Jack Bruce

Jack Bruce
Bruce at the Deutsches Jazzfestival, 2007
Background information
Birth name	John Symon Asher Bruce
Born	(1943-05-14)14 May 1943 Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died	25 October 2014(2014-10-25) (aged 71) Suffolk, England
Genres	Rock, jazz-rock, blues-rock, Latin
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Bass guitar vocals piano guitar harmonica cello
Years active	1962–2014
Labels	Polydor, Atco, RSO, Epic, CMP, Sanctuary, Esoteric
Associated acts	Blues Incorporated, The Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, Cream, The Tony Williams Lifetime, West, Bruce and Laing, Rocket 88, Kip Hanrahan, BBM, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Website	jackbruce.com
Notable instruments
Gibson EB-3 Warwick Thumb Signature

John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter known primarily for his contributions to the British supergroup Cream, which also included guitarist-singer Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. In March 2011 Rolling Stone readers selected him as the eighth greatest bass guitarist of all time. "Most musicians would have a very hard time distinguishing themselves if they wound up in a band with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker," the magazine said at the time, "but Jack Bruce was so gifted on the bass that he did it with ease."

Bruce maintained a solo career that spanned several decades and also played in several musical groups. Although recognized first and foremost as a vocalist, bassist and songwriter, he also played double bass, harmonica, piano, cello and guitar. He was trained as a classical cellist and considered himself a jazz musician, although much of his catalogue of compositions and recordings tended toward rock and blues.

Bruce was born on 14 May 1943 in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, to Betty (Asher) and Charlie Bruce, musical parents who moved frequently, resulting in the young Bruce attending 14 different schools, ending up at Bellahouston Academy. He began playing the jazz bass in his teens and won a scholarship to study cello and musical composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama while playing in Jim McHarg's Scotsville Jazzband to support himself. The academy disapproved of its students playing jazz. "They found out", Bruce told Musician correspondent Jim Macnie, "and said 'you either stop, or leave college.' So I left college."

After leaving school he toured Italy, playing double bass with the Murray Campbell Big Band. In 1962 Bruce became a member of the London-based band Blues Incorporated, led by Alexis Korner, in which he played the upright bass. The band also included organist Graham Bond, saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and drummer Ginger Baker. In 1963 the group broke up and Bruce went on to form the Graham Bond Quartet with Bond, Baker and guitarist John McLaughlin. They played an eclectic range of music genres, including bebop, blues and rhythm and blues. As a result of session work at this time, Bruce switched from the upright bass to the electric bass guitar. The move to electric bass happened as McLaughlin was dropped from the band; he was replaced by Heckstall-Smith on saxophone and the band pursued a more concise R&B sound and changed their name to the Graham Bond Organisation. The group released two studio albums and several singles but were not commercially successful.