John Renbourn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Renbourn in New Bedford in 2005

John Renbourn (* 8. August 1944 in Torquay , Devon , † 26. March 2015 in Hawick , Scotland ) was a British folk - singer and - guitarist who mainly member of the band as Pentangle in the 1960s and '70s was known . His round, filigree fingerpicking was characteristic of his playing style . In addition to Bert Jansch and Davey Graham , he was considered an outstanding representative of the so-called " Folk Baroque ". Occasionally Renbourn also used the sitar and electric guitar in his recordings.

Life

Renbourn grew up in Torquay in the south of England and began learning the guitar as a teenager. In the 1950s his main interest was in the skiffle , and by the beginning of the next decade he played briefly in a rhythm and blues band. In 1961 and 1963 he toured the south-west of England with Mac MacLeod and then began performing regularly at "Les Cousins", a well-known pub in Soho . There he met a number of well-known folk musicians, including Paul Simon , Davey Graham and finally Bert Jansch . First and foremost, it was Graham's great success Angie , a groundbreaking instrumental for many folk guitarists at the time, that moved Renbourne to switch to the more sophisticated fingerstyle genre.

In 1965 his debut album came out, which was simply called John Renbourn and offered more ordinary, little-noticed folk blues. He recorded There You Go with Dorris Henderson and accompanied Jansch on his second album It Don't Bother Me . In 1966 the two published Bert and John together , which was mostly improvised, excellent guitar work.

After two more solo albums, Renbourn founded the folk jazz band Pentangle together with Jansch in 1967 , which released their debut the following year, which presented a hitherto unusual mixture of folk, blues, jazzy moments and classic snippets. Until 1973, the mostly highly acclaimed band played a number of albums, with the 1969 LP Basket of Light being particularly popular, then they broke up.

Renbourn later worked with Jacqui McShee and Keshav Sathe in the "John Renbourn Group" and the American guitarist Stefan Grossman . Over the years, his interest increasingly shifted to medieval or Celtic sounds. His unusual, intimate guitar playing usually left lasting impressions on the listeners in equally relaxed concerts. Until recently Renbourn went on tour, often with his old Pentangle colleague Jacqui McShee or the folk bard Robin Williamson (Ex- Incredible String Band ). At the same time, he occasionally turned to his preference for country blues , ragtime and jazz .

Renbourn did not appear as expected for a concert in Glasgow on the evening of March 25, 2015 . The following morning, police found him dead in his Hawick home. After an initial diagnosis, Renbourn died of a heart attack .

Discography

  • There You Go (1965 with Dorris Henderson on Columbia)
  • John Renbourn (1966 on Transatlantic)
  • Bert and John (1966 with Bert Jansch on Transatlantic)
  • Another Monday (1966 on Transatlantic)
  • Sir John Alot of Merrie Englandes Musyk Thyng & Ye Grene Knyghte (1968, re-released on Shanachie Records )
  • The Lady and the Unicorn (1970 on Transatlantic, re-released on Shanachie)
  • Faro Annie (1971 on Transatlantic)
  • The Hermit (1976, re-released on Shanachie)
  • The Guitar of John Renbourn (1977 on Keith Prowse Music, 2005 on Castle Music UK)
  • A Maid in Bedlam (1977 on Shanachie)
  • Acoustic Guitar (Stefan Grossman & John Renbourn) (1978 on East World, Toshiba-EMI, Japan -  direct cut -LP)
  • The Black Balloon (1979 on Shanachie)
  • The Enchanted Garden (1980 on Shanachie)
  • Under the Volcano (1980 with Stefan Grossman on Sonet)
  • Live in America (1981 with the John Renbourn Group on Flying Fish)
  • Live ... in Concert (1984 with Stefan Grossman on Shanachie)
  • The Three Kingdoms (1987 with Stefan Grossman on Shanachie)
  • Ship of Fools (1988 on Flying Fish)
  • The Nine Maidens (1988 on Flying Fish)
  • After the Dance (1992 with Bert Jansch on Shanachie)
  • Wheel of Fortune (1994 with Robin Williamson on Flying Fish; live)
  • Lost Sessions (1996 on Edsel)
  • Traveler's Prayer (1998 on Shanachie)
  • BBC Live in Concert (2001 in Varese)
  • Live in Italy (2006 on Castle)
  • Palermo Snow (2011 on Shanachie)

Compilations

  • Stepping Stones (1969 with Bert Jansch on Vanguard)
  • John Renbourn Sampler (1971 on Transatlantic)
  • So Clear - John Renbourn Sampler Vol. II (1973 on Transatlantic)
  • Heads & Tails (1973 on Transatlantic)
  • John Renbourn & Bert Jansch (1985 with Bert Jansch on Cambra)
  • The Essential Collection, Vol. 1 & 2 (1987 on Transatlantic)
  • Snap a Little Owl (1988 with Stefan Grossman on Shanachie)
  • Folk Blues of John Renbourn (1988 in Devon)
  • Mediaeval Almanack (1989 on Devon)
  • The Essential: The Best of John Renbourn (1994 on Transatlantic)
  • Collection (1995 on Castle)
  • John Barleycorn (1996 with the John Renbourn Group on Edsel)
  • Collected (1999 on Music Club)
  • Keeper of the Vine - The Best of John Renbourn & Stefan Grossman (1999 with Stefan Grossman on Shanachie)
  • The Definitive Transatlantic Collection (1998 on Essential)
  • So Early in the Spring (1999 on Vivid Sound)
  • Heritage (2001 on EMI)
  • The Best of John Renbourn (2001 on Castle / Pulse)
  • The Transatlantic Anthology (2002 on Castle)
  • Nobody's fault but mine. The John Renbourn Anthology 1966-2005 (2007 on Castle / Sanctuary; contains four previously unreleased pieces)

Notes, tablatures

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Renbourn obituary. In: The Guardian , March 27, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  2. ^ John Renbourn, folk musician - obituary. In: The Daily Telegraph , March 27, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  3. ^ Rebecca Ratcliff: Guitarist and songwriter John Renbourn, founder of Pentangle, dies. In: The Guardian of March 26, 2015 (accessed March 27, 2015).
personal data
SURNAME Renbourn, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British folk rock singer and guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Torquay , Devon, England
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 2015
Place of death Hawick , Scotland