An Evening For Jack
25 October, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Two years after the loss of legendary Cream bassist Jack Bruce, a celebration of his incredible legacy organised by his son Malcolm and Pete Brown – the longtime collaborator from his Cream years and beyond – will bring together over 30 artists to celebrate his work including Ginger Baker, Billy Cobham and Bernie Marsden with some “very, very special guests”. We spoke to Malcolm about what should be an unforgettable evening. It’s great to see an event celebrating Jack Bruce’s legacy. How did the idea for it start? “I was approached by my UK agent, Don McKay at Rhino, with the idea of putting on a tribute to my dad – something that would truly honour his musical legacy and amazing achievements. I jumped at the idea as I feel strongly I am the best person for the job, having worked closely with my dad on and off over the years. In many ways, with Pete being Jack’s chief collaborator for 50 years or so, and me being Jack’s son, it all made perfect sense.” It’s really exciting to see Ginger Baker’s name is on the line-up. Can fans expect to hear some classic Cream material featuring him? “As many will already know, Ginger has had some serious health issues. He’s told me he is on the mend, but we will work with him on what he feels he can do. The most important thing for me is to respect the great man, I’m so very happy he has agreed to come along, so there will be no pressure from us, and we’ll see where he is at in terms of his stamina. He still plays great. If Ginger is up for it, I will ask him if he wants to perform We’re Going Wrong or one of the other Cream songs on the setlist. Just to have him there will be such an honour for us.” Can you tell us about some of the guitarists who will be performing on the night, and what kind of special collaborations might take place? “Aha, well some of our very, very special guests will have to remain as that for now. We have a few wonderful players in attendance that we will not be announcing until the event itself. We also have some legendary guitarists that I can tell you about, such as Clem Clempson [Humble Pie, Colosseum], Chris Spedding [who played on a number of Jack’s early solo records including Songs For A Tailor and Harmony Row], and the wonderful Steve Hackett.” Jack had a wonderful career that was rich in diversity. Do you have a personal favourite musical memories of him? “Going back through all of Jack’s output while structuring this concert, the arc of his writing in my opinion is what stands out. Sure, he was a stellar performer and there are performance moments that stand out – such as some of the vocal performances during West, Bruce and Laing and Cream – but what mostly resonates with me is the sheer genius of his compositional output. And in many ways he didn’t ultimately achieve what he knew he could have achieved in this regard, but what artist does? So, without alienating the fans and their expectations, I am interested in seeing, to some extent, where we can take the material in terms of who will be in the final line-up and how we can interpret some of that material. Of course, we’ll be giving the fans the big Cream hits in the way that is expected, honouring the legacy. I’m very excited to see what we can achieve!”