I felt terribly sad on learning of the passing of Jack Bruce over the weekend. Not only was he a superb musician but I'd go so far as to say that he almost single-handley elevated the role of electric bass from a slightly dull rhythm section plodder to a frontline driver and excitement generator. Arguably he invented the power riff when playing with Cream: surely "Sunshine of you Love" is one of the most memorable motifs ever. I was fortunate to see him twice. Once with a number of luminary musicians at the Top Rank, Cardiff (which JB's website informs me was on November 10, 1971 and his friends at that concert were Graham Bond, Chris Spedding, John Marshall and Art Themen) and over 40 years later (February, 2012) at Jazz Alley, Seattle with The Tony Williams' Lifetime tribute band. My enduring memory of each occasion is of a masterful, virtuoso, performance.
Thank you for the legacy of great music, Jack. RIP!
3 comments:
I too was saddened, not least because I never did see him live.
Thanks for the clip. Stunning.
Gilly: The clip is not mine but from Cream's reunion concert in 2005. I would have happily flown from Seattle if I'd managed to get a ticket...as it happened I only heard about the gig after it was over. However I have been fortunate to see all the Cream members individually in different bands. Ginger was the most recent, about a year ago...I think i FB'd about it at the time.
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