The man who introduced the flute to rock music and leader of the superb group Jethro Tull.
Do you like his style?
I’m a Tull fan from way back, although I didn’t start playing flute because of him. His album Divinities](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002SLD/qid=1102442200/sr=2-3/ref=pd_ka_b_2_3/104-1492642-9577522%22%3EDivinities) is fun, he plays an Olwell bamboo flute on a few tracks.
His site</a](http://www.j-tull.com/musicians/iananderson/">site</a)> has an interesting collection of essays, from relearning how to play the flute to how to care for kittens. And he made a second fortune Salmon farming. Interesting fellow.
I do have a tendency to wear leather boots and play the flute while standing on one leg because of him. 
He’s a good man. I don’t think he wears the thights-and-codpiece outfit anymore. The band is still together, after so many years and at least one sex-change operation. His solo recordings are very good too. I recommend “The Secret Language of Birds”.
I loved the Jethro Tull stuff Stand Up etc. Here’s a quote from his site that made me laugh:
"Ian owns no fast car, never having taken a driving test, and has a wardrobe of singularly uninspiring and drab leisurewear. He still keeps a couple of off-road competition motorcycles, a few sporting guns and a saxophone which he promises never to play again.
He declares a lifelong commitment to music as a profession, being far too young to hang up his hat or his flute, although the tights and codpiece have long since been consigned to some forgotten bottom drawer."
I absolutely love Tull, both then and now.
To the disgust of a long-ago ex, who used to say, "Mary’s “Living in the Past”…
I, too, would recommend Secret Language of Birds, and yes, Tull is the reason I chose to learn flute.
M
Wow, we’re quite a group aren’t we? Add me to the list of folks who started playing the flute because of Ian Anderson…although I quite after about 6 months on silver flute and it was Matt Malloy who led me back to flute and specifically to the trad flute.
I still have the vynal versions of Songs from the Woods, Heavy Horses, Thick as a Brick, and a couple more I’d have to go dig up.
Eric
I, too, was inspired by Ian Anderson but also by Hubert Laws and to a lesser extent by whoever was playing flute for Chicago to take it up, having started out my musical life as a clarinet player. Clawhammer banjo was next, then the flute.
Ming
Q: How did you get into folk music?
A: I drifted into it after hearing “songs from the wood”
Considering he’s not known for playing traditional music , he started a lot of people on thier “drift”.
Well sure. After all:
Steven
I like the early Tull albums and saw them live in the early 70s. They were one of the first bands playing stadiums to use a sound system that overcame the poor accoustics. In that respect they were better than any number of name rock bands but also the Count Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras of the time. They really seemed to care about making the show a memorable visual and auditory experience. I very much appreciated that, over and above enjoying the music.
Anderson was never an influence either on my taking up flute or on how I play. When I first heard him, I was already a sax player and my favourite flute players were Eric Dolphy and Roland Kirk. I liked other jazz flute players but not quite as much. I thought then that Anderson was a poor man’s Roland Kirk and have not really changed that opinion. Since I love Kirk, I was bound to like Anderson and his playing flute creatively in a rock context was a bonus.
I played Boehm for a while back then but lapsed for several reasons. I took up flute again about 18 months ago, both wooden and Boehm. By then my influences were Irish and Breton players as well as jazz musicians.
Was anybody else inspired by Dolphy and Kirk?
As a sax & flute player, I feel inspired by Dolphy and Trane, but that does not really influence my ITM playing!
That’s it, I’m listening to “Songs from the Wood” right now as I work from home with a cold. Blech
The special edition disk of “This as a Brick” is fun listen, it includes a long interview about the recording of the album and the shows they did.
A few months back I decided to get a few Tull cds, as I no longer have a record player. Went down to BestBuy and all they had was “Bursting Out” (one I didn’t have), so I picked it up, went home, put it on, and – Dammit! Most of the flute parts were done on keyboard! (No multi-tracking live, I should have known!)