BRASS Monkey, featuring folk giant Martin Carthy, bring a rare fusion of folk and brass to Durham.

One of the most influential figures in British traditional music, he is probably best known from his time with folk-rockers Steeleye Span and with his family band, the Watersons, featuring wife Norma Waterson and daughter Eliza Carthy.

He was also responsible for the arrangement of Scarborough Fair that appeared on his debut solo album in 1965, which influenced Simon and Garfunkel’s version.

But in Brass Monkey, Carthy and accordion-player John Kirkpatrick join forces with Roger Williams (trombone), Martin Brinsford (saxophone) and Paul Archibald (trumpet) to create a unique sound.

Carthy and Kirkpatrick lock into one another’s playing with the ease and precision that only comes from playing together for more than 30 years. Kirkpatrick had also played with Steeleye Span for a time, and worked with Carthy in the Albion Country Band. The two formed an occasional trio with trumpeter Howard Evans after all three appeared on Carthy’s albums, Because It’s There (1979) and Out of the Cut (1982).

The trio carried on as the Martin Carthy Band, adding Williams and Brinsford to the two remaining slots. They soon decided to change their name to Brass Monkey and recorded two albums of traditional tunes in the Eighties. The group split when individual members found it impossible to reconcile band work with solo commitments, but reformed in 1997.

Despite Evans’ death in 2006 the band decided to continue with a four-piece line-up. In 2008, Paul Archibald was recruited as trumpet player and debuted their new line-up at the Electric Theatre, Guildford, on March 15, this year.

They released a new album, Head of Steam, the following month, which drew this praise from world music magazine Songlines: “Since the early 80s, they have brought the emotional fervour and rhythmic fire of colliery bands to English dance music and traditional songs – their recordings are a delight.

Mighty and joyful.”

■ Brass Monkey, Sunday, July 5, 7.30pm, Durham Town Hall.

Price: £10, concessions £8. Box Office: 0191-332-4041.