Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch | |
---|---|
Years active | 1965–2011 |
Labels | |
Formerly of | Pentangle |
Website | www |
Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011)[1] was 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 as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter. He recorded more than 28 albums and toured extensively from the 1960s to the 21st century.
Jansch was a leading figure in the 1960s British folk revival, 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 co-founded 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. Until his death, Jansch continued to work as a solo artist.
Jansch's work influenced many artists, especially
Early years
Herbert Jansch was born at Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, on 3 November 1943, the descendant of a family originally from Hamburg, Germany, who settled in Scotland during the Victorian era.[2] The family name is most often pronounced as /ˈjænʃ/ yansh, although Jansch himself, like several other members of his family, pronounced it /ˈdʒænʃ/ jansh.[3]
Jansch was brought up in the residential area of
After leaving school, Jansch took a job as a nurseryman[8] then, in August 1960, he gave this up, intending to become a full-time musician.[9] 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.[10] He spent the next two years playing one-night stands in British folk clubs.[4] 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.[4]
Jansch travelled around Europe and beyond between 1963 and 1965, hitch-hiking from place to place, living on earnings from
London (mid-1960s)
Jansch moved to London. There, in 1963, at the invitation of Bob Wilson – a Staffordshire folksinger who was also an art student at
In his early career, Jansch was sometimes characterized as a British
In London, Jansch met other innovative acoustic guitar players, including
In 1966, they recorded the Bert and John album together, featuring much of this material.[30] 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 Dunnet, a Scottish entrepreneur, at the Horseshoe pub (now defunct), at 264–267 Tottenham Court Road.[31] This became the haunt of a number of musicians, including the singer Sandy Denny.[32] 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.[33] The venue evolved into a jazz club, but by then the group had moved on.[34]
On 19 October 1968, Jansch married Heather Sewell.[35] At the time, she was an art student and had been the girlfriend of Roy Harper.[36] She inspired several of Jansch's songs and instrumentals, the most obvious being "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.[37] As Heather Jansch, she became a well-known sculptor.[38]
Pentangle years: 1968–73
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/De_Engelse_folkgroep_Pentangle%2C_Bestanddeelnr_922-1809.jpg/350px-De_Engelse_folkgroep_Pentangle%2C_Bestanddeelnr_922-1809.jpg)
Pentangle's first major concert was at the Royal Festival Hall in 1967, and their first album, The Pentangle, was released in the following year.[39] Pentangle embarked on a demanding schedule of touring the world and recording and, during this period, Jansch largely gave up solo performances.[40] 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.[41]
Pentangle reached their highest point of commercial success with the release of their
Pentangle recorded two further albums, but the strains of touring and of working together as a band were taking their toll.[46] Then Pentangle withdrew from their record company, Transatlantic, in a bitter dispute regarding royalties.[47] 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."[48] 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.[37]
Mid 1970s
Jansch spent two or three years in California in the mid-1970s. He recorded most of his 1974 album
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.[49] 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.[50] 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.[50]
Jansch toured Scandinavia, working as a duo with Martin Jenkins and, based on ideas they developed, recorded the Avocet album (initially released in Denmark).[51] Jansch rated this as among his own favourites from his own recordings.[52] On returning to England, he set up Bert Jansch's Guitar Shop at 220, New King's Road, Fulham.[50] The shop specialised in hand-built acoustic guitars but was not a commercial success and closed after two years.[53]
1980s
In 1980, an Italian promoter encouraged the original Pentangle to reform for a tour and a new album.[54] 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.[54] They managed to complete a tour of Italy (with Cox in a wheelchair) and Australia, before Renbourn left the band in 1983.[55] There then followed a series of personnel changes, including Mike Piggott replacing John Renbourn from 1983 to 1987 and recording Open the Door and In the Round, but ultimately leaving Jansch and McShee as the only original members.[56] 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.[57]
In 1985, two limited edition albums appeared, issued under the name of Loren Auerbach, who was to become Jansch's wife: After the Long Night was released in February 1985, the second, Playing the Game, appearing in October. Jansch was initially a guest player, but also became a writer on some of the songs, as well as an arranger and co-vocalist. Richard Newman was the primary guitarist and songwriter. Auerbach had worked alongside Newman for many years before meeting Jansch. Newman and Jansch were the key players on After the Long Night. On Playing the Game, Jansch and Newman joined Cliff Aungier, Geoff Bradford (lead guitarist from Cyril Davis' All Stars, from Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men, and in the first line-up of The Rolling Stones) and Brian Knight (British blues veteran of the Blues By Six). The two albums became one—After The Long Night / Playing The Game. Jansch played guitar with Richard Newman on the following Newman songs: "I Can't Go Back", "Smiling Faces", "Playing the Game", "Sorrow", "Days and Nights", "The Rainbow Man", "Frozen Beauty", "Christabel", "So Lonely" and "The Miller". All songs were sung by Auerbach with the exception of "The Miller", which was sung by Newman. Jansch married Auerbach in 1999.[58]
He had always been a heavy drinker, but in 1987 Jansch fell ill while working with Rod Clements and Marty Craggs, 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."[59] 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."[60] Jansch and Clements continued the work they had started before Jansch's illness, resulting in the 1988 Leather Launderette album.[60]
Final years and death: 1992–2011
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Bert_Jansch_grave.jpg/350px-Bert_Jansch_grave.jpg)
Bert was the prime mover in the Acoustic Routes film, first broadcast by the BBC in 1992. It shows him revisiting his old haunts and reminiscing with guests such as Al Stewart, Anne Briggs, John Renbourn, and Davy Graham.[61]
From 1995, Jansch appeared frequently at the
In 2005, Jansch teamed up again with one of his early influences, Davy Graham, for a small number of concerts in England and Scotland.[64] His concert tour had to be postponed, owing to illness, and Jansch underwent major heart surgery in late 2005.[64] 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", among other guests.[64] In 2007, he was featured on Babyshambles album, Shotter's Nation, playing acoustic guitar on the song "The Lost Art of Murder".[70] After recording, he accompanied Babyshambles' lead singer Pete Doherty on several acoustic gigs, and performed on the Pete and Carl Reunion Gig, where Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things frontman and guitarist Carl Barât joined Doherty on stage.[71]
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.[72] 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."[64]
Jansch opened for Neil Young on his Twisted Road solo 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.[64] One of his last recording sessions was with Eric Clapton for Paul Wassif's 2011 album Looking Up Feeling Down.[73] Jansch again opened for Young's 2011 tour, beginning on 15 April in Durham, North Carolina, and having a final solo performance in Chicago on 7 May.[74] That same year, a few reunion gigs also took place with Pentangle, including performances at the Glastonbury Festival[75] and one final concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London,[76] which was also Jansch's last ever public performance.
Jansch died on 5 October 2011, aged 67, at a hospice in
Recognition and awards
In 2001, Jansch received a
In January 2007, the five original members of Pentangle (including Jansch) were given a Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[81] 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."[82] Pentangle played together for the event, for the first time in more than two decades, and their performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 7 February 2007.[83] In 2007, Jansch was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Edinburgh Napier University, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the UK music industry."[84]
Music
Jansch's musical influences included Big Bill Broonzy
Some of his songs feature a basic
Another characteristic feature was his ability to hold a chord in the lower strings while
Instruments
Through the development of Pentangle, Jansch played a number of instruments: banjo,[97] Appalachian dulcimer,[98] recorder,[99] and concertina[100]—on rare occasions he was even known to play electric guitar.[101] However, it is his acoustic guitar playing that was most notable.[102]
Jansch's first guitar was home-made from a kit[103] but when he left school and started work, he bought a Höfner cello-style guitar.[8] 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.[104] His first album was reputedly recorded using a Martin 00028 borrowed from Martin Carthy.[105] 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.[106]
Jansch later played two six-string guitars built by the Coventry-based
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."[108] 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.[109]
Jansch's version of "Angie" inspired
Discography
Studio albums
- 1965: Bert Jansch
- 1965: It Don't Bother Me
- 1966: Jack Orion
- 1967: Nicola
- 1969: Birthday Blues
- 1971: Rosemary Lane
- 1973: Moonshine
- 1974: L.A. Turnaround
- 1975: Santa Barbara Honeymoon
- 1977: A Rare Conundrum (released 1976 as Poor Mouth with alternate track listing)
- 1978: Avocet
- 1980: Thirteen Down (as The Bert Jansch Conundrum)
- 1982: Heartbreak
- 1985: From the Outside
- 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
References
- ^ a b "Shows". Entertainment.stv.tv. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 7–8
- ^ Harper, C., p. 7
- ^ a b c d Kennedy, Doug (1983). The Songs and Guitar Solos of Bert Jansch. New Punchbowl Music. p. 7.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 57
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will (5 May 2006). "Bert Jansch: A lesson with the master". The Independent.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 84
- ^ a b Harper, C., p. 13
- ^ Harper, C., p. 61; which notes that he worked for about a month in a supermarket.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 61
- ^ a b Kennedy p. 10
- ^ a b Harper, C., p. 125
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 16–43 (Chapter: London: the first days)
- ^ See sleeve notes of the CD re-release of the album
- ISBN 0-85323-919-3.
- ^ John Crosby's sleeve notes from the Donovan CD, Donovan: The Very Best of the Early Years
- ^ Grunenberg & Harris, pp. 139–40: "Needle of Death ... did far more to make skag a drug of choice among hip British teenagers than a decade's worth of later releases on the same subject by the likes of Lou Reed [and others]...."
- ^ Harper, C., p. 111 (although Harper points out that this comparison was not in line with Jansch's desires) cf. Donovan was also called 'Britain's answer to Bob Dylan'
- ISBN 0-7475-8725-6.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 357 It Don't Bother Me was released in December 1965 and Jack Orion in September 1966
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 3, 4
- ^ Kennedy, p. 21
- ^ Nat Joseph of Transatlantic Records, quoted in Harper, page 5
- ^ Harper, C., p. 5
- ISBN 0-7475-8725-6.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 160
- ^ Harper, C., p. 175
- ^ Grove's Dictionary of Music (online edition) uses the term folk baroque in articles on both Jansch and Renbourn, but particularly cites the Bert and John album as exemplifying the term.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 198
- ^ "Dead Pubs Society". Dead Pubs Society. Retrieved 12 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Harper, C., p. 212
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 212–13
- ^ McKay, Alastair (3 November 2003). "No Strings Attached". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2007. Interview with Bert Jansch on his 60th birthday
- ^ Harper, C., p. 222
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 221–22
- ^ a b Kennedy, p. 26
- ^ "Heather Jansch sculptor bronze & driftwood life-size horses News". Heatherjansch.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 211, 220
- ^ Harper. p214
- ^ Wilcock, Steve. "Bert Jansch – "Rosemary Lane"". Triste (4). Retrieved 10 January 2007. Triste examines just what makes Bert Jansch's 1971 solo album, Rosemary Lane, recorded on sabbatical from Pentangle, so special.
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 7th Edition (1988)
- ^ Harper, C., p. 224
- ^ Harper, C., p. 228
- ^ Harper, C., p. 375
- ^ Harper, C., p. 229
- ^ Ref. Harper, C., p. 235
- ^ Harper. p237
- ^ Harper, C., p. 252
- ^ a b c Kennedy, p. 32
- ^ a b Harper, C., p. 263
- ^ a b Harper, C., p. 313
- ^ Harper, C., p. 296
- ^ a b Harper, C., p. 270
- ^ Harper, C., p. 271
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 269–282
- ^ Harper, C., p. 295
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/104258. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Harper, C., p. 278
- ^ a b Harper, C., p. 279
- ISBN 0-7475-8725-6.
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 295–96
- ^ Harper, C., p. 299
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Welcome to the official website of legendary guitarist Bert Jansch". Bertjansch.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ Calendar Girls (2003) - IMDb, retrieved 4 August 2020
- YouTube
- YouTube
- YouTube
- ^ "Bert Jansch - 60th Birthday Concert (full video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Babyshambles' new album - track-by-track verdict". Nme.com. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "The Libertines reunite at Hackney gig". NME. Nme.com. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ Jazz cafe live. Retrieved 19 February 2010. Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Paul Wassif - Looking Up Feeling Down". Eric Clapton Music News. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "Bert Jansch Tours with Neil Young". Jam Base - Go See Live Music. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ "BBC Music - Glastonbury, Pentangle - Interview, Glastonbury 2011". Bbc.co.uk. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ Walters, John L (4 August 2011). "Pentangle – review". The Guardian.
- ^ "Folk musician Bert Jansch dies aged 67". BBC News. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "Auerbach family history". 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Radio 2 - Events - Folk Awards 2007". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ a b Fricke, David; Stone, Rolling (3 December 2010). "100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Radio 2 - Events - Folk Awards 2007". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "Press Office - Pentangle reform for Radio 2 Folk Awards". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "Press Office - Radio 2 Folk Awards 2007 winners". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "Dr Bert Jansch - Honorary Doctorate of Music". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 58
- ^ Harper, C., pp. 57–8
- ^ Harper p.113
- ^ Harper, C., p. 199, particularly regarding Jack Orion
- ^ Harper, C., p. 92 particularly mentions the record Mingus Ah-Um as an influence
- ^ Harper, C., p. 92
- ^ Harper, C., p. 86
- Davy Graham
- ^ Kennedy, p. 14
- ^ Kennedy, p. 8
- ^ Kennedy, p. 16
- ^ See sleeve notes of Basket of Light
- ^ For example, the song "House Carpenter" from the Basket of Light album (see album sleeve notes)
- ^ For example, the song "A maid that's deep in love" from the Cruel Sister album (see album sleeve notes)
- ^ For example, in the song "The Snows", from the Solomon's Seal album (see album sleeve notes)
- ^ For example, the song "Lord Franklin", from the Cruel Sister album (see sleeve notes)
- ISBN 0-87930-743-9.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 84, describes his playing, in his early days, as "increasingly accomplished, if singular". Page 106 quotes Frank Coia [who?] as saying that Jansch's style "was a total diversity from normal, conventional playing – in tonality, in dissonance, in his idea on chord progressions. [...] His accentuation and the actual timing [...] is so unique."
- ^ Harper, C., p. 12
- ^ Harper, C., p. 22
- ^ a b Spencer, Neil (17 September 2006). "Let's stick together". London: The Observer. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 209
- ^ Mulvey, John (29 December 2003). "The guitar men". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
- ^ Quoted in a list of tributes to Jansch inside the front cover of Roy Harper's biography.
- ISBN 0-634-05548-8.
- ^ Harper, C., p. 335. Quote that Jansch was incredulous that Simon's version of "Anji" (and other subsequent recordings) are based on his own, "mistakes and all"
- ISBN 978-1-55652-754-8; p. 75: "[Drake] was inspired by musicians like Bert Jansch and John Renbourn"
- ^ "Gordon Giltrap". Giltrap.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
Bibliography
- Harper, Colin: Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival (2000, Bloomsbury) ISBN 0-7475-5330-0(pbk)
- Kennedy, Doug: 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.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 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
- Bert Jansch tablature page, from Ultimate Guitar
- Interview with Bert Jansch on Trilogy Rock (Spain)
- Bert Jansch at AllMusic
- Bert Jansch discography at Discogs