A film of Neil Young singing “Needle of Death” was shown at “A Celebration of Bert Jansch” at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Dec. 3.
Neil has commented that he first started listening to Bert Jansch in Vicky Taylor’s apartment in Yorkville Village in Toronto in the mid-60s. He was captivated with Jansch’s first recording and listened to it over and over. Neil has admitted borrowing heavily from “Needle of Death” for his own “Ambulance Blues” a decade later, according to Young historian and Zuman Sharry Wilson.
Young toured with Jansch in 2011.
Jansch, who was credited with influencing a generation of musicians, died in October 2011 at the age of 67 after a two-year battle with lung cancer.
The Scottish musician Jansch was a founding member of the group Pentangle, with whom he gave his last public performance in August of that year when they reformed, according to an article from the Scotland Herald.
Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant was among music stars who celebrated the work and inspiration of the late folk-rock guitarist Bert Jansch at the tribute concert. Also on the bill were former Suede star Bernard Butler, 60s chart act Donovan – famed for tracks such as Hurdy Gurdy Man – and London Town hit-maker Ralph McTell.
With deep regret, Pegi and I acknowledge the passing of Bert Jansch.
Pegi and I were lucky to play with him on all of our shows for the last couple of years. He is a hero of mine, and one of my greatest influences. Bert was one of the all time great acoustic guitarists and singer-songwriters. Our sincerest sympathies to his soulmate, Loren. We love you, Bert.
In the press:
Bert Jansch, one of Neil’s favorite guitarists and recent opening act, has passed away.
Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch, a founding member of the band Pentangle and a well-known guitarist in his own right, has died at the age of 67.
Jansch, who had cancer, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a hospice in Hampstead, north London.
Born in Glasgow in 1943, the musician recorded his first album in 1965 and his last, The Black Swan, in 2006.
…
Speaking to The Guardian last year, Jansch – who is survived by his wife Loren – said he was “not one for showing off”.
But he admitted that his guitar-playing “sticks out” – a skill that once prompted Neil Young to put him on the same level as Jimi Hendrix.
Booking agent John Barrow, who helped the musician stage shows throughout his career, said he would remember Jansch as a “hard-working musician” and “a great man”.
pix courtesy of Michael Borkson (click to enlarge)
He was at the center of the British folk revival of the late 1960s and early 1970s at a time when British music – led by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who – dominated much of the pop world.
In an era of earsplitting supergroups like Cream , known for their volume and pounding drums, he was a founder of Pentangle, a nuanced, visionary mix of folk and jazz music that found a huge audience for its complex arrangements and stunning musicianship.
His solo career was bookended by the outstanding “Bert Jansch” album in 1965 – recorded on borrowed guitars – and the critically acclaimed “Black Swan” CD released in 2006.
Young, who earlier this year invited Jansch to open for him on an extended concert tour, said that Jansch created a new approach to the acoustic guitar much as Jimi Hendrix changed the sound of the electric guitar.
John Barrow, Jansch’s U.K. concert booking agent, said Jansch remained an influential figure even when his music was out of fashion.
“I’ve been his agent for just over 10 years and when I met him he was at a low ebb and not really getting the recognition he deserved,” Barrow said. “But it is a measure of the man that he had at that point continued playing in a pub in Carnaby Street in London. Even at that time Liam and Noel Gallagher from Oasis were turning up at that pub to listen to him.
Jansch, who was born in Scotland, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music in 2007 by Edinburgh Napier University. Guitarist Haftor Medboe , a musician in residence at the university, said Jansch had a distinctive sound that was difficult to define.
“Bert was a musician who was genuinely unique and was able to cross genres,” he said. “He was a virtuoso player and could create incredible sounds from his guitar, but he was also very soulful and imbued the instrument with a passion and elegance on a par with any of the great guitarists. It is no surprise that so many great artists name check him as an influence. He was the quintessential musician’s musician.”
Jansch was also a prolific songwriter. He has been recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.
Pentangle was hailed by critics and fans for providing modern renditions of classic folk songs, helping to keep traditional music alive and vibrant, and also for innovative, jazz-inflected new material.
They attracted a substantial following in an era when Bob Dylan, Donovan, Fairport Convention and others were looking to traditional acoustic sounds for inspiration.
Jansch’s final performance was at a Pentangle concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Aug. 1, spokesman Mick Houghton said.
Houghton, who had known Jansch since his early days on the music scene, said the guitarist died at the Marie Curie Hospice in north London. Jansch had recently been forced to cancel several planned solo concerts because of his failing health.
“I don’t know anyone who had less of a sense of celebrity. He was always very self-effacing and critical adulation was completely irrelevant to him,” Houghton said.
Folk singer Eddi Reader called Jansch “a gentle, gentle gentleman.” In a message on Twitter she said: “God speed, darlin’ Bert – get us on the guest list.”
Jansch is survived by his wife, Loren, and son, Adam.
“Neil: These days it\'s all about closure of this and that for me. I have too many things to finish. How can I move on until I clean that slate? My film Human Highway [made in 1982] is one of those things. It should be available to the public. Dean Stockwell and Russell Tamblyn, my old friends from Topanga Canyon, and Dennis Hopper, a good old friend, were in this movie with me, and we wrote the dialogue as we went along. It is the dorkiest damn movie ever, and it walks a very fine line right on the edge of being too dorky. Some may say it falls over that line. The film was never put to rest to my satisfaction. When I finish something, I want it to be right, or as right as it can be.” by --Neil Young, 2012 interview with Costco
Neil Young on Tour
Sugar Mountain setlists
Tom Hambleton provides BNB with setlists, thankfully. His website is the most comprehensive searchable archives on the Internets about anything Neil Young related setlists. Goto Sugar Mountain.
memphish on 
Albert Stromann on 
liza on 
Baz on 
