The Legend and the Legacy
WHAT IS THERE LEFT TO SAY?
What is there left to say
When the last notes have died away
When the last lead's been disconnected
And the last fee's collected
When the last dressing room's deserted
And the last hurt's no longer hurting
And the last stage has been struck
And the last gear's in the truck
And the last notes have died away
What is there left to say?
- Pete Brown
"He was a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me." - Eric Clapton
Listen to
Eric Clapton's musical tribute "for Jack......"
http://clyp.it/lekq13np.mp3 (courtesy of
Eric
Clapton's Facebook page)
"I am very sad to learn of the loss of a fine man, Jack Bruce... My thoughts & wishes are with his family at this difficult time." - Ginger Baker
"Woke up today to the sad news that Jack Bruce had just passed away a few hours earlier. I met Jack on June 30, 1976. Hughie Burns, Tony Hymas and I drove down to Suffolk to have a "jam". From the first moment we played, a new song that was to be on the album "How's Tricks", we had a wonderful connection. I was in absolute awe! I had never played with someone so passionate in his playing and singing. We went on to rehearse at his home and at Pinewood Studios at various times over the next few months. The making of "How's Tricks" took 3 weeks - mixing included - and was an amazing experience. This band toured Europe and the US in 1977. When I moved to Suffolk in 1982 he was the first person to come by and welcome me to the village - he lived in the next village. We caught up years later when I visited him and his family in 2005 but, as always, there's never enough time. I was hoping our paths would cross someday out there on tour with our prospective projects but sadly they did not. I have so many fond memories. I learned so much from Jack and he certainly helped shape my musical outlook and sensibility. He was a mentor to me. My condolences and love go to his family at this sad time. I miss you Jack!" - Simon Phillips
"JACK BRUCE RIP 1943-2014. Farewell to a great musician and dear friend. I'll miss the laughter and friendship. Un Abrazote, Hermano x" - Phil Manzanera
"So sad to hear of Jack Bruce passing. My biggest influence and favourite bass player. Thank you, Jack. RIP." - Geezer Butler
"sad to hear of the passing of Jack Bruce, may he rest in peace" - Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
"Rest In Peace Jack Bruce, OG (Original Gangster)" - Steve Jones
"A major influence in music and an amazing bass player and singer. He was a hero" - Tony Iommi
"Jack Bruce, probably the most musically gifted bass player who's ever been" - Roger Waters
"Thanks for you amazing art. And being such an inspiration when I started playing bass: Love you J. " - Glenn Hughes
"Bruce’s death at his home in Suffolk on October 25 at the age of 71 robs us of a man whose life was defined by music until the very end. How we shall miss him." - Mojo
"Jack Bruce was an incredible musician, great songwriter and it was my pleasure not only to listen to the bands he was in, including Cream, but to also have him in the All Starrs. He will be missed. We send Margrit and his family Peace & Love. Ringo & Barbara" - Ringo Starr
"Oh man. Jack Bruce. Too much. Wow. Holy holy. I love that guy. One of a kind greatness. End of an era." - Flea
"I am extremely sad to hear the news that the great Jack Bruce has passed. One of the reasons I play music and love the blues so much." - Joe Bonamassa
"Jack Bruce.
That
Is
ALL
Rest In Peace
All Other Words FAIL ME" - Vernon Reid
"One of my great heroes as a writer, performer and musician. #RIPJackBruce" - Nitin Sawhney
"Jack Bruce 1943-2014
In 1969 before "The Nice" disbanded in '70, I approached Jack to see if
he would be interested in getting together a trio or quartet along the
same lines. Jack had been concentrating a lot on his very fine solo
career. He was keen on us working together as long as I played all of
his music but that wasn't what I had in mind so we respectfully went our
different ways. Around the mid 1980's we got together again. This time
in my barn studio in Sussex and it was very productive. We recorded
around maybe 8 or 10 demos. Some of the music was his, some mine. It was
a fun time-Jack had a great sense of humor although that was sometimes
liable to change abruptly but I respected him tremendously. He'd been
there at the start of The British Jazz and Blues scene in the early 60's
and had worked with a lot of other musicians I regarded as GREATS. I
remember him being very proud of his Scottish Heritage and could quote
Robert Burns as passionately as he could enjoy a Haggis on Burns Night.
Rest in Peace Jack." - Keith Emerson
"Its with great sadness I write about Jack, and to his family. We have lost a true brilliant artist and man, no words I could write would ease your pain and your loss. So I will try and write what I feel. I've been a bass player and singer for all of my life. I met Jack at the tender age of 13. Terry Reid is my friend for a life time. Jack is I am proud to say a mentor friend, and my inspiration. Like most of us brothers of the bass, it all started with Jack. There have been many greats, but not like Jack. Over the years I have crossed paths with him, had great times, and always loved to hear him do his thing. Many years have passed and to always see him back stage or wherever, he always had a smile, and say "you did good". Now I always haven't did good, but I have always tried. To be the best that I could. Using him as my gage to judge myself, my playing. My song writing, my measure as an artist. Two great men Jack and Terry, what the one thing I learned from them both. When it comes to your art you never compromise. In life, love business, there is compromise, but in music the creative process, not to repeat myself their is no compromise. From, Songs for a tailor to Silver rails. Its proof evident, no compromise. The artist that he was, is, will always be, was always beyond us mere mortals. But his engaging voice and compositions, much more then songs, were always a beautiful thing to behold. Being and orphan, and never really belonging to anyone or anything. Jack's music always made me think anything was possible. In the life of a true dedicated musician, anything is possible."One, Folk song, Theme for an imaginary western", always captured that young boy in its spell. For their beauty, that everlastingly beautiful voice set with emotion and all his beautiful chord structures and time signature movements. I could say he saved me from a life of god knows what, but he served as an inspiration to one young boy who grew to be a man and owes everything to this beautiful soul. Who always had a kind word and a smile for me. May you Jack Bruce always be in peace and know we all loved you very much. For me you are the greatest ever and no one ever will come close. I am sorry to Malcolm his son, and the family. But I could not wait any longer to express my love for your dear Jack. My hero. God be with you all, and forgive for writing and going on. He meant so much to me, and all his fans and friends." - Chico Rey
"Home To Glory - JACK BRUCE. Whom I Had The Pleasure Of Working With At Guitar Legends EXPO '92 Sevilla Spain- Top Geezer." - Cleveland Watkiss
"So sad to hear that the legendary bass player & writer Jack Bruce has passed away. Rest in peace sir. We'll be forever in the sunshine of your love X" - Liam Bailey
"Sad day for Music... Jack Bruce died today. One of
the truly greats! He was sooo full of feeling... Fare thee well, my
Scottish friend!" - Uli Jon Roth
"Jack Bruce's my earliest bass influence. He taught me how to play
fearlessly. Thank you and R.I.P. Master Bruce." - Rudy Sarzo
"RIP Jack Bruce, a great musician and lovely man xxx" - Fiona Bevan
"Very sad to have lost my old friend Jack Bruce." - John Mclaughlin
"Wearing mourning attire at the passing of a musical titan. Sincere condolences to the family of Jack Bruce drc" - Dylan Carlson
"Just heard the news of Jack Bruce passing; he was a prince of a man. & an icon of his generation, my generation & generations to come. RIP." - Slash
"Sad to hear of Jack Bruce's passing. He was a good friend and a remarkable musician." - Joe Walsh
"RIP to Mr. Jack Bruce, a pioneer rock bass virtuoso and great lead singer." - Tom Morello
"During the mixing of my first album with Andy Johns at ElectricLady studios in NYC in the winter of 1989, I found myself wandering the halls looking at some of the artwork and trying to soak in the vibes of musicians past who had recorded there. I happened to peak into a window of a one of the studio lounges and to my surprise saw Jack sitting huddled up in a blanket on the sofa. Just him. Being young and arrogant, I was not impressed by many and would never go out of my way to "meet" an accomplished musician, but Jack Bruce to me was from another planet. Knowing that, I garnered up enough courage to peak in and say "Hi Jack, my name is Doug and I am working down the hall, can I come in?". He said, "Of course you can. I am kind of bored at the moment and could use the company." Apparently, Vernon Reid was doing some guitar work on a song in the studio and Jack allowed me to stay and chat for about an hour. Jack was just very gracious and allowed me to ask the same boring questions he had answered over the years countless times to many others. It was a dream come true for someone who as a kid fell asleep at night, every night, to Cream and all of Jack's subsequent solo albums with my headphones on. As a guitarist, I like many, was a highly influenced by Clapton and through that came to really love Jack's voice, playing and writing. I told Jack that of the hundreds of songs that I heard him perform, my favorite vocal performances were "Rope Ladder To The Moon" and "As You Said." I remember clear as day Jack's response; "Yep, good songs are easy to sing!" I asked him about his guitar tuning on "As You Said", why he favored a Gibson EB3 in the days, did he still have the 6 string bass I saw in all those photos with Cream - and many others. Toward the end, an engineer came in and asked Jack to listen to something, so he excused himself and I shook his hand goodbye. I hope that Jack understood that he met a fan that really felt his music - that it moved and influenced me. That is what I tried to convey to him. My favorites of his were not commercial hits but those that took chances. No one does it as well as he, and my songs never have resembled anything Jack did, but his influence is there. It was obvious to me that he had perfect pitch and was musical through an through. Music came easily to him. Much more so than it does me. I have to work twice as hard as Jack did to create what I hear in my head. We were really really fortunate to have music written, sung and performed by Jack. Such a great and profound loss. I will remember Jack through his music." - Doug Gordon, Tangier
"RIP to Jack Bruce. #Legend #RIPJackBruce" - Motorhead
"RIP to Jack Bruce. You are with Ronnie Now. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans." - Ronnie James Dio
"Jack Bruce " Bassist of Cream " R.I.P." - Mick Mars
"This is indeed a sad day, the wonderful Jack Bruce has passed on. He was a 'creme-de-la-creme' bass player, singer and songwriter, and a major influence on me personally. He recently agreed to sing on a track or two of my forthcoming 'Tribute to Gary Moore' album but, all too sadly, he's joined Gary and the many others. His recorded music will live on forever, as will his legend and the legacy that he leaves behind. Long live the memory of Jack Bruce, for me he'll never die." - Bob Daisley
"Very very sad to hear of Jack Bruce’s passing. Amazing musician and inspiration. Rest in peace." - Wolfgang Van Halen
"We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Cream bassist Jack Bruce." - Abbey Road Studios
"RIP Jack Bruce...I had the honor of jamming with him a few years ago, a memory I will always cherish! One of the legends..." - Mike Portnoy
"I gotta listen to some Cream in a melancholy way. RIP Jack Bruce" - Marc Maron
"Good night Jack Bruce ... I was lucky to meet you .. And be produced by you xxx The only Scot in the R&R hall of fame I heard x bye bye" - Eddi Reader
"With great sadness we've lost another legend. Jack Bruce was a tremendous talent. I jammed with him and met him" - Bruce Kulick
"Check out this song with Jack Bruce (RIP) from @billwarddrums first solo album, Ward One - "Light Up the Candles - https://t.co/kTEiumRf2X" - Black Sabbath
"Especially sad to hear that Jack Bruce has passed away. Top man, still an inspiration. R.I.P." - John Wetton
"Sad news about Scottish music legend Jack Bruce." - Midge Ure
RIP Jack Bruce - for me the Miles Davis of rock. I
wore out my copy of “Songs for a tailor” as a kid.
Now, older and greyer, I cry like a kid at the loss of a hero.
In the words of that other great Scot, Robert Burns:
An honest man here lies at rest,
As e’er God with his image blest,
the friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth,
Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d,
Few heads with knowledge so informed,
If there is another world, he lives in bliss,
If there is none, he made the best of this.
- John de Bono (former BBC producer; Director, Wingfoot TV Productions)
"Jack, you were, and always will be, an inspiration to me. Through your music you'll be with us forever. With great respect," - Bob Daisley
"When Jack died, the single most important musician in my life went away. I count myself lucky to have had a friendship with the man that put me on the path of bass playing that I am on. Plus, he was a funny man. When I sometimes sat in with Jack (on guitar) we would play White Room and I would sing the bridge in Jerry Lewis' voice. Jack got a real kick out of that. We talked about recording together, always believing that there was time to do this. There wasn't and I lament that we never combined our music to put out a JB recording together. These have not been Golden Days for me. Goodbye!" - Jeff Berlin
"It is such a sad loss. Jack was a great songwriter and most of all a wonderful bass player." - Charlie Watts
"Having worked with Jack for a very long time he will be dearly missed by the music community. A genius that never really received enough credit for his work." - Harvey Goldsmith CBE
"It is with great sadness that one of the worlds greatest musicians and bass players, who I had the honor of playing with in West Bruce and Laing, Jack Bruce has died. I was hoping somehow that we might have gotten together one last time. Rest in Peace my friend." - Leslie West
"It has always been a great source of pride to me to have made music with Jack (one of the few musicians that can be truly called a force of nature) and Jack and I were proud of that music. He will be greatly missed " - Robin Trower
"JACK BRUCE...I'll have to sit and deal with this for awhile...This is a very sad day for me...As a bass player, he was my hero...He could do it all...I will just have to remind myself over and over again that guys like JACK don't die; they will always be around for their musical contributions are timeless...JACK BRUCE playing on the bottom is what helped CREAM rise to the top, during an Era that was defined by its music...Blessings throughout eternity JACK BRUCE... " - Billy Cox
"Farewell Jack Bruce, you are in the arms of the Angels now... " - Ellen McIlwaine
"I will dearly miss you maestro Jack, always. I will never forget our friendship, all our musical times together and all you did in music. As the world knows, you redefined the bass in entirely your unique way, just as you also did with the voice, and the contrapuntal and spontaneous activity of both at the same time. It was a true privilege and inspiration to have been able to work with you, every time, and thankfully, through your lifetime’s output of recorded material your genius and legacy will remain with all of us forever. To educate us, guide us and profoundly uplift us. That’s a very good thing, as I will now have great difficulty recognising this musical world without you sir. Love forever to you, giant, innovator, friend and constant inspiration. " - Gary Husband
“I will always be so very grateful for Jack’s music and friendship. Recording some of my music with him was the most wonderful and inspiring experience of my musical life. A joy forever in my heart – thank you for your friendship Jack and Margrit.” - Anthony Hindson
"So very sad to learn of Jack's passing. We met in '67 when I was opening to Cream during their first stint in NY. I thought he was the core and center of that band. We had great respect for each other's music. Was just talking about that 2 nights ago with a friend. This is such a shock. May he find happiness and fulfillment in all his future existences. May we meet again up ahead." - Essra Mohawk
"RIP my beautiful friend Jack Bruce .. Thanks your amazing art .. And being such an inspiration when I started playing bass: love you J" - Glenn Hughes
"Rest in peace Jack Bruce" - Aaron Wills
"Truly in the sunshine of your life now. Rest In Peace" - Dave Mustaine
"Jack Bruce. Jeez. Hero. RIP." -Scott Ian
"RIP Jack Bruce. One of the true greats. Bass playing & singing in Cream influenced countless others who followed. Sad" - Paul Stanley
"Nobody played bass like Jack Bruce. His voice had a sweet strength within a huge range. Harp, too. Damn. RIP" - Michael McKean
"RIP JackBruce. I am honored to have known him. The world lost another legend .. " - Steve Lukather
"RIP Jack Bruce. Bassist of legendary band Cream. A true great. " - Simply Red
"Jack Bruce RIP " - Bryan Adams
"RIP Jack Bruce. So sad to hear this great pioneering rock musician is gone. Inspiring to us all. I'll be listening to BADGE tonight. Bri" - Dr. Brian May
"RIP Jack Bruce! Every guitarist should pick up their guitar & play the opening riff to Sunshine Of Your Love before the sun goes down today" - Living Colour
"Music is poorer today for the loss of one of it's finest bass players." - Bob Harris
The Bruce family invite fans to leave messages in memory of Jack
on our In Memoriam Guestbook.