JACK BRUCE R.I.P.

Jack Bruce is best known as the bass player and vocalist for CREAM, one of the greatest bands in any genre ever, in terms of musicianship and virtuosity (Ginger Baker on drums and Eric Clapton on guitar) despite the fact they were only together for a couple of years.

Here's an obit with the vitals. But what that obit misses is how many other great music projects Bruce was involved with. I'll mention only one, which was one of my favorite records (there was actually more than one disc) from one of my favorite jazz innovators, Carla Bley, called ESCALATOR OVER THE HILL.

That lengthy recording (done if I remember correctly over a few years time) was at the time (early '70s) one of the most original, difficult, crazy, impactful and radical records ever. It, like him, was one of a kind, which is kind of a cliche, especially since in truth each of us is ultimately one-of-a-kind, but where many of us share a lot of similarities with others, Bruce, like Ginger Baker for that matter, was sui generis if anyone was.