41 Facts About Bert Jansch

Herbert Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle.

Bert Jansch was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter.

Bert Jansch recorded more than 28 albums and toured extensively from the 1960s to the 21st century.

Bert Jansch then took a few years' break from music, returning in the late 1970s to work on a series of projects with other musicians.

Bert Jansch joined a reformed Pentangle in the early 1980s and remained with them as they evolved through various changes of personnel until 1995.

Until his death, Bert Jansch continued to work as a solo artist.

Bert Jansch's work influenced many artists, especially Jimmy Page, Mike Oldfield, Paul Simon, Pete Hawkes, Nick Drake, Donovan, Neil Young, and Johnny Marr.

Bert Jansch received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards: one, in 2001, for his solo achievements and the other, in 2007, as a member of Pentangle.

Herbert Jansch was born at Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, on 3 November 1943, the descendant of a family originally from Hamburg, Germany, who settled in Scotland during the Victorian era.

Bert Jansch was brought up in the residential area of Edinburgh known as West Pilton, where he attended Pennywell Primary School and Ainslie Park Secondary School.

Bert Jansch met and shared a flat with Robin Williamson, who remained a friend when Jansch later moved to London.

Bert Jansch spent the next two years playing one-night stands in British folk clubs.

Bert Jansch travelled around Europe and beyond between 1963 and 1965, hitch-hiking from place to place, living on earnings from busking and casual musical performances in bars and cafes.

Bert Jansch left her behind to travel to Morocco in 1963, and she took up with Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band.

The album Bert Jansch was released in 1965, and went on to sell 150,000 copies.

In London, Bert Jansch met other innovative acoustic guitar players, including John Renbourn, with whom he shared a flat in Kilburn, Davy Graham, Wizz Jones, Roy Harper and Paul Simon.

Renbourn and Bert Jansch frequently played together, developing their own intricate interplay between the two guitars, often referred to as "Folk baroque".

Bert Jansch inspired several of Jansch's songs and instrumentals, the most obvious being "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell" from his 1968 album Birthday Blues, but Jansch says that, despite the name, "M'Lady Nancy" from the 1971 Rosemary Lane album was written for her.

Pentangle embarked on a demanding schedule of touring the world and recording and, during this period, Bert Jansch largely gave up solo performances.

Bert Jansch did continue to record, releasing Rosemary Lane in 1971.

Bert Jansch spent two or three years in California in the mid-1970s.

Bert Jansch recorded most of his 1974 album LA Turnaround and 1975 album Santa Barbara Honeymoon while there.

Bert Jansch then formed the band Conundrum with the addition of Martin Jenkins and Nigel Smith.

Bert Jansch toured Scandinavia, working as a duo with Martin Jenkins and, based on ideas they developed, recorded the Avocet album.

Bert Jansch rated this as among his own favourites from his own recordings.

Bert Jansch was initially a guest player, but became a writer on some of the songs, as well as an arranger and co-vocalist.

Newman and Bert Jansch were the key players on After the Long Night.

Bert Jansch was the prime mover in the Acoustic Routes film, first broadcast by the BBC in 1992.

From 1995, Bert Jansch appeared frequently at the 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, London.

In 2003, Bert Jansch celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

In 2005, Bert Jansch teamed up again with one of his early influences, Davy Graham, for a small number of concerts in England and Scotland.

Bert Jansch is looking forward to rescheduling as soon as possible.

Bert Jansch opened for Neil Young on his Twisted Road solo tour in the US and Canada, starting on 18 May 2010.

Bert Jansch performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads festival in June 2010.

Bert Jansch again opened for Young's 2011 tour, beginning on 15 April in Durham, North Carolina, and having a final solo performance in Chicago on 7 May That same year, a few reunion gigs took place with Pentangle, including performances at the Glastonbury Festival and one final concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, which was Bert Jansch's last ever public performance.

Bert Jansch died on 5 October 2011, aged 67, at a hospice in Hampstead after a long battle with lung cancer.

Also, in his formative years, Bert Jansch had busked his way through Europe to Morocco, picking up musical ideas and rhythms from many sources.

Bert Jansch often fitted the accompaniment to the natural rhythm of the words of his songs, rather than playing a consistent rhythm throughout.

Soon he traded this in for a Zenith which was marketed as the "Lonnie Donegan guitar" and which Bert Jansch played in the folk clubs in the early 1960s.

Bert Jansch had a guitar hand-built by John Bailey, which was used for most of the Pentangle recordings but was eventually stolen.

Bert Jansch then had a contract with Yamaha, who provided him with an FG1500 which he played, along with a Yamaha LL11 1970s jumbo guitar.