John Renbourn (Pentangle) RIP

[mandocrucian]

http://www.theguardian.com/music/201.../john-renbourn

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-...2925/biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Renbourn

One of my early favorites and inspirations. I had the chance to talk to him back in 1987 after a Mountain Stage (Charleston, WV public radio show) concert and the interview went into issue #6 (June 1987) of the Mandocrucian's Digest. From that issue, here is a tune he played for me (on guitar), notated and tabbed out for open-tuned (GDGD) mando or OM.


Niles H

[mandocrucian]

[Carl Robin]

Thanks for sharing this. His music was an inspiration.

[Andy Boden]

Met him briefly in the late '60s when we (the college folk club) booked Pentangle to play at the college I attended. Jaqui used my now wife's hall of residence room as her changing/dressing room!
J R was an inspiration to me in my teenage years and later .... a nice guy and great musician.

[Philippe Bony]

Miss him. Listening to "The Lady & The Unicorn" and "Solomon's Seal" right now.

[Martin Jonas]

It's a great loss. I always found his solo work and his live recordings with the John Renbourn Group and with Robin Williamson more interesting than Pentangle, but his guitar arrangements of renaissance tunes were groundbreaking. My favourite album of his is probably Wheel Of Fortune with Robin Williamson, but The Lady And The Unicorn and Sir John Alot were fabulous, too.

Martin

[mandopops]

Yes, RIP John, Great Guitarists and a charming gentleman.
I, like a couple of the others, first saw and met John with in the late 60's. Pentangle was appearing at a Rock house, the Kinetic Playground, in Chicago. They were on a bill with Spirit and a little unknown act, Alice Cooper. Yes, Alice Cooper. A buddy of mine had figured a way to sneak back stage and we hung out with John and the others and someone from Spirit telling jokes. I was showing them our "funny handshakes", which he loved and he had a great big laugh.
A couple of years ago, my brother and I went to see him at Fitzgerald's, outside of Chicago. He was great. We went in back and chatted with him. I told him about our meeting years before. He remembered the gig (not me) because they were on the bill with Alice Cooper, which he thought was pretty amusing.
Wonderful Guitarist and nice guy.
Joe B

[brunello97]

I saw the obit in the paper this AM. It's a loss and a pity. He wasn't looking too healthy of late. I found his music almost all to be pretty likeable. I used to wear out the "Bert and John" disc when I first discovered it. Their Porkpie Hat is muy cool.

Mick

[Bren]

Finally got to see John Renbourn when he came to Aberdeen with Robin Williamson a few years back for a gig at a small venue. Inspirational guitarist and seemed like a very nice bloke.

[journeybear]

This saddens me greatly. I rather enjoyed Pentangle - a very nice band, indeed, very talented, together and singly. I think they may have been the first of that great slew of British folk-rock bands of the late Sixties that I heard. I mean Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Incredible String Band, surely some others slipping my mind just now. "Sweet Child" is the album that did it for me, and the title song really stuck with me.

We've been losing a lot of great musicians from that era lately. It's bound to happen, of course, but that doesn't soften the blow one bit. RIP John Renbourn. You've touched a lot of people's souls with your music and left quite a legacy.

[Dagger Gordon]

I liked him quite a lot. I remember seeing Pentangle when Reflection came out. Cracking gig with John playing a fair bit of electric guitar. He had a cigarette in his mouth virtually all the time and a stock of beer cans under his chair. That was common practise in those days.

Since then I saw him several times. He was always pretty good.
Latterly it looked to me like his hands had swollen out a bit but it didn't appear to have affected his playing. The last gig I saw was with Clive Carroll (who really is an amazing guitarist). I was struck by how much respect and genuine affection Clive (who is years younger) obviously had for the old master.

I am really very sad to hear of his death.

[Darren Bailey]

John was an astonishing talent, and a lovely bloke to boot. He had such power in hiis fingers and could create an amazing mood from those strings. My wife and I ran into him a couple of times, the last one being after a show he did with Robin Willamson of the Incredible String Band - that must have been nearly fifteen years ago now. On stage Robin kept going into his very long stories and Joh was getting increasingly annoyed with him as the night wore on. A funny spectacle at the time. When we met him he was always generous with his time - even to fans such as ourselves who he must have met the likes of for many decades. We all know death is inevitable, but when someone who has been a hero like this goes it feels like the world has lost something special. Prayers are with him

[David Surette]

One of the true greats.

[foldedpath]

I spent 30 years playing fingerstyle guitar before getting to mandolin, so yeah, this hits hard.

Pentangle was a band with what amounted to jazz musicians playing folk rock, which had a different sound than the others in that genre at the time. I followed Renbourn and Jansch after Pentangle, and bought all the albums I could find, but then I moved on to other things. He's still one of my formative guitar heroes on the acoustic/fingerstyle side of the spectrum.

RIP John, and thanks for the inspiration over the years.

[Richard Singleton]

sad loss...my big brother introduced me to the music of Pentangle back in my teens. In 1969 he took me to see them at Carnegie Hall. At age 62, Pentangle, Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span have been my "big three", throughout my life. I was fortunate to see the John Renbourn Group at a small venue in later years, as well as John solo. Sharing the music of the John Renbourn Group's Maid in Bedlam album played a big part in the early courtship pf my late wife.

[ollaimh]

renbourn was a force of nature, a typhon that shaped folk guitar. I saw him one sunny summer afternoon at the Vancouver folk festival. his stage was in a tree shaded area and it was magical. then the next performers failed to show and he did a second workshop/performance. it was a wonderfull afternoon. his voice was magical as well.

goddess speed to the great musical afterlife, john

[Tavy]

I saw John performing with Jacqui McShee in a small venue.... must have been over 25 years ago.... but yes, he could sure play guitar and put on a great show! So sad that another of the folk revival's great originals have gone, we seem to have lost so many of that generation lately.

[montana]

We're all getting old!

[jim simpson]

Loved John's playing. When I finally got to see Pentangle, he was no longer with them. Bert was also very good, the combo - great!

[John Goodin]

I loved Pentangle (despite some people thinking they were too laid back, or whatever) but The Lady and the Unicorn really made an impression. I'm sure I played it hundreds of times back around '73-74 and it gave me lots of ideas about what's possible.

I only had the pleasure of seeing John once in person but it was a great show. He played in Indianapolis (early-mid 80s?) as part of a trio with Jacqui McShee and Tony Roberts and I was able to sit close to the front. Brilliant playing and a very sincere performance.

Very sad to see him die so young.

John G.

[DougC]

He was a true gentleman. I had the pleasure of speaking to him in the green room of the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis a number of years ago. He could tell that I loved guitar and knew his recordings and he just spoke to me like an old friend. I'll never forget that. RIP John

[Jesse Harmon]

Saw him solo for a great show at the Ark in Ann Arbor. Sad to hear this.