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{{Short description|Scottish folk musician (1943–2011)}}{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}

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| birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland| origin = Edinburgh, Scotlanddf=yes1019433}}| death_place = Hampstead, London, EnglandLead vocals>Vocals, guitar, banjo, Appalachian dulcimer, concertina, sitarFolk music>Folk, folk rock, folk baroque| occupation = Musician, singer-songwriter| years_active = 1965–2011Transatlantic Records>Charisma}}Pentangle (band)>Pentangleweblink}}}}Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 â€“ 5 October 2011)WEB,weblink Shows, Entertainment.stv.tv, 12 March 2016, was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter. He recorded more than 28 albums and toured extensively from the 1960s to the 21st century.Jansch was a leading figure in the 1960s British folk revival, touring folk clubs and recording several solo albums, as well as collaborating with other musicians such as John Renbourn and Anne Briggs. In 1968, he co-founded the band Pentangle, touring and recording with them until their break-up in 1972. He then took a few years' break from music, returning in the late 1970s to work on a series of projects with other musicians. He joined a reformed Pentangle in the early 1980s and remained with them as they evolved through various changes of personnel until 1995. Until his death, Jansch continued to work as a solo artist.Jansch's work influenced many artists, especially Jimmy Page, Mike Oldfield, Paul Simon, Pete Hawkes, Nick Drake, Donovan, and Neil Young. He received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards: one, in 2001, for his solo achievements and the other, in 2007, as a member of Pentangle.

Early years

Herbert Jansch was born at Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, on 3 November 1943, the descendant of a family originally from Hamburg, Germany, who settled in Scotland during the Victorian era.Harper, C., pp. 7–8 The family name is most often pronounced as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|æ|n|ʃ}} {{respell|yansh}}, although Jansch himself, like several other members of his family, pronounced it {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|æ|n|ʃ}} {{respell|jansh}}.Harper, C., p. 7Jansch was brought up in the residential area of Edinburgh known as West Pilton, where he attended Pennywell Primary School and Ainslie Park Secondary School.BOOK, Kennedy, Doug, The Songs and Guitar Solos of Bert Jansch, New Punchbowl Music, 1983, 7, As a teenager, he acquired a guitar and started visiting a local folk club ("The Howff") run by Roy Guest.Harper, C., p. 57 There, he met Archie Fisher and Jill Doyle (Davy Graham's half-sister),JOURNAL, Hodgkinson, Will, Bert Jansch: A lesson with the master, 5 May 2006, The Independent,weblink who introduced him to the music of Big Bill Broonzy, Pete Seeger, Brownie McGhee and Woody Guthrie. He also met and shared a flat with Robin Williamson, who remained a friend when Jansch later moved to London.Harper, C., p. 84After leaving school, Jansch took a job as a nurserymanHarper, C., p. 13 then, in August 1960, he gave this up, intending to become a full-time musician.Harper, C., p. 61; which notes that he worked for about a month in a supermarket. He appointed himself as an unofficial caretaker at The Howff and, as well as sleeping there, he may have received some pay to supplement his income as a novice performer who did not own his own guitar.Harper, C., p. 61 He spent the next two years playing one-night stands in British folk clubs. This was a musical apprenticeship that exposed him to a range of influences, including Martin Carthy and Ian Campbell, but especially Anne Briggs, from whom he learned some of the songs (such as "Blackwaterside" and "Reynardine") that would later feature strongly in his recording career.Jansch travelled around Europe and beyond between 1963 and 1965, hitch-hiking from place to place, living on earnings from busking and casual musical performances in bars and cafes.Kennedy p. 10 In Scotland he became involved with Licorice McKechnie, who was a teenager at the time. A marriage was planned and the banns were published, but the wedding never took place. Jansch left her behind to travel to Morocco in 1963, and she took up with Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band. Before leaving Glasgow, Jansch married a 16-year-old girl, Lynda Campbell. It was a marriage of convenience which allowed her to travel with him, as she was too young to have her own passport.Harper, C., p. 125 They split up after a few months, and Jansch was eventually repatriated to Britain after catching dysentery in Tangiers.

London (mid-1960s)

Jansch moved to London. There, in 1963, at the invitation of Bob Wilson – a Staffordshire folksinger who was also an art student at St Martin's School of Art – he was asked to take over as resident singer at Bunjies on Litchfield Street with Charles Pearce, another art student. They remained in that situation for a year before Pearce moved to south London to run several clubs south of the Thames. There was a burgeoning interest in folk music throughout London by then.Harper, C., pp. 16–43 (Chapter: London: the first days) There, he met the engineer and producer Bill Leader, at whose home they made a recording of Jansch's music on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Leader sold the tape for £100 to Transatlantic Records, who produced an album directly from it.See sleeve notes of the CD re-release of the album The album Bert Jansch was released in 1965, and went on to sell 150,000 copies.BOOK, Grunenberg, Christoph, Harris, Jonathan, Summer of Love: Psychedelic Art, Social Crisis and Counterculture in the 1960s, Liverpool University Press, 2005, 0-85323-919-3, 140, It included Jansch's protest song "Do You Hear Me Now", which was brought to the attention of the pop music mainstream later that year by the singer Donovan, who covered it on his Universal Soldier EP, which reached No. 1 in the UK EP chart and No. 27 in the singles chart.John Crosby's sleeve notes from the Donovan CD, Donovan: The Very Best of the Early Years Pearce disappeared from Jansch's life after arranging for him to be one of the artists in the Liberal International concert, "Master of the Guitar" at the Royal Festival Hall in 1968. Also included on Jansch's first album was his song "Needle of Death", a stark anti-drugs lament written after a friend died of a heroin overdose.Grunenberg & Harris, pp. 139–40: "Needle of Death ... did far more to make skag a drug of choice among hip British teenagers than a decade's worth of later releases on the same subject by the likes of Lou Reed [and others]...."In his early career, Jansch was sometimes characterized as a British Bob Dylan.Harper, C., p. 111 (although Harper points out that this comparison was not in line with Jansch's desires) cf. Donovan was also called 'Britain's answer to Bob Dylan' During this period, Jansch stated that his musical influences were few: "the only three people that I've ever copied were Big Bill Broonzy, Davy Graham and Archie Fisher."BOOK, Harper, Colin, Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival, Bloomsbury, 2006, 0-7475-8725-6, 85, 2006, Jansch followed his first album with two more, produced in quick succession: It Don't Bother Me and Jack Orion,Harper, C., p. 357 It Don't Bother Me was released in December 1965 and Jack Orion in September 1966 which contained his first recording of "Blackwaterside", later to be taken up by Jimmy Page and recorded by Led Zeppelin as "Black Mountain Side".Harper, C., pp. 3, 4 Jansch said, "The accompaniment was nicked by a well-known member of one of the most famous rock bands, who used it, unchanged, on one of their records."Kennedy, p. 21 Transatlantic took legal advice about the alleged copyright infringement, and was advised that there was "a distinct possibility that Bert might win an action against Page."Nat Joseph of Transatlantic Records, quoted in Harper, page 5 Ultimately, Transatlantic was dubious about the costs involved in taking on Led Zeppelin in the courts, and half the costs would have had to be paid by Jansch personally, which he simply could not afford, so the case was never pursued.Harper, C., p. 5 The arrangement and recording of Jack Orion was greatly influenced by Jansch's friend, singer Anne Briggs.BOOK, Harper, Colin, Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival, Bloomsbury, 2006, 0-7475-8725-6, 199, 2006, In London, Jansch met other innovative acoustic guitar players, including John Renbourn, with whom he shared a flat in Kilburn,NEWS, Hodgkinson, Will, 25 August 2010, Bert Jansch's cancer comeback, en-GB, The Guardian,weblink 10 September 2020, 0261-3077, Davy Graham, Wizz Jones, Roy Harper and Paul Simon. They would all meet and play in various London music clubs, including the Troubadour in Old Brompton Road,Harper, C., p. 160 and Les Cousins club in Greek Street, Soho.Harper, C., p. 175 Renbourn and Jansch frequently played together, developing their own intricate interplay between the two guitars, often referred to as "Folk baroque".Grove's Dictionary of Music (online edition) uses the term folk baroque in articles on both Jansch and Renbourn, but particularly cites the Bert and John album as exemplifying the term.In 1966, they recorded the Bert and John album together, featuring much of this material.Harper, C., p. 198 Late in 1967, they tired of the all-nighters at Les Cousins and became the resident musicians at a music venue set up by Bruce Dunnet, a Scottish entrepreneur, at the Horseshoe pub (now defunct), at 264–267 Tottenham Court Road.WEB,weblink Dead Pubs Society, Dead Pubs Society, 12 March 2016, {{dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} This became the haunt of a number of musicians, including the singer Sandy Denny.Harper, C., p. 212 Another singer, Jacqui McShee, began performing with the two guitarists and, with the addition of Danny Thompson (string bass) and Terry Cox (drums), they formed the group Pentangle.Harper, C., pp. 212–13 The venue evolved into a jazz club, but by then the group had moved on.JOURNAL, McKay, Alastair, No Strings Attached, The Scotsman, 3 November 2003,weblink 10 January 2007, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070312102309weblink">weblink 12 March 2007, Interview with Bert Jansch on his 60th birthdayOn 19 October 1968, Jansch married Heather Sewell.Harper, C., p. 222 At the time, she was an art student and had been the girlfriend of Roy Harper.Harper, C., pp. 221–22 She inspired several of Jansch's songs and instrumentals, the most obvious being "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell" from his 1968 album Birthday Blues, but Jansch says that, despite the name, "M'Lady Nancy" from the 1971 Rosemary Lane album was also written for her.Kennedy, p. 26 As Heather Jansch, she became a well-known sculptor.WEB,weblink Heather Jansch sculptor bronze & driftwood life-size horses News, Heatherjansch.com, 12 March 2016, 11 July 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110711160634weblink">weblink dead,

Pentangle years: 1968–73

(File:De Engelse folkgroep Pentangle, Bestanddeelnr 922-1809.jpg|thumb|350px|Jansch (right) playing with Pentangle in Amsterdam, 1969)Pentangle's first major concert was at the Royal Festival Hall in 1967, and their first album, The Pentangle, was released in the following year.Harper, C., pp. 211, 220 Pentangle embarked on a demanding schedule of touring the world and recording and, during this period, Jansch largely gave up solo performances.Harper. p214 He did, however, continue to record, releasing Rosemary Lane in 1971. The tracks for this album were recorded on a portable tape recorder by Bill Leader at Jansch's cottage in Ticehurst, Sussex—a process which took several months, with Jansch only working when he was in the right mood.JOURNAL, Wilcock, Steve, Bert Jansch – "Rosemary Lane", Triste, 4,weblink 10 January 2007, Triste examines just what makes Bert Jansch's 1971 solo album, Rosemary Lane, recorded on sabbatical from Pentangle, so special.Pentangle reached their highest point of commercial success with the release of their Basket of Light album in 1969. The single "Light Flight", taken from the album, became popular through its use as theme music for a TV drama series, Take Three Girls, for which the band also provided incidental music.Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 7th Edition (1988) In 1970, at the peak of their popularity, they recorded a soundtrack for the film Tam Lin, made at least 12 television appearances, and undertook tours of the UK (including the Isle of Wight Festival) and America (including a concert at Carnegie Hall).Harper, C., p. 224 However, their fourth album, Cruel Sister, released in October 1970, was a commercial disaster.Harper, C., p. 228 This was an album of traditional songs that included a 20-minute-long version of "Jack Orion", a song that Jansch and Renbourn had recorded previously as a duo on Jansch's Jack Orion album.Harper, C., p. 375Pentangle recorded two further albums, but the strains of touring and of working together as a band were taking their toll.Harper, C., p. 229 Then Pentangle withdrew from their record company, Transatlantic, in a bitter dispute regarding royalties.Ref. Harper, C., p. 235 The final album of the original incarnation of Pentangle was Solomon's Seal released by Warner Brothers/Reprise in 1972. Colin Harper describes it as "a record of people's weariness, but also the product of a unit whose members were still among the best players, writers and musical interpreters of their day."Harper. p237 Pentangle split up in January 1973, and Jansch and his wife bought a farm near Lampeter, in Wales, and withdrew temporarily from the concert circuit.

Mid 1970s

Jansch spent two or three years in California in the mid-1970s. He recorded most of his 1974 album LA Turnaround and 1975 album Santa Barbara Honeymoon while there. The making of LA Turnaround was documented in a film produced by Mike Nesmith.

Late 1970s

After two years as a farmer, Jansch left his wife and family and returned to music, although Jansch and his wife would not be formally divorced until 1988.Harper, C., p. 252 In 1977, he recorded the album A Rare Conundrum with a new set of musicians: Mike Piggott, Rod Clements and Pick Withers. He then formed the band Conundrum with the addition of Martin Jenkins (violin) and Nigel Smith (bass). They spent six months touring Australia, Japan and the United States.Kennedy, p. 32 With the end of the tour, Conundrum parted company and Jansch spent six months in the United States, where he recorded the Heartbreak album with Albert Lee.Jansch toured Scandinavia, working as a duo with Martin Jenkins and, based on ideas they developed, recorded the Avocet album (initially released in Denmark).Harper, C., p. 263 Jansch rated this as among his own favourites from his own recordings.Harper, C., p. 313 On returning to England, he set up Bert Jansch's Guitar Shop at 220, New King's Road, Fulham. The shop specialised in hand-built acoustic guitars but was not a commercial success and closed after two years.Harper, C., p. 296

1980s

In 1980, an Italian promoter encouraged the original Pentangle to reform for a tour and a new album.Harper, C., p. 270 The reunion started badly, with Terry Cox being injured in a car accident, resulting in the band's debuting at the Cambridge Folk Festival as a four-piece Pentangle. They managed to complete a tour of Italy (with Cox in a wheelchair) and Australia, before Renbourn left the band in 1983.Harper, C., p. 271 There then followed a series of personnel changes, including Mike Piggott replacing John Renbourn from 1983 to 1987 and recording Open the Door and In the Round, but ultimately leaving Jansch and McShee as the only original members.Harper, C., pp. 269–282 The final incarnation consisting of Jansch, McShee, Nigel Portman Smith (keyboards), Peter Kirtley (guitar and vocals) and Gerry Conway (drums) survived from 1987 to 1995 and recorded three albums: Think of Tomorrow, One More Road and Live 1994.Harper, C., p. 295In 1985, two limited edition albums appeared, issued under the name of Loren Auerbach, who was to become Jansch's wife: After the Long Night was released in February 1985, the second, Playing the Game, appearing in October. Jansch was initially a guest player, but also became a writer on some of the songs, as well as an arranger and co-vocalist. Richard Newman was the primary guitarist and songwriter. Auerbach had worked alongside Newman for many years before meeting Jansch. Newman and Jansch were the key players on After the Long Night. On Playing the Game, Jansch and Newman joined Cliff Aungier, Geoff Bradford (lead guitarist from Cyril Davis' All Stars, from Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men, and in the first line-up of The Rolling Stones) and Brian Knight (British blues veteran of the Blues By Six). The two albums became one—After The Long Night / Playing The Game. Jansch played guitar with Richard Newman on the following Newman songs: "I Can't Go Back", "Smiling Faces", "Playing the Game", "Sorrow", "Days and Nights", "The Rainbow Man", "Frozen Beauty", "Christabel", "So Lonely" and "The Miller". All songs were sung by Auerbach with the exception of "The Miller", which was sung by Newman. Jansch married Auerbach in 1999.ODNB, Ken Hunt, Jansch, Herbert [Bert] (1943–2011), January 2015, 104258,weblink He had always been a heavy drinker, but in 1987 Jansch fell ill while working with Rod Clements and Marty Craggs, and was rushed to hospital, where he was told that he was "as seriously ill as you can be without dying" and that he had a choice of "giving up alcohol or simply giving up."Harper, C., p. 278 He chose the former option: Colin Harper states that "There can be no doubt that Bert's creativity, reliability, energy, commitment and quality of performance were all rescued dramatically by the decision to quit boozing."Harper, C., p. 279 Jansch and Clements continued the work they had started before Jansch's illness, resulting in the 1988 Leather Launderette album.

Final years and death: 1992–2011

File:Bert Jansch grave.jpg|thumb|350px|The grave of Bert Jansch and his wife Loren Jansch in Highgate CemeteryHighgate CemeteryBert was the prime mover in the Acoustic Routes film, first broadcast by the BBC in 1992. It shows him revisiting his old haunts and reminiscing with guests such as Al Stewart, Anne Briggs, John Renbourn, and Davy Graham.BOOK, Harper, Colin, Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival, Bloomsbury, 2006, 0-7475-8725-6, 288, 2006, From 1995, Jansch appeared frequently at the 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, London.Harper, C., pp. 295–96 One of his live sets there was recorded direct to Digital Audio Tape (DAT) by Jansch's then manager, Alan King, and was released as the Live at the 12 Bar: an official bootleg album in 1996.Harper, C., p. 299 In 2002, Jansch, Bernard Butler and Johnny "Guitar" Hodge performed live together at the Jazz Cafe, London.WEB,weblink Welcome to the official website of legendary guitarist Bert Jansch, Bertjansch.com, 12 March 2016, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060822214704weblink">weblink 22 August 2006, Butler had also appeared on Jansch's album of that year, Edge of a Dream, which features (among others) Ralph McTell and guitarist Paul Wassif. The instrumental "Black Cat Blues", featuring Wassif, appears in the 2003 film Calendar Girls,{{Citation|title=Calendar Girls (2003) - IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337909/soundtrack|access-date=4 August 2020}} and Wassif became a frequent sideman at Bert's live shows.for example {{YouTube|hBYteoXKCSQ}}{{YouTube|TtSCG1lTuv8}}{{YouTube|7prkU7_PFHA}} In 2003, Jansch celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The BBC organised a concert for Jansch and various guests at the church of St Luke Old Street, which was televised on BBC Four.WEB, Bert Jansch - 60th Birthday Concert (full video),weblinkweblink 16 November 2021, live, 4 August 2020, YouTube, {{cbignore}}In 2005, Jansch teamed up again with one of his early influences, Davy Graham, for a small number of concerts in England and Scotland. His concert tour had to be postponed, owing to illness, and Jansch underwent major heart surgery in late 2005. By 2006, he had recovered and was playing concerts again. Jansch's album The Black Swan, his first for four years, was released on Sanctuary on 18 September 2006, featuring Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart on tracks "Katie Cruel", "When the Sun Comes Up" and "Watch the Stars", among other guests. In 2007, he was featured on Babyshambles album, Shotter's Nation, playing acoustic guitar on the song "The Lost Art of Murder".WEB,weblink Babyshambles' new album - track-by-track verdict, Nme.com, 1 August 2007, 12 March 2016, After recording, he accompanied Babyshambles' lead singer Pete Doherty on several acoustic gigs, and performed on the Pete and Carl Reunion Gig, where Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things frontman and guitarist Carl Barât joined Doherty on stage.WEB, 12 April 2007, The Libertines reunite at Hackney gig,weblink 12 March 2016, NME, Nme.com, In 2009, he played a concert at the London Jazz Cafe to celebrate the release of three of his older albums (LA Turnaround, Santa Barbara Honeymoon and A Rare Conundrum) on CD format.Jazz cafe live. Retrieved 19 February 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608022337weblink |date=8 June 2009}} However, later that year, due to an unexpected illness, he had to cancel a 22-date North American tour that was due to start on 26 June. Jansch's website reported: "Bert is very sorry to be missing the tour, and apologises to all the fans who were hoping to see him. He is looking forward to rescheduling as soon as possible."Jansch opened for Neil Young on his Twisted Road solo tour in the US and Canada, starting on 18 May 2010. He also performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads festival in June 2010. These were Jansch's first shows since his illness. One of his last recording sessions was with Eric Clapton for Paul Wassif's 2011 album Looking Up Feeling Down.WEB,weblink Paul Wassif - Looking Up Feeling Down, Eric Clapton Music News, 4 May 2011, 12 March 2016, Jansch again opened for Young's 2011 tour, beginning on 15 April in Durham, North Carolina, and having a final solo performance in Chicago on 7 May.WEB,weblink Bert Jansch Tours with Neil Young, Jam Base - Go See Live Music, 7 April 2011, 14 February 2020, That same year, a few reunion gigs also took place with Pentangle, including performances at the Glastonbury FestivalWEB,weblink BBC Music - Glastonbury, Pentangle - Interview, Glastonbury 2011, Bbc.co.uk, 27 June 2011, 12 March 2016, and one final concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London,NEWS,weblink The Guardian, John L, Walters, Pentangle – review, 4 August 2011, which was also Jansch's last ever public performance.Jansch died on 5 October 2011, aged 67, at a hospice in Hampstead after a long battle with lung cancer.NEWS,weblink Folk musician Bert Jansch dies aged 67, BBC News, 5 October 2011, 12 March 2016, His wife, Loren Jansch (née Auerbach), died of cancer on 9 December 2011. They are both buried in Highgate Cemetery.WEB,weblink Auerbach family history, 2020, 13 May 2020,

Recognition and awards

In 2001, Jansch received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards,WEB,weblink Radio 2 - Events - Folk Awards 2007, BBC, 12 March 2016, and on 5 June 2006, he received the MOJO Merit Award at the Mojo Honours List ceremony, based on "an expanded career that still continues to be inspirational." The award was presented by Beth Orton and Roy Harper. Rolling Stone ranked Jansch as No. 94 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003.MAGAZINE, Fricke, David, Stone, Rolling, 3 December 2010, 100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks,weblink 1 August 2020, Rolling Stone, en-US, In January 2007, the five original members of Pentangle (including Jansch) were given a Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.WEB,weblink Radio 2 - Events - Folk Awards 2007, BBC, 12 March 2016, The award was presented by Sir David Attenborough. Producer John Leonard said "Pentangle were one of the most influential groups of the late 20th century and it would be wrong for the awards not to recognise what an impact they had on the music scene."WEB,weblink Press Office - Pentangle reform for Radio 2 Folk Awards, BBC, 12 March 2016, Pentangle played together for the event, for the first time in more than two decades, and their performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 7 February 2007.WEB,weblink Press Office - Radio 2 Folk Awards 2007 winners, BBC, 12 March 2016, In 2007, Jansch was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Edinburgh Napier University, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the UK music industry."WEB,weblink Dr Bert Jansch - Honorary Doctorate of Music, 21 February 2010, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110720172608weblink">weblink 20 July 2011,

Music

Jansch's musical influences included Big Bill BroonzyHarper, C., p. 58 and Brownie McGhee, whom he first saw playing at The Howff in 1960 and, much later, claimed that he'd "still be a gardener" if he hadn't encountered McGhee and his music.Harper, C., pp. 57–8 Jansch was also strongly influenced by the British folk music tradition, particularly by Anne BriggsHarper p.113 and, to a lesser extent, A.L. Lloyd.Harper, C., p. 199, particularly regarding Jack Orion Other influences included jazz (notably Charles MingusHarper, C., p. 92 particularly mentions the record Mingus Ah-Um as an influence), early music (John Renbourn and Julian Bream) and other contemporary singer-songwriters – especially Clive Palmer.Harper, C., p. 92 The other major influence was Davy GrahamHarper, C., p. 86 who, himself, brought together an eclectic mixture of musical styles.See Wikipedia article Davy Graham Also, in his formative years, Jansch had busked his way through Europe to Morocco, picking up musical ideas and rhythms from many sources. From these influences, he distilled his own individual guitar style.Some of his songs feature a basic Travis picking style of right-hand playing, but these are often distinguished by unusual chord voicings or by chords with added notes. An example of this is his song "Needle of Death", which features a simple picking style, though several of the chords are decorated with added ninths. Characteristically, the ninths are not the highest note of the chord, but appear in the middle of the arpeggiated finger-picking, creating a "lumpiness" to the sound.Kennedy, p. 14Another characteristic feature was his ability to hold a chord in the lower strings while bending an upper string—often bending up from a semitone below a chord note. These can be heard clearly on songs such as "Reynardine" where the bends are from the diminished fifth to the perfect fifth.Kennedy, p. 8 Jansch often fitted the accompaniment to the natural rhythm of the words of his songs, rather than playing a consistent rhythm throughout. This can lead to occasional bars appearing in unusual time signatures. For example, his version of the Ewan MacColl song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", unlike most other covers of that song, switches from 4/4 time to 3/4 and 5/4.Kennedy, p. 16 A similar disregard for conventional time signatures is found in several of his collaborative compositions with Pentangle: for instance, "Light Flight" from the Basket of Light album includes sections in 5/8, 7/8 and 6/4 time.See sleeve notes of Basket of Light

Instruments

Through the development of Pentangle, Jansch played a number of instruments: banjo,For example, the song "House Carpenter" from the Basket of Light album (see album sleeve notes) Appalachian dulcimer,For example, the song "A maid that's deep in love" from the Cruel Sister album (see album sleeve notes) recorder,For example, in the song "The Snows", from the Solomon's Seal album (see album sleeve notes) and concertinaFor example, the song "Lord Franklin", from the Cruel Sister album (see sleeve notes)—on rare occasions he was even known to play electric guitar.BOOK, Unterberger, Richie, Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock, 2003, 0-87930-743-9, 146, Backbeat Books, San Francisco, California, registration,weblink However, it is his acoustic guitar playing that was most notable.Harper, C., p. 84, describes his playing, in his early days, as "increasingly accomplished, if singular". Page 106 quotes Frank Coia {{Who|date=October 2011}} as saying that Jansch's style "was a total diversity from normal, conventional playing – in tonality, in dissonance, in his idea on chord progressions. [...] His accentuation and the actual timing [...] is so unique."Jansch's first guitar was home-made from a kitHarper, C., p. 12 but when he left school and started work, he bought a Höfner cello-style guitar. Soon he traded this in for a Zenith which was marketed as the "Lonnie Donegan guitar" and which Jansch played in the folk clubs in the early 1960s.Harper, C., p. 22 His first album was reputedly recorded using a Martin 00028 borrowed from Martin Carthy.NEWS, Spencer, Neil, Let's stick together, The Observer, 17 September 2006,weblink 6 February 2009, London, Pictures of Jansch in the middle 1960s show him playing a variety of models, including Martin and Epiphone guitars. He had a guitar hand-built by John Bailey, which was used for most of the Pentangle recordings but was eventually stolen.Harper, C., p. 209Jansch later played two six-string guitars built by the Coventry-based luthier Rob Armstrong, one of which appears on the front and back covers of the 1980 Shanachie release, Best of Bert Jansch. He then had a contract with Yamaha, who provided him with an FG1500 which he played, along with a Yamaha LL11 1970s jumbo guitar. Jansch's relationship with Yamaha continued and they presented him with an acoustic guitar with gold trim and abalone inlay for his 60th birthday—although Jansch was quoted as saying that, valued at about £3000, it was too good for stage use.JOURNAL, Mulvey, John, The guitar men, The Scotsman, 29 December 2003,weblink 10 January 2007,

Influence

Jansch's music, and particularly his acoustic guitar playing, have influenced a range of well-known musicians. His first album (Bert Jansch, 1965) was much admired, with Jimmy Page saying, "At one point, I was absolutely obsessed with Bert Jansch. When I first heard that LP, I couldn't believe it. It was so far ahead of what everyone else was doing. No one in America could touch that."Quoted in a list of tributes to Jansch inside the front cover of Roy Harper's biography. The same debut album included Jansch's version of the Davy Graham instrumental "Angie". This was a favourite of Mike Oldfield, who practised acoustic guitar alone as a child, and was then heavily influenced by Jansch's style. The title of the instrumental inspired Oldfield to call his first band (with sister Sally) the Sallyangie.BOOK, DeRogatis, Jim, Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock, 2003, Hal Leonard, 0-634-05548-8, 173, Jansch's version of "Angie" inspired Paul Simon's recording of the piece, which was retitled "Anji" and appeared on the Simon & Garfunkel album Sounds of Silence.Harper, C., p. 335. Quote that Jansch was incredulous that Simon's version of "Anji" (and other subsequent recordings) are based on his own, "mistakes and all" From the same era, Neil Young is quoted as saying: "As much of a great guitar player as Jimi [Hendrix] was, Bert Jansch is the same thing for acoustic guitar... and my favourite." Nick Drake and Donovan were both admirers of Jansch.Jerey Simmonds, The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches, Chicago Review Press, 2008 {{ISBN|1-55652-754-3}}, {{ISBN|978-1-55652-754-8}}; p. 75: "[Drake] was inspired by musicians like Bert Jansch and John Renbourn" Both recorded cover versions of his songs, and Donovan went on to dedicate two of his own songs to Jansch: "Bert's Blues" appeared on his Sunshine Superman LP, and "House of Jansch" on his fourth album Mellow Yellow. Other tributes included Gordon Giltrap's album Janschology (2000) which has two tunes by Jansch, plus two others that show his influence.WEB,weblink Gordon Giltrap, Giltrap.co.uk, 12 March 2016, {{Primary source inline|date=October 2021}}

Discography

Studio albums

• 1965: Bert Jansch
• 1965: It Don't Bother Me
• 1966: Jack Orion
• 1967: Nicola
• 1969: Birthday Blues
• 1971: Rosemary Lane
• 1973: Moonshine
• 1974: L.A. Turnaround
• 1975: Santa Barbara Honeymoon
• 1977: A Rare Conundrum (released 1976 as Poor Mouth with alternate track listing)
• 1978: Avocet
• 1980: Thirteen Down (as The Bert Jansch Conundrum)
• 1982: Heartbreak
• 1985: From the Outside
• 1990: Sketches
• 1990: The Ornament Tree
• 1995: When the Circus Comes to Town
• 1998: Toy Balloon
• 2000: Crimson Moon
• 2002: Edge of a Dream
• 2006: The Black Swan

{{See also|Pentangle (band)#Discography}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

• Harper, Colin: Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival (2000, Bloomsbury) {{ISBN|0-7475-5330-0}} (pbk)
• Kennedy, Doug: The Songs and Guitar Solos of Bert Jansch, New Punchbowl Music, 1983. Although this is a book of music, it contains a great deal of biographical information and photographs of Bert Jansch.

External links

{{Commons category|Bert Jansch}}

• Bert Jansch website
• Bert Jansch Complete Discography at the Folk Blues & Beyond website
• Acoustic Magazine The UK's only dedicated Acoustic magazine – cover feature with Bert Jansch
• Bert Jansch tablature page, from Ultimate Guitar
• Interview with Bert Jansch on Trilogy Rock (Spain)
• {{AllMusic | id= bert-jansch-mn0000756656 | label= Bert Jansch}}
• {{discogs artist|363204-Bert-Jansch|Bert Jansch}}

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