R.I.P. Jack Bruce.

Rigsby

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29772926

eviltimeban

Sad news. He HATED Ginger Baker so Cream were always fun.

PropJoe10

Very sad news, one of the great pioneering rock bassists, maybe the best bassist/singer ever. RIP Jack Bruce.

Rigsby

eviltimeban wrote: »

Sad news. He HATED Ginger Baker so Cream were always fun.

Yes, they always seemed to be at loggerheads, but IMO underneath it all, they had a healthy respect for each other.

coolshannagh28

They were a lethal combination and Jacks distinctive bass comprised a huge chunk of Cream s unique sound more than Clapton who was lick driven and more inclined towards blues than rock.

Jijsaw

He'll be missed, I just put Disraeli Gears on

Rigsby

coolshannagh28 wrote: »

They were a lethal combination and Jacks distinctive bass comprised a huge chunk of Cream s unique sound more than Clapton who was lick driven and more inclined towards blues than rock.

Truth be known, I think Bruce himself came from a more jazz background than a rock one. This accounts for how he was able to improvise for long periods on "CREAM" songs.

dasdog

Only watched "Beware of Mr. Baker" last night and checked if he was still alive afterwards. Some great music, RIP.

darkdubh

Saw Ginger Bakers Jazz Confusion over the weekend a spart of the Cork Jazz Festival.He dedicated the show to Jack Bruce and seemed genuinely affected by his passing.The show was fantastic.

PropJoe10

darkdubh wrote: »

Saw Ginger Bakers Jazz Confusion over the weekend a spart of the Cork Jazz Festival.He dedicated the show to Jack Bruce and seemed genuinely affected by his passing.The show was fantastic.

Obviously they werent best buddies but they formed one of the great all-time rock rhythm sections. I'm sure Ginger would be the first to say this. That "Beware of Mr Baker" film is class. Really enjoyed it!

Rigsby

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Obviously they werent best buddies but they formed one of the great all-time rock rhythm sections. I'm sure Ginger would be the first to say this.

Perhaps in later years Baker might have begrudgingly admitted that Bruce was a great bassist, but that was not always the case. At one stage he (Baker) would be on at Bruce for being "too busy".

PropJoe10

Rigsby wrote: »

Perhaps in later years Baker might have begrudgingly admitted that Bruce was a great bassist, but that was not always the case. At one stage he (Baker) would be on at Bruce for being "too busy".

This always makes me laugh from Wikipedia:

In an interview in the UK magazine Music Mart, about the release of a DVD about the Blind Faith concert in Hyde Park 1969, Baker commented about his unwillingness to continue the Cream reunion. These comments were far more specific and explosive than Clapton's, as they were centred around his relationship with Jack Bruce. Ginger said, "When he's Dr. Jekyll, he's fine ... It's when he's Mr. Hyde that he's not. And I'm afraid he's still the same. I tell you this – there won't ever be any more Cream gigs, because he did Mr. Hyde in New York last year."[43]

When asked to elaborate, Baker replied: "Oh, he shouted at me on stage, he turned his bass up so loud that he deafened me on the first gig. What he does is that he apologises and apologises, but I'm afraid, to do it on a Cream reunion gig, that was the end. He killed the magic, and New York was like 1968 ... It was just a get through the gig, get the money sort of deal. I was absolutely amazed. I mean, he demonstrated why he got the sack from Graham Bond and why Cream didn't last very long on stage in New York. I didn't want to do it in the first place simply because of how Jack was. I have worked with him several times since Cream, and I promised myself that I would never work with him again. When Eric first came up with the idea, I said no, and then he phoned me up and eventually convinced me to do it. I was on my best behaviour and I did everything I could to make things go as smooth as possible, and I was really pleasant to Jack."

They always struck me as arguing brothers. I'm sure they had great respect for one another, even when they werent on good terms personally.

leakyboots

Rigsby wrote: »

Truth be known, I think Bruce himself came from a more jazz background than a rock one. This accounts for how he was able to improvise for long periods on "CREAM" songs.

Definite jazzer. Sure he played with Spectrum Road with Vernon Reid, Cindi Blackman and John Medeski. Saw them once, bit too out there for my tastes.

nicedryturf

I thought Jack was the best thing about Cream, but that might be just my Clapton-retro-hate.

Actually, my favourite Jack Bruce track was the one he did with Frank Zappa - an instrumental track called Apostrophe (from the album of the same name). It probably didn't challenge Jack or Zappa very much but it's a great stoner-rock wig-out all the same. Appearently Zappa didn't really enjoy jamming with Bruce as he didn't play the traditional bassist role of laying down a groove. Actually as much as I like Zappa, I think Bruce actually stole the show on that track.

dasdog

nicedryturf wrote: »

Actually, my favourite Jack Bruce track was the one he did with Frank Zappa - an instrumental track called Apostrophe (from the album of the same name).

The master tracks of that would be interesting to hear. Fuzz bass dictates the song and I'd say there's a lot more to it than made the album.

nicedryturf

dasdog wrote: »

The master tracks of that would be interesting to hear. Fuzz bass dictates the song and I'd say there's a lot more to it than made the album.

Well ya never know - the Zappa family are always putting out archived recordings... Usually passable live stuff. It'd be great to hear some more masters and outtakes from the studio albums.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Didn't look after himself by all accounts. It's amazing to me that Ginger is still alive.

Clapton at least cleaned himself up but from what I heard Ginger still likes to party.

Folders

Sad loss, big fan of Cream, even with all the arguments that went on.