John plays a bewildering array
of recorders, crumhorns, shepherds pipes, and whistles in sizes
ranging from tiny to enormous, and does so in a virtuoso manner
than leaves audiences entranced - particularly when he performs
his trademark pieces such as the Paginini Variations or the Faerie
Dance. His now famous piece Schizophrenia - in which he plays
two recorders and hums at the same time - always elicits gasps
of surprise.
Classically trained, he is an expert on early
music and has played with a number of orchestras which specialise
in this area.
His ability to play with and absorb
the influences of a wide range of musicians meant that he also found
an equal capability in the folk scene and for many years was part
of the immensely popular Fourth Estaite which included Robin Harper
who is now better known as the Green Party's first Member of the
Scottish Parliament. John has gone on to work with such stars as
Johnnie and Phil Cunningham, and Anne Lorne Gillies.
An early picture of Fourth
Estaite in York
Rab Handleigh, Duncan Browne, Robin Harper, and John
