‘Chicken & Dumplings’. There’s a real joy and bounce about this track, and the cello drives the song well, moving along behind a walking bass line. More reflectively, there’s a highly evocative composition by Richard Bolton, ‘A Time For Peace’, inspired by the city of Belfast, a very emotional piece and sensitively played. There’s a good mix of other material, self-penned strathspeys, reels and East European influenced tunes, including Thirteen, a manic Macedonian tune in seven parts, learnt from Chris Haigh.

I was fortunate to see Pete and Richard present this music live, and to watch them play these selections with tremendous feel and focus. The instrumentation on the record is the same as on the live set, with high levels of skill and creativity eliminating any need for overdubs and tricks. I particularly enjoyed the way in which the cello provides rhythm, and a second, part... Whilst this album will be a must for traditional fiddlers and their fellow travellers, I hope very much that it will get a wider airing and inspire similar collaborations elsewhere. Excellent.’

- Chris Mills, Fiddle On, Winter/Spring 2002

And in Scotland?

‘This is billed as an album of "fiddle and cello duets". Now that makes it a bit of an oddity in itself: hands up, the first person to tell me when they last heard a similar combination. But, in their sleeve notes both men are keen to tell us that they are not breaking any new ground: on the contrary, this combination is "deeply rooted" in ethnic English music. The tunes come from various sources, with compositions from Pete being particularly striking. They are written very much simpatico to the Tradition: drawing on various playing styles and dance forms. One in particular, ‘August’, has what it takes to be a classic along the lines of Jay Ungar's ‘Ashokan Farewell’. And the playing of both guys is immensely authoritative, and a delight from start to finish. For players of both fiddle and cello on the Folk Scene, this is as close to a "Must Buy" as it gets.’

“Caveat”
However, I would not be ME, if I did not utter a slight caveat, and it is this: for those of us who are players of neither instrument, then this CD might be seen as needing another ingredient. And that ingredient is the human voice. A mixture of vocal and instrumental tracks would give the album that extra dimension.If neither guy could sing, I would understand their determination to "keep it instrumental", but we are intriguingly given one vocal cut: one that it feels like they have "sneaked in" almost unannounced! It is a version of that fine old song ‘Handsome Molly’ delivered with great brio by Cooper. Golly! He left us wanting more.

- Dai Woosnam, The Living Tradition

‘The Savage Hornpipe’, with no fewer than four vocal tracks from Pete, hopefully remedies this perceived lack in the earlier album. The striking cover art by Alex Szyszkowski, who’s designed all the independent ‘Big Chain’ label CDs, superimposes two visual representations of the title tune, one in Clare’s handwriting, the other showing the same notes as a bright digital (ProTools) fuzz on the studio computer screen during recording.

Pete examining a John Clare Manuscript

Go to Shop and click on the free audio samples for a flavour of the music.

Cooper and Bolton are available for club, concert, private and festival bookings. For all details and inquiries, please contact:
pete@petecooper.com
phone +44 (0)20 8340 7760

Richard Bolton Biography

Richard Bolton

Richard is one of a handful of outstanding cello-players in the roots/world music arena. With an Oxford music degree and an ARCM diploma from the Royal College of Music (1983), he started cello at the age of nine while living in Belfast. During his teens in the West Midlands he worked at his cello technique, side by side with rock and blues guitar. Later, under the tuition of Joan Dickson and Melissa Phelps, he gained the technical mastery that today forms the bedrock of his imaginative and uniquely personal style. Richard played cello in Mike Westbrook’s jazz-opera Quichotte, in Huw Warren’s Barrel Organ Band and on June Tabor’s CDs A Quiet Eye and Rosa Mundi, as well as on Helen Roche’s 2004 CD of Irish love songs, Shake The Blossom Early. He has taught English-style cello at Hands On Music courses in Oxfordshire and at Wigmore Hall, London, improvisation at the Guildhall School of Music, and guitar at Brunel University.

‘One of the unsung heroes of the London jazz scene’, Richard is also a blues, world-music and jazz guitarist, whose 2002 CD City Life (Babel Label, BDV2234) showcases his fine compositions for the Richard Bolton Group. As well as Cooper and Bolton, Richard performs with artists such as Rolf Harris, left-field bluesman Billy Jenkins, Willard White (in his Paul Robeson tribute concerts), and film-composer Zbigniew Preissner. Of his performance with Billy Jenkins and the Blues Collective's 'Summertime Blues' show, John L. Walters wrote in the Guardian:

‘Rick Bolton squeezes exquisite solos between equally skilful rhythm parts. One of the treats of a small space like this is enjoying the details of sound and performance at close quarters. Bolton's solos are a constant delight - to us and Jenkins - with the added bonus that in a yellow spotlight he's the spit of Homer Simpson.’

The Kremlinaires with Sting

Richard played guitar on the soundtrack to Robert Altman’s film, Gosford Park, and has performed widely with fiddle player Joe Townsend. He’s appeared at the Shetland Folk Festival, Feet First and other folk events with Chris Haigh’s Spice Trade. He also played recently with The Kremlinaires at a party for Sting. See photo.