Strangely enough, I'd say the traddy boys were nearer to bebop than any of us mouldy fig boys playing contemporary with its four square rhythms and relatively simple chord progrssions.

bagpipe players, and celtic music players all play more complicated scales and rhythms than we do.

For example the famous Byker Hill that Swarbrick and Carthy play has a time signature that is more like Mingus/Bartok/frank Zappa and that sort of weirdness than most of us guys would ever dream of taxing our paltry talents and listening abilities with.

Back in the sixties, British sax player Joe Harriot made a very interesting record of bebop sax, set against Indian instruments. And you sometimes hear Van the man doing something quite similar aginst a backwash of Irish instruments.

Truth is, the musicians have been there for years, its the critics and fans who need to catch up.