|
BIOGRAPHY
Bert Jansch, legendary songwriter and guitarist, is widely
acknowledged as one of the most influential musicians of all
time. Since the mid 1960s generation after generation have
been enraptured and amazed by his extraordinary groundbreaking
guitar playing and classic emotive songs.
Jimmy Page,
Neil Young, Nick Drake, Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler and
Beth Orton have all been devotees, and today another new generation
of musicians and fans, led by Devendra Banhart, are
discovering Jansch for themselves.
Bert began performing his unique synthesis of folk, blues
and jazz on the folk club scene of the early 1960s, having hitchhiked
to London from his hometown of Edinburgh. His first
album, Bert Jansch (played on a borrowed guitar and recorded
on a reel-to-reel tape deck in someone’s apartment) was legendarily
sold to the Transatlantic label for £100.
On its release
in April 1965, Bert Jansch caused a sensation for its innovative
guitar technique and powerful songs, and it has been phenomenally
influential to this day, cited by legions of guitar players
(famous and otherwise) as a major inspiration.
Bert Jansch was followed by It Don’t Bother Me, and the also
hugely influential Jack Orion. On that album Bert was already
exploring innovative treatments of the traditional folk ballad
form, something he took further with Pentangle, the unique
acoustic supergroup he formed with John Renbourn, Jacqui
McShee, Terry Cox and Danny Thompson.
Pentangle made
six albums and enjoyed an unprecedented degree of success for
an acoustic band.
After Pentangle split in 1973, Bert returned to a prolific solo
career. His 21st solo album, Crimson Moon, on which he worked
for the first time with long-time fans Johnny Marr and Bernard
Butler, appeared in 2000 to a torrent of press and TV attention,
accompanied by a Channel 4 documentary, Dreamweaver, and
the publication by Bloomsbury of a major biography: Dazzling
Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival (Colin
Harper).
A double CD tribute album, People On The Highway: a
Bert Jansch Encomium, featuring Bert’s songs specially recorded
by other artists, was also released in 2000. In 2001 Bert was
awarded a BBC Radio 2 Lifetime Achievement Award at the
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Edge of a Dream (featuring Bernard
Butler, Hope Sandoval, Dave Swarbrick and Ralph McTell), appeared
in October 2002 to widespread critical acclaim across
Europe.
In November 2003 Bert celebrated his 60th birthday
with a BBC TV Special shown on BBC4, and a triumphant sellout
birthday concert at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall with
special guests.
Recently much of Bert’s classic and prolific back catalogue
has been digitally remastered and sumptuously re-packaged,
boasting great sound quality, extensive booklets with brand
new full and informative sleevenotes, photographs and facsimiles
of all the original artwork. Some have extra bonus tracks.
The beautiful reissue series culminated in the first-time CD
issue of the extraordinary instrumental album Avocet, one of
the masterpieces of Bert’s career.
In 2006 Bert has been working with some of the latest musicians
to emerge on the scene on his long awaited new album
The Black Swan, including producer Noah Georgeson (Devendra
Banhart — Cripple Crow, Joanna Newsom — Milk-Eyed
Mender), and musicians and vocalists Devendra Banhart, Beth
Orton, Otto Hauser (Espers, Vetiver), Helena Espvall (Espers),
and Kevin Barker (Currituck Co.).
In February 2006 Bert was
involved in the major BBC TV series Folk Britannia, and appeared
in the associated concerts at The Barbican in London.
On May 14 Bert received a rapturous reception at the All Tomorrow’s
Parties festival where he shared a bill with Devendra
Banhart, Vetiver, Espers, Jandek and others. Bert also features
in a new book, Guitar Man (published by Bloomsbury March
20) a Nick Hornby style book about guitar playing.
On 5 June
2006 Bert received the Mojo Merit Award from Mojo magazine
at their Honours List ceremony. The award is “based around an
expanded career that still continues to be inspirational” and
was presented by Beth Orton and Roy Harper.
In a live setting, Bert’s performances are still a rare opportunity
to see one of the British music scene’s true legends play.
His understated, low key approach eschews hollow show business
routines, and the audience is treated to a guitar playing
master class and an impressive catalogue of some of the most
haunting songs in the British canon.
|
