With his famous one-footed stance, Ian Anderson and his flute mesmerized audience with performances that were nothing short of flamboyant rock theater. IN 1967 Jethro Tull stepped onto the rock stage adding a new page to the history of Rock n’ Roll.
Jethro Tull“The flute was an alternative to being a small fish in an increasingly bigger pool filled with a number of great guitar players,” Ian Anderson said from his home. “Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Richie Blackmore, Jimmy Page - they were the London scene whiz kids and everyone wanted to play guitar.
“I was not a great guitarist, so I sold my 1960 Fender Stratocaster in exchange for a Shure Microphone, made in Chicago, and a flute.”
Anderson stepped away from his arts education to pursue music, knowing he could always return to academia if music did not work out. Thankfully for legions of fans it did. He picked up the flute in an effort to give Jethro Tull a different edge.
As Mr. Anderson said: “It was an instrument that Eric Clapton could not play.”
Anderson began to apply his knowledge of guitar to the flute, teaching himself to play over a three-month period of time during the winter of 1967.
“All the time I was playing the flute, the lines, the solos, the riffs, the construction were based on my guitar skills,” Mr. Anderson said. “I did not play the flute to exploit its natural faculties but I used it as a surrogate guitar. This was an advantage to playing what I saw as a girlie instrument, to think about playing the music like Jimmie Hendrix. ”
Tull’s first album “This Was” (1968) was generally a rhythm and blues effort reflecting the British music scenes envelopment of American blues music, followed by Stand Up (1969). With Stand Up, Tull’s music changed, incorporating a wider reference point including Celtic, classical and folk music.
One of the album’s tracks, Bouree in E Minor is a lute piece written by Sebastian J. Bach. The tempo is fast making it a perfect bit of music for Andersen to re-invent.
With the construction of ‘This Was,’ Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams left the band creating an opening for guitarist Martin Lancelot Barre, who continues to tour with Anderson to this day.
Worldwide concert touring has placed the band right at the cusp of some significant world events, including the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The bands 2008 concert, with sitarist Anoushka Shankar was cancelled due to the attack, however the artists returned the following year for the A Billion Hands concert raising money for the victims of the attack. All proceeds from the December 2009 concert went to the victims of the November, 2008 attacks.
“One thing we did is put money from the concert in Mumbai into the commission of a new ambulance and the outfitting of the paramedics for the Mumbai station,” Mr. Anderson said.
Anderson and Barre continue to tour, playing around the world bringing the songs remembered, mixing them with jazz and blues influences, hard, progressive, classic rock progressions and Celtic lilts to create a new chapter of music for this veteran performer.
His release ‘Skating Away (on the thin ice of a new day)” (2007) replays Anderson at a poetic and melodic best. The song, featured on Tull’s seventh studio album ‘War Child’ (1974) is a favorite for many fans.
The band has had recent releases including Live at Montreux (2003/DVD) and the Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull (2007) featuring both new and remastered songs.
Befitting a world traveler, Mr. Anderson has very defined opinion on world and American politics seeing President Obama as having a very difficult place in history.
“President Obama inherited a rather rash liberal dogma, enforced by the pragmatism of a young president in a difficult time of history,” Mr. Anderson said. “There are two wars, and it’s a tough position for him; the difficult decision is when is the right time to bring home our young people, and not in coffin.”
Mr. Anderson spoke of the President’s need to address difficult social contexts, including immigration and burgeoning population.
“The idea of having four to five children seems completely absurd,” Mr. Anderson said. “We can’t support that. Go to the CIA website and reference the World Fact Book, it shows international population and fertility rates internationally.“
“If you look at a location, like Africa, there is an enormous rate of five to six children per female and this is frightening because the world cannot support this.”
“It requires discussion and education of the women. We have to empower women to make better decisions.”
Mr. Anderson offered additional opinions on immigration, legal and otherwise, and the need for governments to be come vocal, to openly talk about the difficult issues and to develop solutions that their country can afford to support.
“We have to stop putting pressure on our children and grandchildren,” Mr. Anderson said. “The boom and glory times are gone, when the wagons could roll west, and that plundering pioneering spirit must be curbed. “
Mr. Anderson will continue writing, producing, growing, recording and touring as long as it continues to be a positive experience for them.
“When I was younger, my musical influences and references where the blues and jazz, classical and folk music pioneers of my father’s generation,” ,” Mr. Anderson said.“It was ingrained in my way of thinking that music was something you did at your most influential level when you were in a possession of a senior citizen bus pass."
“As things turned out, I have reached some level of success in music and it still feels good to me
Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull appear June 8th at Wolf Trap.
Jacquie Kubin is a 15-year, award-winning veteran of travel and culinary writing. Today, Jacquie edits and directs a staff of writers for Donne Tempo Magazine, where you can read more of her entertainment, travel and culinary reviews. Jacquie is always looking for new talents who want to expand their horizons.
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