Sunshine Of Your Love – A Concert For Jack Bruce (DVD/CD Boxset)
MIG Records – Out Now
On 24th October 2015, the eve of the first anniversary of his death at the age of 71, a stellar cast of musicians, friends and family assembled at London’s Roundhouse to pay tribute to Jack Bruce. Under the direction of Nitin Sawhney, the performance was filmed and recorded. Following its inaugural screening on 14th May 2018, what would have been Jack’s 75th birthday, the show is now available on a CD and DVD set.
Born in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, as a teenager Bruce played jazz bass, but won a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music and Drama to study cello and composition. In 1962 he played in Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated. When this group disbanded, he formed the Graham Bond Quartet with Bond, Ginger Baker and guitarist John McLaughlin, prior to a name-change to the Graham Bond Organisation. Then came a brief stint with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, which featured guitarist Eric Clapton, before he achieved some measure of commercial success playing with Manfred Mann.
In July 1966, along with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, he formed Cream, widely acclaimed as rock’s first supergroup, releasing classic albums, such as Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears and Wheels Of Fire, in the two years of their existence. Following Cream’s split, Jack released high-class solo albums such as Songs For A Tailor and Harmony Row, before forming West Bruce & Laing. As his career moved on his music became even more diverse, with jazz, jazz fusion, Latin/world music, power-rock with Robin Trower in B.L.T. all appearing on his C.V.
It will come as no surprise that the concert featured many highlights from this illustrious musical catalogue. Indeed the 35 musicians appearing, a diverse group including Ian Anderson, Ginger Baker, Clem Clempson, Hugh Cornwell, Mark King, Phil Manzanera, Bernie Marsden, Vernon Reid, Uli Jon Roth and Joss Stone, together with members of Jack Bruce’s Big Band, is an appropriate reflection of Bruce’s versatility and broad range of musical styles.
From the Cream catalogue, we get, for example, versions of Badge, I Feel Free, I’m So Glad, Politician and White Room, with superbly memorable performances, variously, from Roth, Clempson and Marsden, a sublime We’re Going Wrong featuring Anderson, Manzanera and Bruce’s daughter, Aruba Red, together with whole-ensemble closer, Sunshine Of Your Love, whilst several tracks, namely Never Tell Your Mother She’s Out Of Tune, Rope Ladder To The Moon, Tickets To Waterfalls and Weird Of Hermiston reflect the quality of work on Songs For A Tailor, Ayanna Witter-Johnson‘s vocal and cello rendition of Rope Ladder being a particular standout.
Other key moments include Aruba Red’s moving delivery on Folk Song, and Anderson’s flute contribution on Milonga. Mark King’s bass playing and Clem Clempson’s guitar work shine throughout the show, whilst bonus track, simply titled For Jack, an Eric Clapton instrumental, makes for an entirely appropriate ending to the piece.
Too often tributes such as this can fall flat, but on this occasion the obvious respect and love shown by all concerned to the memory and musical acumen of Jack Bruce is well-documented. The fact that a percentage of the sales of the release will go to Jack’s favourite charity, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices is an added reason to invest in this valuable homage to one of music’s true greats.