‘Revolutionary’ folk guitarist Bert Jansch dies
Folk star Bert Jansch was an inspiration to generations of rock guitarists because he was a “revolutionary” player, musicians and a music historian tell Channel 4 News.
Often name-checked alongside Jimi Hendrix as an all-time great of guitar playing, Bert Jansch influenced musicians from Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page to contemporary stars such as Pete Doherty.
The Scot was a founding member of the group Pentangle, with whom he gave his last public performance when they reformed in August.
Music historian Spencer Leigh told Channel 4 News he was a big inspiration to others because he dared to be different.
He said: “He was a pretty revolutionary guitarist – one of the ones who developed his own style.
“Many were influenced by that early rock ‘n’ roll sound but he wasn’t. He did some wonderful stuff – Needle of Death, a version of Angie, and then he was in Pentangle.
He’s always been popular in the folk-rock world – bracketed with Davy Graham and Fairport Convention.”
He was a huge influence on me, the only reason I never ripped him off is that I wasn’t good enough. Will Sheff, Okkervil River
Jansch was a prominent figure in the folk revival of the 1960s and was honoured at the BBC Folk Awards in 2001 with a lifetime achievement award.
But his reputation extended well beyond the folk circuit, with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler and Johnny Marr, who rose to fame in The Smiths, both performing with him in recent years.
“He would never play the same song the same way. There’s a rebelliousness about it,” said Marr, in 2009. One of Jansch’s final recording sessions was with Babyshambles and Libertines frontman Pete Doherty and he continues to inspire emerging artists.
Will Sheff, singer with US folk-rock band Okkervil River, told Channel 4 News: “As a guitar player Bert Jansch was capable of sublime delicacy but preferred to play like he was roughly rifling through a drawer in frantic search of something unspeakably valuable.
“While his fingers dug into those guitar strings, his voice would be so calm it was almost otherworldly, both acknowledging all the violent emotions of the songs and yet seemingly elevated above those emotions.
“He was a huge influence on me, the only reason I never ripped him off is that I wasn’t good enough.”
Jansch, who was 67, had been in hospital for a number of weeks after his health deteriorated following the Pentangle concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall in the summer.
His spokesman Mick Houghton said: “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.”
The Glasgow-born musician lived in north London with his wife, Lauren.
