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| Jack Bruce 6-CD Full Career, Retrospective Anthology Jack Bruce celebrated his 65th Birthday in May, and to celebrate this milestone, Esoteric Recordings is releasing a lavish six-CD boxed set anthology entitled, "Can You Follow, " on June 23, 2008. With one of the most powerful voices in modern music and a composer of some of the most original and influential music of the past forty years, Jack Bruce is perhaps one of the greatest popular musicians Britain has ever produced. A supremely talented instrumentalist and vocalist, as a song writer he has written some of popular music's enduring classics such as "Sunshine of Your Love, " "White Room, " "I Feel Free" and "Theme from an Imaginary Western." Eminently respected by his peers, the list of those he has worked with is impressive and includes most of the leading lights of British rock music. Bruce's pioneering bass playing style has influenced successive generations of bassists including such luminaries as Paul McCartney, Jaco Pastorius and Sting, alongside more contemporary musicians such as Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The "Can You Follow" set gathers together material drawn from all aspects of Bruce's career, beginning in 1962 with the earliest released recording of him performing as a member of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and continuing with recordings made with the Graham Bond Organisation - comprised of Bruce, Graham Bond, Ginger Baker and Dick Heckstall-Smith), John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann and then on to Cream (the band which brought Jack Bruce along with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker to worldwide prominence), selling over 33 million albums in the process. Following the demise of Cream in November, 1968, Bruce embarked on a distinguished career as a solo artist, recording fifteen albums in his own right, all of immense creativity and diversity. A series of ageless solo albums - covering all musical styles and moods, Bruce's music is a master class in the art of song writing and musical delivery, standing the test of time and ever-changing musical fashion. Beginning with the classic album "Songs for a Tailor, " the "Can You Follow" boxed set encompasses material from all these solo albums and also adds selected material from other projects including those with Tony Williams' Lifetime, West, Bruce and Laing, Frank Zappa, Rocket 88 - with Charlie Watts and Alexis Korner, Robin Trower and BBM - with Gary Moore and Ginger Baker. Importantly, the set emphasises Jack's enormous talent as a song writer and composer. With the majority of his life spent as a professional musician, the legacy of legendary recordings graced by Bruce's musical presence is immense and his innovation unique, touching the worlds of rock, jazz, blues and ethnic music. As one of popular music's most respected innovators, Bruce is in a class of his own. On June 23 2008, the release of "Can You Follow" celebrates his enduring talent and musical legacy. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |