Artist:Bert JanschSong:Running From Home
Album:Running From Home: An Introduction To Bert Jansch
Though most music fans may not be familiar with him, folk music fans should be familiar with legendary British folksinger Bert Jansch either from his solo albums or his work with the group Pentangle. After some health problems, Jansch was back on the road last year and I'm sure he'll record again. He was born Nov. 3, 1943 in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up in Edinburgh. He learned guitar as a teen and started playing local folk music clubs and shared a flat with Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band. In 1960, he decided to become a full time musician. He busked all over Europe for a couple of years and moved to London in 1965. He signed with Transatlantic Records and Do You Hear Me Now from his debut was covered successfully by Donovan. His song Blackwaterside was turned into Black Mountain Side by Led Zeppelin. Then Jansch met John Renbourn. They recorded an album together and then formed Pentangle with Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox. Jansch continued to record solo albums while touring and recording with Pentangle. They were very successful internationally and I may look at them at another time. Running From Home was on Jansch's 1965 debut album and many artists especially Neil Young and Jimmy Page have acknowledged Jansch as a big influence. After Pentangle split in 1973, Jansch bought afarm and retired for a couple of years. He returned and has been working steadily ever since. Jansch's alcoholism almost killed him in 1987. But he recovered and quit drinking. In 2003, there was a 60th birthday concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Jansch was derailed by major heart surgery in 2005. But he recorded his latest CD The Black Swan in 2006 with guests like Beth Orton. Jansch has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards as a solo artist and as part of Pentangle. He was supposed to tour in 2009 but cancelled due to illness. But in 2010 he toured with Neil Young and then Eric Clapton. So Bert Jansch is still going strong today. This comp from Sanctuary is a great intro to his music. Here's Bert Jansch with Ralph McTell performing Running From Home BBC Four Sessions Oct. 24, 2003.
No comments:
Post a Comment