I was saddened to read tonight of the death of Bert Jansch at age 67. I first saw the guitarist with Pentangle in 1971, last a few years ago at the Iron Horse. Danny Thompson, bassist with Pentangle, rightly called them a “folk-jazz” band. They synthesized Charles Mingus and Furry Lewis and British Isles traditional. Jansch was a dour-voiced Scot, a fine complement to the ethereal Jacqui McShee, and the interweaving guitar lines he crafted with John Renbourn made for a true ensemble music.
Here’s Jansch introducing a “13th Century rock’n’roll song” on a BBC broadcast by Pentangle in 1970.