Chris Murphy
Singer/songwriter, guitarist and tutor in Sheffield, Chris Murphy first trained in classical guitar before moving to folk. Chris sites Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake and Ryley Walker as massive influences. He’s been called ‘a maker of epic songs’ (Sheffield Star) and ‘ridiculously accomplished’ (Exposed Magazine). Chris says: “Bert’s influence on me has been profound. I have always been passionate about playing and teaching his songs. I can honestly say that discovering Bert helped me re-evaluate my approach to the acoustic guitar. The free-spirited nature of his playing and incredible effortless blend of genres always excited and inspired me. I think his voice was underrated too.”
March Flare
A piece by Chris Murphy for Bert Jansch
Chris says: “This song is an instrumental that I wrote just after the birth of my second son in March 2018. Its major influence was Bert as I always loved his use of octave patterns on songs such as ‘Blackwaterside’ as well as the exquisite, near constant slides of ‘Chambertin’. I was also inspired to write something that explored different chord voicings and changes to the picking pattern, as well as moving freely and regularly from one end of the fretboard to another. Bert is my favourite acoustic guitarist. I am thrilled to be involved in this project.”
When Chris had the Yamaha TransAcoustic with him in Sheffield in December, he enjoyed playing Bert covers. Here you can hear his rendering on it of Poison and Katie Cruel.