Scottish poet and musician

Born in Dundee, Paterson played with the jazz-folk ensemble ‘Lammas’ for 12 years and is now back playing music at the highest level with Scotland’s most talented jazz musicians: pianist Steve Hamilton, bassist Euan Burton and drummer Alyn Cosker.

Although better known as a poet and winner of the Whitbread Poetry Award and numerous other poetry awards, music is Paterson’s first love.

As he says: “How can I put it? You don’t get to choose what you are better at, and if I had a choice, I would have preferred to be a better musician, really. Because it’s the thing that I love more.

“That isn’t to say that I don’t love poetry. But maybe it’s to say that my relationship with literature has been such a working, professional one for such a long time – inevitably that subtracts a certain amount of the magic.”

Over the years he has shared a stage with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, vibraphone virtuoso Joe Locke, pianist Jason Rebello and many others.

In his new project, he has turned his unusual fingerstyle technique to electric guitar and will play a mix of new and older compositions.

Catch this unique combination of jazz guitarist and poet on Saturday, February 11, at 8pm.

Tickets are priced at £14 (£12 early bird) from www.eyemouthhippodrome.org.