Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia. The group is treated either as a single family, Alcedinidae, or as a suborder Alcedines containing three families, Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). There are roughly 90 species of kingfisher. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with little differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. They consume a wide range of prey as well as fish, usually caught by swooping down from a perch. Like other members of their order they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A few species, principally insular forms, are threatened with extinction.

Taxonomy and evolution

The taxonomy of the three families is complex and rather controversial. Although commonly assigned to the order Coraciiformes, from this level down confusion sets in.

The kingfishers were traditionally treated as one family, Alcedinidae with three subfamilies, but following the 1990s revolution in bird taxonomy, the three former subfamilies are now often elevated to familial level. That move was supported by chromosome and DNA-DNA hybridisation studies, but challenged on the grounds that all three groups are monophyletic with respect to the other Coraciiformes. This leads to them being grouped as the suborder Alcedines.

The tree kingfishers have been previously given the familial name Dacelonidae but Halcyonidae has priority.

The centre of kingfisher diversity is the Australasian region, but the family is not thought to have originated there, instead they evolved in the Northern Hemisphere and invaded the Australasian region a number of times. Fossil kingfishers have been described from Lower Eocene rocks in Wyoming and Middle Eocene rocks in Germany, around 30-40 million years ago. More recent fossil kingfishers have been described in the Miocene rocks of Australia (5-25 million years old). Several fossil birds have been erroneously ascribed to the kingfishers, including ''Halcyornis'', from the Lower Eocene rocks in Kent, which has also been considered a gull, but is now thought to have been a member of an extinct family. }} }} }}

Amongst the four families the Alcedinidae are basal to the other two families. The few species found in the Americas, all from the family Cerylidae, suggest that the sparse representation in the western hemisphere resulted from just two original colonising species. The family is a comparatively recent split from the Halcyonidae, diversifying in the Old World as recently as the Miocene or Pliocene.

Distribution and habitat

The kingfishers have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring throughout the worlds tropics and temperate regions. They are absent from the polar regions and some of the world's driest deserts. A number of species have reached islands groups, particularly those in the south and east Pacific Ocean. The Old World tropics and Australasia are the core area for this group. Europe and North America north of Mexico are very poorly represented with only one common kingfisher (Common Kingfisher and Belted Kingfisher respectively), and a couple of uncommon or very local species each: (Ringed Kingfisher and Green Kingfisher in the southwest USA, Pied Kingfisher and White-throated Kingfisher in SE Europe). The six species occurring in the Americas are four closely related green kingfishers in the genus ''Chloroceryle'' and two large crested kingfishers in the genus ''Megaceryle''. Even tropical South America has only five species plus wintering Belted Kingfisher. In comparison, the tiny African country of The Gambia has eight resident species in its 120 by 20 mi. (192 by 32 km) area.

Individual species may have massive ranges, like the Common Kingfisher, which ranges from Ireland across Europe, North Africa and Asia as far as the Solomon Islands in Australasia, or the Pied Kingfisher, which has a widespread distribution across Africa and Asia. Other species have much narrower ranges, particularly insular species which are endemic to a single small island. The Kofiau Paradise Kingfisher is restricted to the tiny island of Kofiau off New Guinea.

Kingfishers occupy a wide range of habitats. While they are often associated with rivers and lakes, over half the worlds species are found in forests and forested streams. They also occupy a wide range of other habitats. The Red-backed Kingfisher of Australia lives in the driest deserts, although kingfishers are absent from other dry deserts like the Sahara. Other species live high in mountains, or in open woodland, and a number of species live on tropical coral atolls. Numerous species have adapted to human modified habitats, particularly those adapted to woodlands, and may be found in cultivated and agricultural areas, as well as parks and gardens in towns and cities.

Morphology

The smallest species of kingfisher is the African Dwarf Kingfisher (''Ispidina lecontei''), which averages at 10.4 g and 10 cm (4 inches). The largest overall is the Giant Kingfisher (''Megaceryle maxima''), at an average of 355 g (13.5 oz) and 45 cm (18 inches). However, the familiar Australian kingfisher known as the Laughing Kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') may be the heaviest species, since large individuals exceeding 450 g (1 lb) are not rare.

The plumage of most kingfishers is bright, with green and blue being the most common colours. The brightness of the colours is neither the product of iridescence (except in the American kingfishers) or pigments, but is instead caused by the structure of the feathers, which causes scattering of blue light (the Tyndall effect). In most species there are no differences between the sexes, when there are differences they are quite small (less than 10%).

The kingfishers have a long, dagger-like bill. The bill is usually longer and more compressed in species that hunt fish, and shorter and more broad in species that hunt prey off the ground. The largest and most atypical bill is that of the Shovel-billed Kookaburra, which is used to dig through the forest floor in search of prey. They generally have short legs, although species that feed on the ground have longer tarsi. Most species have four toes, three of which are forward pointing.

The irises of most species are dark brown. The kingfishers have excellent vision; they are capable of binocular vision and are thought in particular to have good colour vision. They have restricted movement of their eyes within the eye sockets, instead using head movements in order to track prey. In addition they are able to compensate for the refraction of water and reflection when hunting prey underwater, and are able to judge depth underwater accurately. They also have nictitating membranes that cover the eyes when they hit the water in order to protect them; in the Pied Kingfisher has a bony plate which slides across the eye when the bird hits the water.

Behaviour

Diet and feeding

The kingfishers feed on a wide variety of items. They are most famous for hunting and eating fish, and some species do specialise in catching fish, but other species take crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, annelid worms, molluscs, insects, spiders, centipedes, reptiles (including snakes) and even birds and mammals. Individual species may specialise in a few items or take a wide variety of prey, and for species with large global distributions different populations may have different diets. Woodland and forest kingfishers take mainly insects, particularly grasshoppers, whereas the water kingfishers are more specialised in taking fish. The Red-backed Kingfisher has been observed hammering into the mud nests of Fairy Martins to feed on their nestlings. Kingfishers usually hunt from an exposed perch, when a prey item is observed the kingfisher swoops down to snatch it, then returns to the perch. Kingfishers of all three families beat larger prey on a perch in order to kill the prey and to dislodge or break protective spines and bones. Having beaten the prey it is manipulated and then swallowed.

Breeding

Kingfishers are territorial, some species defending their territories vigorously. They are generally monogamous, although cooperative breeding has been observed in some species. In a few species cooperative breeding is quite common, for example the laughing Kookaburra, where helpers aid the dominant breeding pair in raising the young. Like all Coraciiformes, the kingfishers are cavity nesters, with most species nesting in holes dug in the ground. These holes are usually in earth banks on the sides of rivers, lakes or man-made ditches. Some species may nest in holes in trees, the earth clinging to the roots of an uprooted tree, or arboreal nests of termites (termitarium). These termite nests are common in forest species. The nests take the form of a small chamber at the end of a tunnel. Nest-digging duties are shared between the sexes. During the initial excavations the bird may fly at the chosen site with considerable force, and birds have injured themselves fatally while doing this. The length of the tunnels varies by species and location, nests in termitariums are necessarily much shorter than those dug into the earth, and nests in harder substrates are shorter than those in soft soil or sand. The longest tunnels recorded are those of the Giant Kingfisher, which have been found to be 8.5 m long.

The eggs of kinfishers are invariably white and glossy. The typical clutch size varies by species; some of the very large and very small species lay as few as two eggs per clutch, whereas others may lay 10 eggs, the average is around three to six eggs. Both sexes incubate the eggs.

Relationship with humans

Kingfishers are generally shy birds, but in spite of this they feature heavily in human culture, generally due to their bright plumage or in some species interesting behaviour. The sacred Kingfisher, along with other Pacific kingfishers, was venerated by the Polynesians, who believed it had control over the seas and waves. For the Dusun people of Borneo, the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher is considered a bad omen, and warriors that see one on the way to battle should return home. Another Bornean tribe consider the Banded Kingfisher an omen bird, albeit generally a good omen. Halcyon, which gives its name to the family Halcyonidae, is a mythical bird similar to the kingfisher.

"Ovid and Hyginus both also make the metamorphosis the origin of the etymology for "halcyon days", the seven days in winter when storms never occur. They state that these were originally the seven days each year (either side of the shortest day of the year) during which Alcyone ([as a kingfisher]) laid her eggs and made her nest on the beach and during which her father Aeolus, god of the winds, restrained the winds and calmed the waves so she could do so in safety. The phrase has since become a term used to describe a peaceful time generally."

The etymology of ''kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)'' is obscure; the term comes from ''king's fisher'', but why that name was applied is not known.

Status and conservation

A number of species are considered threatened by human activities and are in danger of extinction. The majority of these are forest species with limited distribution, particularly insular species. They are threatened by habitat loss caused by forest clearance or degradation and in some cases by introduced species. The Marquesan Kingfisher of French Polynesia is listed as critically endangered due to a combination of habitat loss and degradation caused by introduced cattle, and possibly due to predation by introduced species.

References

External links

ARKive - images and movies of the Kingfisher ''(Alcedo atthis)''

Kingfisher videos on the Internet Bird Collection

Category:Heraldic birds *

ar:صياد السمك رمادي الرأس bn:মাছরাঙ্গা br:Diredig ca:Alcedínid cs:Ledňáčkovití da:Isfugle de:Eisvögel es:Alcedines eo:Alcedinedoj fa:ماهی‌خورک‌ها fr:Alcedinidae ga:Cruidín gd:Biorra-crùidein gl:Alcedinos gu:કલકલિયો hi:कौड़िल्ला hr:Vodomar id:Raja-udang it:Alcedines he:שלדגיים sw:Mdiria lv:Zivjudzenīšveidīgie lt:Tulžiniai hu:Jégmadárfélék mr:खंड्या nl:IJsvogels ja:カワセミ科 (Sibley) nn:Isfuglfamilien pnb:مچھی مار pl:Zimorodkowate pt:Guarda-rios ru:Зимородковые simple:Kingfisher sr:Водомар sh:Vodomar fi:Kuningaskalastajat sv:Kungsfiskare (familj) te:లకుముకి పిట్ట th:นกกระเต็น tr:Yalıçapkınıgiller uk:Зимородкові vi:Họ Bồng chanh zh:翠鸟

name	Vijay Mallya ವಿಜಯ್ ಮಲ್ಯ
birth place	Bangalore, Karnatka, India
birth date	December 18, 1955
birth place	Bantwal, Karnataka, India
alma mater	St. Xavier's College
networth	US$ 1.4 billion (2011)
ranking	Forbes World Billionaires Ranking: 937 (2010)
occupation	Chairman of: United Breweries Group, Kingfisher Airlines, Force India F1 Team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, East Bengal FC, URBB
office	Member of the Rajya Sabha
constituency	Karnataka
term	2000 – 2006, 2010 – present
successor	abhiram r menon
party	Independent
date	3 May 2011
source	http://india.gov.in/govt/rajyasabhampbiodata.php?mpcode1892 Government of India
spouse	Sameera (divorced)
children	Sidhartha Mallya (Son) Leana Mallya (daughter) Tanya Mallya (daughter) Laila Mallya (step-daughter)
signature	}}

Vijay Mallya (Kannada/Konkani: ವಿಜಯ್ ಮಲ್ಯ; born 18 December 1955) is an Indian liquor baron and Rajya Sabha MP. The son of industrialist Vittal Mallya, he is the Chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines, which draws its name from United Breweries Group's flagship beer brand, Kingfisher.

He also co-owns the Formula One team Force India, the Indian Premier League team Bangalore Royal Challengers, and the I-League team East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan AC.

According to Forbes.com, as of March 2011, Mallya, is worth US $1.4 billion. He is ranked 879 in The Forbes World Billionaires Ranking (2011), and 38th in India. He receives substantial press coverage that focuses on his lavish parties, villas, automobiles, Force India, Royal Challengers Bangalore and his yacht, the ''Indian Empress''.

Personal life

Mallya was born into a Konkani Goud Saraswat Brahmin family which originally from the town of Bantwal, near Mangalore, in Karnataka. He is the son of Vittal Mallya and Lalitha Ramaiah. He was educated at La Martiniere for Boys School, Calcutta and completed his degree at St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. He later set up business ventures in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Mallya's first wife was Sameera and they have a son together, named Sidhartha Mallya. Sidhartha was educated at Wellington College in Crowthorne followed by Queen Mary's College in the University of London. Later on, Mallya married Rekha with who he has two daughters Laila is engaged with loganathan and Tanya Mallya and one son.

Business

Breweries

Mallya took over as Chairman of United Breweries Group in 1984 from his father Vittal Mallya. Since then, the group has grown into a multi-national conglomerate of over sixty companies, with an annual turnover which increased by 63.9% over 15 years to US$11.2 billion in 1998–1999 . The focal business areas of the group encompass alcoholic beverages, life sciences, engineering, agriculture, chemicals, information technology, aviation and leisure.

In May 2007, United Breweries Group announced the all-cash acquisition of scotch whisky maker Whyte & Mackay for £595 million (approximately Rs 6000 crore). In 2005 he took over Millennium Breweries Ltd (formerly known as Inertia Industries Ltd), which owned the two premium beer brands named ''Sandpiper'' and ''Zingaro''.

Airlines

In 2006, Mallya established Kingfisher Airlines. At present, the airline connects 32 cities. Kingfisher Airlines obtained a 26% stake in Air Deccan, a low cost Indian airline which Mallya later acquired fully and rebranded as Kingfishers Red. Vijay Mallya and his Jet Airways counterpart Naresh Goyal announced an alliance after a marathon meeting on 13 October 2008 at Mumbai, India.

Media

Mallya owns the MarinScope Newspapers which serve Marin County, California where he maintains a home and stores a portion of his car collection.

Investment in sports

Formula One

In 2007, Mallya and the Mol family from The Netherlands bought the Spyker F1 team for 88 million euros. The team changed its name to Force India F1 from the 2008 Season. Team's car VJM-01 was named after its owners Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michiel Mol.

Mallya also represents India in the FIA World Motor Sport Council, where he has a seat from 2009 to 2013.

Football

Mallya's United Breweries sponsors the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs in Kolkata where Mallya spent his childhood.

He also was part of the consortium that acquired Queens Park Rangers FC; the consortium also included Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Lakshmi Mittal.

Vijay Mallya has recently indicated his intention to buy AS Bari, a football team which plays in the Italian Serie A.

Cricket

Vijay Mallya is the owner of Royal Challengers IPL team through his flagship firm UB Group. Mallya wanted to associate one of his top-selling liquor brands, either McDowell's No. 1 or Royal Challenge with the team.[8] The latter was chosen, hence the name. The jersey colours of the team are red and golden yellow, the same as the Karnataka state flag,[9] and the logo consists of the RC emblem with "Royal Challengers Bangalore" in standard format.

Political career

Mallya entered politics in 2000 as a member of the Janata Party. His party contested almost all of the 224 seats during the Karnataka State legislative election. He campaigned vigorously through the media, but his party failed to make any impact and did not win a single seat. Following the party's failure in the elections, it has been largely ignored by the media, although Mallya recently became an MP independently.

Auction purchases

Vijay Mallya is noted for his successful bidding in auction of items that are considered of great historical value to India. In 2004, he placed the winning bid of £175,000 for the sword of Tipu Sultan at an auction in London, and brought it back to India. In March 2009, Mallya successfully bid for the belongings of Mahatma Gandhi at US$1.8 million, in a New York auction that initially caused an uproar in India and its government tried and failed to prevent it from going under the hammer.

Other businesses

Establishment of Mallya Hospital in Bangalore. The hospital is located on Vittal Mallya Road, named after his father.

Helped to fund the Mallya Aditi International School, a private school in Bangalore.

He also owns the popular kunigal stud farm,situated near bangalore.

His F1 team Force India, in association with MTV India produced a reality show, MTV Force India The Fast and The Gorgeous in 2009. The show is about 20 gorgeous girls competing to be the face of Force India F1 in the 2009 season. The winners of ''The Fast and the Gorgeous'' were supposed to get to travel the world with the team, host the after-parties and appear in the F1 calendar.

References

External links

Profile at UB Group

Profile at ''Forbes''

Profile at ''The Daily Telegraph''

Vijay Mallya collected news and commentary at ''The Times of India''

Interview with Vijay Mallya ''CNN'' — November 28, 2007.

Category:Indian chief executives Category:Indian politicians Category:Indian motorsport people Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Indian billionaires Category:Members of the Rajya Sabha Category:Formula One people Category:Formula One team owners Category:Indian Premier League franchise owners Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:Mangaloreans Category:People from Dakshina Kannada Category:Racehorse owners and breeders

ar:فيجاي ماليا bg:Виджай Маля de:Vijay Mallya fr:Vijay Mallya hi:विजय माल्या id:Vijay Mallya it:Vijay Mallya kn:ವಿಜಯ್ ಮಲ್ಯ lt:Vijay Mallya ml:വിജയ് മല്യ mr:विजय मल्ल्या ms:Vijay Mallya nl:Vijay Mallya ja:ビジェイ・マリヤ pl:Vijay Mallya pt:Vijay Mallya ru:Маллья, Виджай fi:Vijay Mallya ta:விஜய் மல்லையா te:విజయ్ మాల్య

name	Bert Jansch
landscape	Yes
background	solo_singer
born	November 03, 1943Glasgow, Scotland
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Folk, folk rock, folk baroque
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
years active	1965–present
label	TransatlanticCharisma
associated acts	Pentangle
website	www.bertjansch.com
notable instruments	}}

Herbert Jansch (born 3 November 1943), known as Bert Jansch, is a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, particularly as an innovative and accomplished acoustic guitarist, but also as a singer and songwriter. He has recorded at least 25 albums and has toured extensively starting in the 1960s and continuing into the 21st century.

Jansch was a leading figure in the British folk music revival of the 1960s, touring folk clubs and recording several solo albums, as well as collaborating with other musicians such as John Renbourn and Anne Briggs. In 1968, he joined the band Pentangle, touring and recording with them until their break-up in 1972. He then took a few years' break from music, returning in the late 1970s to work on a series of projects with other musicians. He joined a reformed Pentangle in the early 1980s and remained with them as they evolved through various changes of personnel until 1995. Since then, Jansch has continued to work as a solo artist.

His work has influenced such artists as Paul Simon, Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler, Jimmy Page, Nick Drake, Graham Coxon, Donovan, Neil Young and Devendra Banhart. He has received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards: one, in 2001, for his solo achievements and the other, in 2007, as a member of Pentangle.

Early years

Bert Jansch was born at Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow in 1943, the descendent of a family, originally from Hamburg, who settled in Britain during the Victorian era. The family name is pronounced "yansh" by almost everyone except Jansch himself. He and some close members of his family pronounce it "jansh". Jansch was brought up in Edinburgh, where he attended Pennywell Primary School and Ainslie Park Secondary School. As a teenager, he acquired a guitar and started visiting a local folk club ("The Howff") run by Roy Guest. There, he met Archie Fisher and Jill Doyle (Davey Graham's half sister), who introduced him to the music of Big Bill Broonzy, Pete Seeger, Brownie McGhee and Woody Guthrie. He also met and shared a flat with Robin Williamson, who remained a friend when Jansch later moved to London.

After leaving school, Jansch took a job as a nurseryman, then in August 1960, he gave this up, with the intention of being a full-time musician. He appointed himself as an unofficial caretaker at The Howff and, as well as sleeping there, he may have received some pay to supplement his income as a novice performer who did not own his own guitar. He spent the next two years playing one-night stands in British folk clubs. This was a musical apprenticeship that exposed him to a range of influences, including Martin Carthy and Ian Campbell, but especially Anne Briggs, from whom he learned some of the songs (such as "Blackwaterside" and "Reynardine") that would later feature strongly in his recording career.

Between 1963 and 1965, he travelled around Europe and beyond, hitch-hiking from place to place and living on earnings from busking and casual musical performances in bars and cafes. Before leaving Glasgow, he married a 16-year-old girl called Lynda Campbell: a marriage of convenience, which allowed her to travel with him although she was too young to have her own passport. They split up after a few months and Jansch was eventually repatriated to Britain after catching dysentery in Tangiers.

London (mid-1960s)

Jansch moved to London where, in the mid-1960s, there was a burgeoning interest in folk music. There, he met the engineer and producer, Bill Leader, at whose home they made a recording of Jansch's music on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Leader sold the tape for £100 to Transatlantic Records, who produced an album directly from it. The album ''Bert Jansch'' was released in 1965 and went on to sell 150,000 copies. It included Jansch's protest song "Do You Hear Me Now" which was brought to the attention of the pop music mainstream later that year by the singer Donovan, who covered it on his ''Universal Soldier'' EP, which reached No. 1 in the UK EP chart and No. 27 in the singles chart. Also included in Jansch's first album was his song "Needle of Death" which is claimed to have influenced the drug-taking habits of a generation of British youth, despite portraying heroin extremely negatively. In his early career, Jansch was sometimes characterized as a British Bob Dylan.

Jansch followed his first album with two more, produced in quick succession: ''It Don't Bother Me'' and ''Jack Orion''—which contained his first recording of "Blackwaterside", later to be taken up by Jimmy Page and recorded by Led Zeppelin as "Black Mountain Side". Jansch says: :The accompaniment was nicked by a well-known member of one of the most famous rock bands, who used it, unchanged, on one of their records. Transatlantic took legal advice about the alleged copyright infringement and were advised that there was "a distinct possibility that Bert might win an action against Page". Ultimately, Transatlantic were dubious about the costs involved in taking on Led Zeppelin in the courts, and half the costs would have had to be paid by Jansch personally, which he simply could not afford, so the case was never pursued.

In London, Jansch met up with other innovative acoustic guitar players, including John Renbourn (with whom he shared a flat in Kilburn), Davey Graham and Paul Simon. They would all meet and play in various London music clubs, including The Troubadour, in Old Brompton Road, and Les Cousins club in Greek Street, Soho. Renbourn and Jansch frequently played together, developing their own intricate interplay between the two guitars, often referred to as 'Folk baroque'. In 1966, they recorded the ''Bert and John'' album together, featuring much of this material. Late in 1967 they tired of the all-nighters at Les Cousins and became the resident musicians at a music venue set up by Bruce Dunnett, a Scottish entrepreneur, at The Horseshoe pub (now defunct) at 264-267 Tottenham Court Road. This became the haunt of a number of musicians, including the singer Sandy Denny. Another singer, Jacqui McShee began performing with the two guitarists and, with the addition of Danny Thompson (string bass) and Terry Cox (drums), they formed the group, Pentangle. The venue evolved into a jazz club, but by then the group had moved on.

On 19 October 1968, Jansch married Heather Sewell. At the time, she was an art student and had been the girlfriend of Roy Harper. She inspired several of Jansch's songs and instrumentals: the most obvious is "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell", from his 1968 album, ''Birthday Blues'', but Jansch says that, despite the name, "M'Lady Nancy" (from the 1971 ''Rosemary Lane'' album) was also written for her. As Heather Jansch she has become a well-known sculptor.

Pentangle years (1968–1973)

Pentangle's first major concert was at the Royal Festival Hall, in 1967, and their first album was released in the following year. Pentangle embarked on a demanding schedule of touring the world and recording and, during this period, Jansch largely gave up solo performances. He did, however, continue to record, releasing ''Rosemary Lane'' in 1971. The tracks, for this album were recorded on a portable tape recorder by Bill Leader at Jansch's cottage in Ticehurst, Sussex — a process which took several months, with Jansch only working when he was in the right mood.

Pentangle reached their highest point of commercial success with the release of their ''Basket Of Light'' album in 1969. The single, ''Light Flight'', taken from the album became popular through its use as theme music for a TV drama series Take Three Girls (the BBC's first drama series to be broadcast in colour) for which the band also provided incidental music. In 1970, at the peak of their popularity, they recorded a soundtrack for the film ''Tam Lin'', made at least 12 television appearances, and undertook tours of the UK (including the Isle of Wight Festival) and America (including a concert at the Carnegie Hall). However, their fourth album, ''Cruel Sister'', released in October 1970, was a commercial disaster. This was an album of traditional songs that included a 20-minute long version of ''Jack Orion'', a song that Jansch and Renbourn had recorded previously as a duo on Jansch's ''Jack Orion'' album.

Pentangle recorded two further albums, but the strains of touring and of working together as a band were taking their toll. Then Pentangle withdrew from their record company, Transatlantic, in a bitter dispute regarding royalties. The final album of the original incarnation of Pentangle was ''Solomon's Seal'' released by Warner Brothers/Reprise in 1972. Colin Harper describes it as "a record of people's weariness, but also the product of a unit whose members were still among the best players, writers and musical interpreters of their day". Pentangle split up in January 1973, and Jansch and his wife bought a farm near Lampeter, in Wales, and withdrew temporarily from the concert circuit.

Late 1970s

After two years as a farmer, Jansch left his wife and family and returned to music (although Jansch and his wife would not be formally divorced until 1988). In 1977, he recorded the album ''A Rare Conundrum'' with a new set of musicians: Mike Piggott, Rod Clements and Pick Withers. He then formed the band Conundrum with the addition of Martin Jenkins (violin) and Nigel Smith (bass). They spent six months touring Australia, Japan and the United States. With the end of the tour, Conundrum parted company and Jansch spent six months in the United States, where he recorded the ''Heartbreak'' album with Albert Lee.

Jansch toured Scandinavia, working as a duo with Martin Jenkins and, based on ideas they developed, recorded the ''Avocet'' album (initially released in Denmark). Jansch rates this as amongst his own favourites from his own recordings. On returning to England, he set up ''Bert Jansch's Guitar Shop'' at 220, New King's Road, Fulham. The shop specialised in hand-built acoustic guitars but was not a commercial success and closed after two years.

1980s

In 1980, an Italian promoter encouraged the original Pentangle to reform for a tour and a new album. The reunion started badly, with Terry Cox being injured in a car accident, resulting in the band's debuting at the Cambridge Folk Festival as a four-piece Pentangle. They managed to complete a tour of Italy (with Cox in a wheelchair) and Australia, before Renbourn left the band in 1983. There then followed a series of personnel changes, ultimately leaving Jansch and McShee as the only original members. The final incarnation consisting of Jansch, McShee, Nigel Portman Smith (keyboards), Peter Kirtley (guitar and vocals) and Gerry Conway (drums) survived from 1987 to 1995 and recorded three albums: ''Think of Tomorrow'', ''One More Road'' and ''Live 1994''.

As a solo artist in the mid 80s, he often appeared on Vivian Stanshall and Ki Longfellow-Stanshall's showboat, the Old Profanity Showboat, in Bristol's Floating Harbour.

Jansch had always been a heavy drinker, but in 1987 he fell ill while working with Rod Clements and was rushed to hospital, where he was told that he was "as seriously ill as you can be without dying" and that he had a choice of "giving up alcohol or simply giving up". He chose the former option: Colin Harper states that "There can be no doubt that Bert's creativity, reliability, energy, commitment and quality of performance were all rescued dramatically by the decision to quit boozing". Jansch and Clements continued the work they had started before Jansch's illness, resulting in the 1988 ''Leather Launderette'' album.

1995 onwards

From 1995, Jansch appeared frequently at the 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, London. One of his live sets there was recorded direct to Digital Audio Tape (DAT) by Jansch's then manager, Alan King and was released as the ''Live at the 12 Bar: an official bootleg'' album in 1996. In 2002 Jansch, Bernard Butler and Johnny "Guitar" Hodge performed live together at the Jazz Cafe, London. In 2003, Jansch celebrated his sixtieth birthday with a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Guest musicians included Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler, Ralph McTell, Hope Sandoval, David Roback and Colm Ó Cíosóig. Butler, McTell, Sandoval and Ó Cíosóig had all contributed to Jansch's 2002 ''Edge of a dream'' album. Also as a sixtieth birthday tribute, the BBC organised a concert for Jansch and various guests at the church of St Luke Old Street, which was televised on BBC Four.

In 2005, Jansch teamed up again with one of his early influences, Davey Graham, for a small number of concerts in England and Scotland. However, his concert tour had to be postponed, owing to illness, and Jansch underwent major heart surgery in the later part of 2005. By 2006 he had recovered and was playing concerts again. Jansch's album ''The Black Swan'' (his first for four years) was released on Sanctuary on 18 September 2006, featuring Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart on tracks "Katie Cruel", "When the Sun Comes Up", and "Watch the Stars", amongst other guests. In 2007, he featured on Babyshambles album, Shotter's Nation, playing acoustic guitar in the song "The Lost Art of Murder". After recording, he accompanied Babyshambles' lead singer Pete Doherty on several of his acoustic gigs, and performed on the Pete and Carl Reunion Gig, where ex-Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things singer Carl Barat joined Doherty on stage.

In 2009 he played a concert at the London Jazz Cafe to celebrate the release of three of his older albums (''LA Turnaround'', ''Santa Barbara Honeymoon'' and ''A Rare Conundrum'') on CD format. However, later that year, due to an unexpected illness, he had to cancel a 22-date North American tour that was due to start on 26 June. Jansch's website reported: "Bert is very sorry to be missing the tour, and apologises to all the fans who were hoping to see him. He is looking forward to rescheduling as soon as possible."

Jansch opened for Neil Young on his Twisted Road solo acoustic tour in the US and Canada, starting on 18 May 2010. He also performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads festival in June 2010. These were Jansch's first shows since his illness.

Recognition and awards

In 2001 Jansch received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and on 5 June 2006, he received the Mojo Merit Award at the Mojo Honours List ceremony, based on "an expanded career that still continues to be inspirational". The award was presented by Beth Orton and Roy Harper. Another award winner at the ceremony was Sir Elton John, who reminisced from the stage about how he and Bernie Taupin used to listen to Bert Jansch records. Rolling Stone ranked him number ninety-four on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003.

In January 2007, the five original members of Pentangle (including Jansch) were given a Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The award was presented by Sir David Attenborough. Producer John Leonard said "Pentangle were one of the most influential groups of the late 20th century and it would be wrong for the awards not to recognise what an impact they had on the music scene." Pentangle played together for the event, for the first time in over 20 years and their performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday 7 February 2007. Also in 2007, Jansch was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Edinburgh Napier University, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the UK music industry".

Music

Bert Jansch's musical influences are many and varied: early influences were American bluesman such as Big Bill Broonzy and, particularly, Brownie McGhee, who Jansch first saw playing at The Howff in 1960 and, much later, claimed that he'd "still be a gardener" if he hadn't encountered McGhee and his music. However, Jansch was also strongly influenced by the British folk music tradition, particularly by Anne Briggs and, to a lesser extent, A.L. Lloyd. Other influences included jazz (notably Charles Mingus), early music (John Renbourn and Julian Bream) and other contemporary singer-songwriters—especially Clive Palmer. The other major influence was Davey Graham who, himself, brought together an eclectic mixture of musical styles. Also, in his formative years, Jansch had busked his way through Europe to Morocco, picking up musical ideas and rhythms from many sources. From these influences, he has distilled his own individual guitar style.

Some of his songs feature a basic clawhammer style of right-hand playing but these are often distinguished by unusual chord voicings or by chords with added notes. An example of this is his song "Needle of Death", which features a simple picking style but several of the chords are decorated with added ninths. Characteristically, the ninths are not the highest note of the chord, but appear in the middle of the arpeggiated finger-picking, creating a "lumpiness" to the sound.

Another characteristic feature is his ability to hold a chord in the lower strings whilst bending an upper string—often bending up from a semitone below a chord note. These can be heard clearly on songs such as "Reynardine" where the bends are from the diminished fifth to the perfect fifth. Like many guitarists, string bends are a feature of his work and are often used to create notes which are just slightly sharp or slightly flat (by bending a little less than a semitone), creating the impression of a tonality that does not belong to a diatonic scale.

Jansch often fits the accompaniment to the natural rhythm of the words of his songs, rather than playing a consistent rhythm throughout. This can lead to occasional bars appearing in unusual time signatures. For example, his version of the Ewan MacColl song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", unlike most other covers of that song, switches from 4/4 time to 3/4 and 5/4. A similar disregard for conventional time signatures is found in several of his collaborative compositions with Pentangle: for instance, "Light Flight" from the ''Basket of Light'' album includes sections in 5/8, 7/8 and 6/4 time.

Instruments

Through the development of Pentangle, Jansch played a number of instruments: banjo, Appalachian dulcimer, recorder and concertina—on rare occasions he has even been known to play electric guitar. However, it is his acoustic guitar playing that is most notable. Jansch's first guitar was home-made from a kit but when he left school and started work, he bought a Hoffner cello-style guitar. Soon he traded this in for a Zenith, which was marketed as the "Lonnie Donegan guitar" and which Jansch played in the folk clubs in the early 1960s. His first album was reputedly recorded using a Martin 0028 borrowed from Martin Carthy. Pictures of Jansch in the middle 1960s show him playing a variety of models, including Martin and Epiphone guitars. He had a guitar hand-built by John Bailey, which was used for most of the Pentangle recordings but was eventually stolen. He then had a contract with Yamaha, who provided him with an FG1500 which he is still playing, along with a Yamaha LL11 1970s jumbo guitar. Jansch's relationship with Yamaha continues and they presented him with an acoustic guitar with gold trim and abalone inlay for his 60th birthday although, valued at about £3000, Jansch is quoted as saying that it is too good for stage use. Jansch is also well known as a player of Fylde Guitars.

Influence

Jansch's music, and particularly his acoustic guitar playing, have influenced a range of well-known musicians. His first album (''Bert Jansch'', 1965) was much admired, with Jimmy Page saying "At one point, I was absolutely obsessed with Bert Jansch. When I first heard that LP, I couldn't believe it. It was so far ahead of what everyone else was doing. No one in America could touch that." Page would record a version of Jansch's "Blackwaterside" controversially without crediting Jansch's arrangement.

The same debut album included Jansch's version of the Davy Graham instrumental "Angie". This was a favourite of Mike Oldfield, who practised acoustic guitar alone as a child, and was then heavily influenced by Jansch's style. The title of the instrumental inspired Oldfield to call his first band (with sister Sally) "The Sallyangie". Jansch's version of Angie was also the inspiration for Paul Simon's recording of the piece on his "Sounds of Silence" album. From the same era, Neil Young is quoted as saying, "As much of a great guitar player as Jimi [Hendrix] was, Bert Jansch is the same thing for acoustic guitar...and my favourite." Nick Drake and Donovan were both admirers of Jansch: both recorded covers of his songs and Donovan went on to dedicate two of his own songs to Jansch; "Bert's Blues" appeared on his ''Sunshine Superman'' LP, and "House of Jansch" on his fourth album ''Mellow Yellow''. Other tributes included Gordon Giltrap's album ''Janschology'' (2000) which has two tunes by Jansch, plus two others that show his influence.

Jansch went on to influence a later generation of guitar players. Bernard Butler states that Noel Gallagher, Jarvis Cocker, and Johnny Marr (as well as himself) have "paid homage to this quiet, unassuming, but hugely revered master". Further afield, the Japanese acoustic guitar player Tsuneo Imahori is known to have been heavily influenced by Jansch.

Discography

:''See also:'' Pentangle

;Albums

1965 – ''Bert Jansch''

1965 – ''It Don't Bother Me''

1966 – ''Jack Orion'' (with John Renbourn)

1966 – ''Bert And John'' (with John Renbourn)

1967 – ''Nicola''

1969 – ''Birthday Blues''

1971 – ''Rosemary Lane''

1973 – ''Moonshine''

1974 – ''L.A. Turnaround''

1975 – ''Santa Barbara Honeymoon''

1977 – ''A Rare Conundrum'' (released 1976 in Denmark and 1977 in UK)

1979 – ''Avocet'' (released 1978 in Denmark and 1979 in UK)

1980 – ''Thirteen Down'' (credited as "The Bert Jansch Conundrum")

1982 – ''Heartbreak''

1985 – ''From The Outside'' (only released officially in Belgium)

1989 – ''Leather Launderette'' (with Rod Clements)

1990 – ''Sketches''

1990 – ''The Ornament Tree''

1995 – ''When The Circus Comes To Town''

1998 – ''Toy Balloon''

2000 – ''Crimson Moon''

2002 – ''Edge of A Dream''

2006 – ''The Black Swan''

;Live

1980 – ''Bert Jansch Live at La Foret'' (released in Japan only)

1993 – ''BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert''

1996 – ''Live At The 12 Bar: An Authorised Bootleg''

1998 – ''Young Man Blues''

2001 – ''Downunder: Live In Australia''

2004 – ''The River Sessions''

2007 – ''Fresh As a Sweet Sunday Morning'' (live concert 2006 CD / DVD)

;Singles and EPs

1966 – ''Needle of Death'' (EP)

1967 – "Life Depends on Love"/"A Little Sweet Sunshine"

1973 – "Oh My Father"/"The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face"

1974 – "In The Bleak Midwinter"/"One For Jo" (non-album A-side)

1975 – "Dance Lady Dance"/"Build Another Band"

1978 – "Black Birds of Brittany"/"The Mariner's Farewell"

1980 – "Time and Time"/"Una Linea Di Dolcezza"

1982 – "Heartbreak Hotel"/"Up To The Stars"

1985 – "Playing the Game"/"After the Long Night"

2003 – "On the Edge of a Dream"/"Walking This Road"/"Crimson Moon"

;Compilations

1966 – ''Lucky Thirteen'' (U.S. release containing tracks from Jansch's two UK LP's.)

1969 – ''Bert Jansch: The Bert Jansch Sampler''

1972 – ''Box Of Love: The Bert Jansch Sampler Volume 2''

1986 – ''Strolling Down The Highway''

1992 – ''The Gardener: Essential Bert Jansch''

1993 – ''Three Chord Trick''

1997 – ''Blackwater Side''

2000 – ''Dazzling Stranger: The Bert Jansch Anthology''

;DVD

2007 – ''Fresh As a Sweet Sunday Morning'' (live concert 2006)

References

Bibliography

Doug Kennedy: ''The Songs and Guitar Solos of Bert Jansch'', New Punchbowl Music, 1983. Although this is a book of music, it contains a great deal of biographical information and photographs of Bert Jansch.

Colin Harper: ''Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival'' (2000, Bloomsbury) ISBN 0-7475-5330-0 (pbk)

External links

Official Bert Jansch website

Bert Jansch website

Bert Jansch Complete Discography at the Folk Blues & Beyond website

Acoustic Magazine The UK's only dedicated Acoustic magazine – cover feature with Bert Jansch

tablature page, from Ultimate Guitar">Bert Jansch tablature page, from Ultimate Guitar

Heather Jansch website

;Interview links

Interview with Bert Jansch on Trilogy Rock (Spain)

Category:Scottish folk musicians Category:Scottish guitarists Category:British blues guitarists Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:Scottish male singers Category:Scottish buskers Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Drag City artists Category:Appalachian dulcimer players Category:Folk rock musicians Category:Charisma Records artists Category:Acoustic guitarists

de:Bert Jansch fr:Bert Jansch it:Bert Jansch nl:Bert Jansch ja:バート・ヤンシュ no:Bert Jansch nn:Bert Jansch pt:Bert Jansch sv:Bert Jansch

name	Shawn Phillips
background	solo_singer
birth date	February 03, 1943
origin	Fort Worth, Texas, United States
genre	Folk rock
years active	1960s–present
website	shawnphillips.com
notable instruments	}}

Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943, Fort Worth, Texas, USA) is a folk-rock musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s.

Phillips has recorded twenty albums and worked with musicians including Donovan, Paul Buckmaster, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bernie Taupin, and many others. The Texas-born singer/songwriter was called "The best kept secret in the music business" by the late rock impresario Bill Graham.

In the 1960s, Phillips worked as a session player on several Donovan LPs including ''Fairytale'', ''Sunshine Superman'' and ''Mellow Yellow'', performed at the Isle of Wight festival, sang on the Beatles' "Lovely Rita (Meter Maid)" song, and was cast to play the lead in the original production of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (he had to withdraw due to his heavy recording and touring schedule). In February 1969 Phillips wrote and performed, with The Djinn, the music for the controversial Jane Arden play Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven at the Arts Laboratory on Drury Lane.

Phillips worked the folk music scene in Los Angeles, New York Greenwich Village, and London. In 1967, Phillips moved to Positano, Italy, where he remained throughout the 1970s, recording the albums ''Contribution'', ''Second Contribution'', ''Collaboration'' and ''Faces'.

Four of his albums ''Faces'', ''Bright White'', ''Furthermore'' and ''Do You Wonder'' made it into the Billboard Top 100. In addition, the singles "Lost Horizon" and "We" made Billboard's top 100 in 1973 (63 and 92 respectively), although "Woman" and "Anello (Where Are You)" didn't. One of the most sought after Christmas songs is Phillips' 1970 45rpm release of "A Christmas Song" on A&M; 1238. The track is now available on the re-issue of ''Faces''.

His album ''No Category'', featuring his longtime collaborators Paul Buckmaster and Peter Robinson, was released in 2002.

In 2007, his first live album, ''Living Contribution'', was released, along with a Live DVD of the same title.

Today, Shawn lives in Port Elizabeth, South Africa with his wife Juliette and their son Liam. He divides his time between writing, touring, and his work as an emergency medical technician (EMT), firefighter, and 1st Officer, Navigator, and Extrication Specialist with the National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa (NSRI).

Discography

''I'm A Loner'' (1964) [re-issued as: Favourite Things 1965]

''Shawn'' (1965) [re-issued as: First Impressions 1966]

''Contribution'' (1970)

''Second Contribution'' (1970) US #208

''Collaboration'' (1971)

''Faces'' (1972) US #57

''Bright White'' (1973) US #72

''Furthermore'' (1974), A&M; Records US #50

''Do You Wonder'' (1974) US #101

''Rumplestiltskin's Resolve'' (1975) US #201

''Spaced'' (1977)

''Transcendence'' (1978)

''Beyond Here Be Dragons'' (1983)

''Best of Shawn Phillips'' (1990)

''The Best of Shawn Phillips: The A&M; Years'' (1992)

''The Truth If It Kills'' (1994)

''Another Contribution: Anthology'' (1995)

''No Category'' (2002)

''Living Contribution'' (2007)

''At The BBC'' (2009)

Singles

''A Christmas Song'' (1977, A&M; AMS-819)

''We''

''Lost Horizon''

''Anello (Where Are You)''

''Do You Wonder'' (1974. A&M;)

References

External links

Official website

OFFICIAL Youtube Channel

OFFICIAL ReverbNation Channel

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:American expatriates in South Africa Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American rock guitarists Category:American folk singers Category:American rock singers Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Winners of Yamaha Music Festival

it:Shawn Phillips