Jack Bruce (1943-2014)
Jack Bruce, legendary bassist, cellist, pianist, and singer-songwriter, passed away today after a brief illness. He was 71.
To put into perspective just how extraordinary a musician Jack Bruce was, think about this: Cream was formed in the summer of 1966 and broke up in the fall of 1968. Just over two years. But the impact they made in that remarkable short period of time is undeniable. Jimi Hendrix modeled his band after them and performed ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ as a tribute to them. Often. Every major rock power trio that was formed in their wake – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Mountain, Grand Funk Railroad, Rush – had the Cream approach and imprint on it. Cream was a band that had three exceptional players yet Jack Bruce was their most elastic musician. An incredible vocalist who also excelled on piano, guitar and cello. For proof, listen to ‘As You Said’ from Wheels Of Fire where Bruce plays all of the instruments except for Baker’s cymbal splashes.
Jack Bruce the bass player? He, along with James Jamerson, John Entwistle and later, Larry Grahma, changed the way a musician approached to the instrument. In other words, Jack Bruce was part of a small number of players that made the bass as explosive and as rhythmic as the guitar. Yeah, he was THAT good. Jack Bruce the songwriter is just as impressive: ‘I Feel Free’, ‘N.S.U.’, ‘SWLABR’, ‘We’re Going Wrong’, ‘Politician’, ‘White Room’ and, of course, the seismic ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’. Even if he just written that song ALONE, we would still be talking about one of the most distinguishable songs in rock history.
Now, that just covers the Cream period, which again, started and finished in just over two years. Two.
I came across the music of Jack Bruce backwards: the solo works, then the Cream stuff. For me, the solo stuff was far more expansive, eclectic and frankly, more interesting. There was acoustic free jazz (1971’s Things We Like), funk (A Question Of Time, 1990); blues-rock laced with Latin rhythms (2001’s Shadows In The Air); those mind blowing fusion albums that he did as a member of Tony Williams-led group Lifetime; a gorgeous album of keyboard only songs accompanied with and without Bernie Worrell (Monkjack) and even a full-on leap into classical (John Cage’s Works For Piano, Vol 5 with Haydee Schvartz). I was beside myself with when my good friend Vernon Reid informed me that he, Cindy Blackman-Santana, John Medeski and Bruce were forming Spectrum Road as a tribute to the life and career of Tony Williams. The album and the tour was transcendent. Live, I had never seen a band on stage look so happy to be playing music – especially the music of Tony Williams, which for years, save for the hardcores, was misunderstood and miscategorized. Bruce’s final album, Silver Rails, came out this spring and again, you can feel the joy and love in all of the songs. Perhaps it was because it was a family affair: His second wife Margrit Seyffer executive produced, son Malcolm did the pre-production and plays guitar and daughters Kyla and Aruba Red provided background vocals. But it also sounded like an artist, after a series of serious health setbacks, was writing a beautiful new chapter in a 50 plus year career.
If you are new to the music of Jack Bruce or only know him from his work with Cream, you really need to check out ANY of the material he’s released over the past 45 years. This is the work of a master musician.
Much love, sympathies and deepest condolences to the Bruce family, friends and fans.
Rest in peace Jack.
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