Jack Bruce & James Vincent McMorrow - Waiting for the Day - Gerry Raferty Tribute

• published: 24 Feb 2012
• views: 14071

At celtic connections, for more go to ---- http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/celticconnections/ Bruce was born on 14 May 1943, in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire to musical parents who moved frequently, resulting in the young Bruce attending 14 different schools, ending up at Bellahouston Academy. Bruce began playing the jazz bass in his teens, and won a scholarship to study cello and musical composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, while playing in Jim McHarg's Scotsville Jazzband to support himself. The Academy disapproved of its students playing jazz, however. "They found out," Bruce told Musician correspondent Jim Macnie, "and said 'you either stop, or leave college.' So I left college." [edit] CareerAfter leaving school, he toured Italy, playing double bass with the Murray Campbell Big Band. In 1962, Jack Bruce became a member of the London-based band Blues Incorporated, led by Alexis Korner, in which he played the double bass. The band also included organist Graham Bond, saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and drummer Ginger Baker. In 1963, the group broke up and Bruce went on to form the Graham Bond Quartet with Bond, Baker, and guitarist John McLaughlin. They played an eclectic range of music genres, including, bebop, blues and rhythm and blues. As a result of session work at this time, Bruce switched from double bass to electric bass. The move to electric bass happened as McLaughlin was dropped from the band; he was replaced by Heckstall-Smith on sax and the band pursued a more concise R&B; sound and changed its name to the Graham Bond Organization. They released two studio albums and several singles, but were not commercially successful. They did, however, influence a number of other musicians, such as Keith Emerson, Jon Lord and Bill Bruford. In 1960, Jack Bruce married his first wife at age seventeen. He failed to mention her name in interviews citing the short-lived nature of the union. One son was born but he was estranged from his father. In 1964, Jack Bruce married Janet Godfrey, his second wife. They had two children together and divorced in 1973. During the time Bruce and Baker played with the Graham Bond Organization, they were known for their hostility towards each other. There were numerous stories of the two sabotaging each other's equipment and fighting on stage. Hostility grew so much between the two that Bruce was forced to leave the group in August 1965. After he left, Bruce recorded a solo single, "I'm Gettin Tired", for Polydor Records. He joined John Mayall and his John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers group, which featured guitarist Eric Clapton. Although his stay was brief; the Universal Deluxe double album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton contains all the known tracks featuring Bruce. After the Bluesbreakers, Bruce tasted his first commercial success as a member of Manfred Mann in 1966, including a No.1 single, "Pretty Flamingo" as well as the freewheeling and ground-breaking jazz-rock of Instrumental Asylum. When interviewed on the episode of the VH1 show, Classic Albums, which featured Disraeli Gears, Mayall stated that Bruce had been lured away by the lucrative commercial success of Manfred Mann while Mann himself recalled that Bruce attended recording sessions without having rehearsed but played songs straight through without error, opining that perhaps the chord changes seemed obvious to Bruce. The complete Manfred Mann recordings with Jack Bruce are available on the 4-CD EMI box set Down the Road Apiece. Whilst with Manfred Mann, Bruce again collaborated with Eric Clapton as a member of Powerhouse, which also featured Spencer Davis Groups's vocalist credited as Steve Anglo Steve Winwood. The 3 tracks were featured on the Elektra sampler album What's Shakin'. Two of the songs, "Crossroads" and "Steppin' Out", were to become staples in the live set of his next band. In July 1966 Bruce, Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker founded the power trio Cream, which gained international recognition playing blues-rock and jazz inflected rock and roll music. Within the band, Bruce and Clapton shared lead vocal roles and Bruce became better known as a songwriter. With his Gibson EB-3 electric bass he became one of the most famous bassists in rock, winning musicians' polls and influencing the next generation of bassists such as Sting, Geddy Lee and Jeff Berlin. Jack co-wrote most of Cream's single releases with lyricist Pete Brown, including the hits, "Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room", and "I Feel Free". By 1968, Cream were hugely successful; they grossed more than the next top six live acts of the day added together (including Jimi Hendrix and The Doors). They topped album charts all over the world, and received the first platinum discs for record sales, but the old enmity of Bruce and Baker resurface in 1968, and after a final tour, Cream broke up.