Jack Bruce, renowned bass player whose bands included Cream, Alexis Korner's Blues Inc., the Graham Bond Organization, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and, briefly, Manfred Mann. Why is he playing a cello? Well at 16 he won a scholarship to study cello and composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music but dropped out over differences with his teachers and perhaps also as recorded on one website, poverty.
Cream, being a trio, allowed Bruce to become an innovator in terms of the role of the bass guitar. His forceful, aggressive style has changed the whole understanding of bass playing, and it has become as much a lead instrument. In Cream it was a foil to Clapton's guitar.
"I became the lead singer in Cream by default. It wasn't until Cream that Eric encouraged me to be a singer. We always had a competition as to who didn't want to be the lead singer. I guess I sort of lost." "Cream's success has been a double-edged sword for me. I still earn a lot of money from it and it's given me financial freedom and the opportunity to play whatever I've wanted to. When I see an article about me and it says 'Jack Bruce of Cream' it kind of annoys me a little bit because I've done so many other things."In an interview with the BBC they asked "You play bass guitar, piano, cello and acoustic guitar and you sing. Which satisfies you most as a performer?" and his reply was "Singing. It's transcendental."
Voice is so important and has become the catch word in post-colonial, post-modern, or feminist studies. Finding our voice in life is difficult and perhaps very important to me is that this has a transcendental dimension. Moreover to find your voice is to find meaning and purpose in life, but literally to find in today a good reason to go beyond today. Strangely Bruce's cello has appeared on his recordings in recent years, as opportunity and reason to play has been found.
But as I think in the context of Nodame Cantabile, Nodame (the female lead character) has a voice a cantabile style but no real purpose because she wants to play music for herself how she wants. Chiaki (the male lead) has purpose but no voice. Perhaps voice has two meanings: an ability and quality to express oneself and the opportunity, or relationship in which, to be heard. To those who struggle and feel alone I feel important that need to be able to express the situation and to be heard. No-one should cry alone though sadly it happens most of the time. (see my earlier post The Pain of God click here )
