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Frédéric Yonnet is the “Grim Reaper” of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. The acclaimed harmonicist has also played on stage with one of pop's biggest names, Ed Sheeran.
Speaking to ClutchPoints about his new film, Killers of the Flower Moon, Yonnet discussed his relationship with Sheeran. “Oh my gosh, Ed is the greatest,” Yonnet said with a wide grin. “He's extremely generous and simple and down to earth. What amazes me the most [about] him is to watch him switch from being the rock star that he obviously is to being the friend, the little brother that he really is at heart.”
The night they met
He then recalled the time they met. Yonnet was playing a juke joint and was surprised by Sheeran. For those that aren't familiar, a juke joint is basically a jam session sans cell phones — “it's the greatest party you've never heard of because everybody's phones are completely locked up.”
At this particular juke joint, one he hosted one with Dave Chappelle and DJ D-Nice, Sheeran decided to turn up. “Ed heard about the party we were doing in London at the same time as he was selling out Wembley Stadium,” Yonnet said. “And after one of his shows at Wembley, he crashed the party and came to jam with us. And the rest is history.”
Yonnet lamented that he thinks you can see him with Chappelle in the background of one of Sheeran's documentaries.
This wasn't the end of their encounters, though. Sheeran joined Yonnet on stage a few months back in New York City. “He invited me to come to his show when he performed in Washington D.C. at FedExField. So we went to his show and we caught up backstage between the sets,” Yonnet recalled. “I told him that I was going to be in New York at the Blue Note Jazz Club. And he said, ‘Oh, great. I'll be there on Monday.' And little do you know, he showed up.”
Frédéric Yonnet has played the harmonica on Martin Scorsese's last two films, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon. He collaborated closely with the late Robbie Robertson on those two scores.
Ed Sheeran just played his final US show of the “Mathematics” tour. In 2024, he will visit Asia and Europe before concluding the tour in August. He's also hot off the release of his second album of the year, Autumn Variations.
