Cream’s Jack Bruce – A look at his autobiography "Compose yourself"
Legendary bassist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jack Bruce is the subject of a new autobiography, “Composing Himself.” Best known for his founding role in the legendary trio Cream, this book is a must read for anyone interested in music. This is why …
Jack Bruce: An Overview
Jack Bruce is probably best known for his integral role in the legendary band Cream. And yet his story does not begin or end with that influential group.
By all accounts, a brilliant musician and, by some, a musical genius, Jack Bruce was a child prodigy and an accomplished cello when he reached adolescence. It became unsettled even in the most prestigious Scottish music schools and soon gravitated toward Britain’s fledgling jazz, rock, and blues scene of the early 1960s.
It was there that he crossed paths with and eventually teamed up with drummer Ginger Baker and guitarist Eric Clapton to form Cream, a musical tour de force that still influences and resonates to this day. Although Cream’s initial lifespan lasted less than three years, the world-class musicianship of the three members generated countless imitators and legions of fans.
After the band’s breakup in 1968, Bruce went on to forge a colorful musical career, moving from hard rock to blues to jazz and everything in between. He has stayed true to his musical vision, whether it means commercial success or not, and that is why his story is a must-read for all aspiring musicians and fans of good music.
The autobiography: composing himself
Jack Bruce’s autobiography Composing Himself is appropriately written and narrated by Harry Shapiro, an accomplished author who has known his subject in depth for decades. The forward is brilliantly written by Bruce’s Cream bandmate Eric Clapton, who offers a glimpse of Bruce’s talent from an insider perspective.
Many other colleagues, friends, and family provide an honest and often heartbreaking perspective on Bruce’s life and career. Like many high-profile musicians, he struggled with the reward of success, turning to drugs as a crutch.
With his career basically in shambles ten years after Cream’s breakup, the book details his long journey back to physical and emotional health, and relevance within the music business. Its many musical associations are covered in fascinating detail, especially the aborted supergroup of the early 1970s, West, Bruce and Laing. Gathered together by music industry executives hoping for a big payday, the band collapsed under the weight of their own expectations, nearly ruining all three members in the process.
For the most part, the narrative keeps Bruce’s family life on the sidelines, apart from underscoring its importance and positive influence on his life. Bruce, an extraordinarily reserved man, has never sought the adulation of a rock star. As the book recounts, the most important thing is his desire to seek inner satisfaction through his music, commercially successful or not.
His recent reunion with Cream is detailed, with both poignant humor and nostalgic memories. Long known for their combative relationship, the complicated interaction between Bruce and Ginger Baker is treated with respect, but without gloves. In what Eric Clapton calls a sibling rivalry, Bruce and Baker have deep respect for each other, but still disagree, nearly 50 years after they first played together.
Resume
You don’t have to be a fan of Cream, or even Jack Bruce, to enjoy his autobiography, Composing Himself. It is an honest chronicle of a man who lives for his music, a man who almost deliberately shied away from the path of commercial success in order to stay true to himself and his vision.
Additionally, the book is a soul-revealing study of relationships; what should have been done and what should have been said. It is a story of sadness, a story of triumph, but above all a story of survival.