Friday, March 27, 2015

In Memoriam: John Renbourn


One of the seminal figures of the English folk-rock and folk-jazz music revival of the 1960's and 1970's and founder of the group Pentangle, John Renbourn, has died.  The Telegraph writes:

John Renbourn, who has died aged 70, was an innovative acoustic guitarist whose pioneering finger style not only provided great impetus to the 1960s folk scene but also influenced rock guitarists such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. His informal 1966 album Bert & John, with Bert Jansch, was a landmark in the development of the British folk movement and remains a highly influential work in the field of folk music accompaniment.

Yet Renbourn’s mastery of a wide variety of styles, including classical, medieval, jazz, blues and world music, and his eagerness to explore fresh techniques, endeared him to musicians from a variety of genres.

There's more at the link.

There are so many musical examples of John Renbourn's work that it's almost impossible for me to choose just one.  I've therefore chosen a simple melody, made famous by Simon & Garfunkel.  Here's an instrumental rendition of 'Scarborough Fair'.





Timeless and lovely.  May he rest in peace.

Peter

1 comment:

  1. Sad passing - always like his work.

    Something magic about it.

    - S

    ReplyDelete

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