| In 1995, Jack
concentrated on his keyboard playing and recorded a set of piano solos and duos with
organist Bernie Worrell, who played previously with George Clinton, Funkadelic and Talking
Heads. The release of the recording, entitled Monkjack,
represented a new departure for Jack. He was delighted to have been invited to
present this material at the Edinburgh Festival and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in September
of that year. In
Copenhagen in the autumn of 1996, Jack took part in the first performances of Michael Mantler's School of Understanding,
which has been described by Michael as a "sort-of-an-opera". There were
further performances in Berlin early in 1998.
|
|
During
the late 1990s, Jack toured with several iterations of Ringo Starr's All Star Band, along
with guitarists Peter Frampton, Todd Rundgren and Dave Edmunds, keyboardists Gary Brooker
and Eric Carmen, drummer Simon Kirke, and horn player Mark Rivera.
|
In 1999 and
2000 Jack returned to the studio with co-producer Kip Hanrahan to record his solo CD, Shadows in the Air, which hit #5 on the UK Jazz & Blues
Chart following its 2001 release by Sanctuary Records.
The album's cast featured a pantheon of musical guests, including Eric
Clapton, Dr John, Gary Moore, Vernon Reid and Changuito Luis Quintana. Jack's supporting 2001-2002 world tour included the talents
of Vernon Reid, Bernie Worrell, Robby Ameen, El Negro Horacio Hernandez, and
Richie Flores, known collectively as Jack Bruce & The Cuicoland Express. |
In 2002 Jack
participated in a summer tour with A Walk Down Abbey Road, a tribute to
The Beatles featuring Alan Parsons, Todd Rundgren, Mark Farner, Christopher Cross, Godfrey
Townsend, John Beck and Steve Murphy. In
November, Jack joinied Uli Jon Roth, Glenn Hughes and Michael Schenker for the Legends
of Rock tour.
| The year
2003 saw the release of Jack's second album on Sanctuary Records, More Jack Than God.
Like its predecessor Shadows in the Air, the album was co-produced by Kip
Hanrahan. Among the musicians are the core band from Shadows in the Air, Godfrey
Townsend, and Jack's son, Malcolm Bruce. More Jack Than God blends a
diverse range of musical styles from classic, Willie Dixon inspired blues, to hints of the
Latin and World music flavours that Bruce and Hanrahan explored through the 1980s and
1990s, to the subtle and gentle beauty that reflect Jack's growing introspective approach
to songwriting. |
|
The year 2005 was a
momentous one. Jack reunited with former bandmates Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker for
Cream's first concert tour in 37 years. In May the band played four historic nights
at London's Royal Albert Hall, which were recorded and
subsequently released on both audio and video. In October the band played three concerts at
Madison Square Garden in New York City; during the same week Jack was honored, along with
Ron Carter, with the Bass Player Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his
pioneering musicianship and his outstanding influence on the development of modern bass
technique. In February 2006 Jack took the stage at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles,
California to accept a special Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of
Cream.
2007 has seen Jack continuing his involvement with
his passion - music.
He was awarded with a Doctor of Music degree from his Alumni College, The
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Two new albums are due for
imminent release. The first is Jack Bruce with the HR Big Band, versions
of Jack performing songs old and new arranged for the wonderful German
orchestra of Hessische Rundfunk. Excitingly awaited is Seven Moons, an
album of new material, with master guitarist, Robin Trower and drummer, Gary
Husband. The flame burns on!
[Back to the first
Biography page] |
