top of page
Hello! I am Taz Tarry, and I've been playing folk fiddle in a traditional English style since the early 1980s. Over the years that I've been playing the fiddle, I have had the great enjoyment, in various bands, of playing for people to dance to, and I have listed these bands, with brief details and, where available, links to their websites - see the Bands page.
As well as playing in bands for dancing I also played fiddle for Morris dancing with Redbornstoke Morris, as well as dancing with them, joining them in 1988. The side has now retired but we are keeping our website available for the time being.
Over this time I have also written a number of tunes, some better than others, and I'm gratified that some are being picked up and played by other musicians. You can find the list of my tunes on the My Tunes page, with links to the dots, recordings, and midi files. A bound printed tunebook of all my tunes is also available to buy from my Shop, for just £10 plus p&p.
Here's one of my favourite photos which is of Flos Headford and me playing in the famous Ship Inn, Blaxhall, Suffolk - usually referred to as the Blaxhall Ship, on the occasion of FolkEast, August 2015.
I owe a lot to Flos - both, with Paul Burgess, for introducing me to the joys of traditional English tunes and fiddle playing, and for being a large influence on my fiddle style.
Flos Headford and Taz Tarry at the Ship Inn, Blaxhall, August 2015
And here's a YouTube clip, taken by MissTaliesin (thank you), of Neil Brookes and myself enjoying playing the "old" Morpeth Rant in the Berwick Bar, Shrewsbury Folk Festival in 2011. The so-called "old" Morpeth Rant is from the playing of Tom Hughes, a Border Fiddle player recorded by Peter Shepheard for SpringThyme for an LP called Tom Hughes and Friends - Traditional Fiddle Music of the Scottish Borders. A great LP, now available on CD, with additional tracks.
Taz Tarry and Neil Brookes playing Tom Hugh's version of Morpeth Rant at Shrewsbury Folk Festival, August 2011
I've also have recording some YouTube videos of my own and other tunes - you can find them on my YouTube channel here.
Finally for now, here is a lovely pencil drawing by Chris Molan which she drew during the English Country Music Weekend (ECMW) I organised in Ampthill in 2009, at which I made a point of inviting and featuring some of the younger players of traditional English music. It was really good to see, and of course hear, all these different generations of musicians playing English traditional music together. You can read a history of the English Country Music Weekends on Rod Stradling's Musical Traditions website.
ECMW 2009, Ampthill. 'The Year of the Younger Players'. Pencil drawing by Chris Molan. Seated are Taz Tarry, Laurel Swift & Jack Worth.
bottom of page