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Bruce of rock was a pioneer
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Hard rock troika’s bass boss
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Jack Bruce was 17 when he won a scholarship to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music for cello and composition but dropped out after three months to play jazz in Glasgow. He moved to London in his late teens and played with R&B pioneers Alexis Korner and Graham Bond. In 1965, he left the Graham Bond Organisation, whose drummer was Ginger Baker, for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, a band that comprised guitarist Eric Clapton. After a brief stint with Manfred Mann, Bruce joined forces with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker to form Cream in 1966. The three invented a hard rock style in which Bruce’s bass chased Clapton’s guitar, before breaking up in 1968. Most of Cream’s hit singles were written by Bruce and lyricist Pete Brown.
Post the Cream split, Bruce divided his time between fusion, hard rock and an ambitious, eccentric folk-rock-classical hybrid style of song writing. This was on show in the following albums, Songs for a Tailor, Harmony Row and Out of the Storm. He formed a new group called Jack Bruce and Friends that included jazz guitarist Larry Coryell, Jimi Hendrix, and Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. In 1970 and 1971, he was a member of the Tony Williams Lifetime.
On the hard rock side, Bruce put together a trio with Mountain’s Leslie West and Corky Laing, which released albums in 1972, 1973 and 1974. The 1980 version of Jack Bruce and Friends contained drummer Cobham, guitarist Clem Clempson and pianist David Sancious. In 1981, Bruce joined BLT, led by Robin Trower and in 1982 he collaborated with Trower on Truce.
He kept a low profile for the rest of the decade, reportedly battling drug and alcohol related problems.
Following a European tour with a 13-piece Latin-jazz-rock orchestra, Bruce recorded A Question of Time, which mirrored his interest in world music and reunited him with Cream drummer Ginger Baker.
A. GEORGE ANTONY
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