Bill Bruford - Live Dates 1975-99

This article was originally published in Facelift 14 (June 1995), I have since edited and enhanced the piece to take in a further sighting of Bill and his 1999 version of Earthworks.

Many moons ago in Facelift 1 (June 1989), Phil Howitt examined the varied career of Bill Bruford, an article which I hope to complement by looking at the live Bruford experience. Since 1975 I have been fortunate enough to see BB on five separate occasions with four different groups. During much of this period I kept a diary which proved invaluable when it came to confirming dates, line ups and other detail that had faded with time.

For a number of years, after the demise of King Crimson in 1974, Bill Bruford was essentially a hired gun, playing with a wide range of artists, whilst his own personal musical direction and composing talents evolved. I first came across him as a member of Roy Harper's all star backing group Trigger, at an all day open air festival at the Blackpool football ground where they were second on the bill to Steeleye Span (6th July 1975). Roy Harper has always been well respected within the business and able to attract high calibre backing musicians. On this occasion as well as Bill Bruford, he had top session man Chris Spedding on guitar whom Facelift readers will remember from "Elastic Rock," the influential first album by Nucleus. The muscular arrangements for Harper's songs made his set the highlight of the day for me.

Almost four years passed before my next encounter, by this time BB was leader of his own eponymous unit. I am also fairly certain that this was their live debut (7th March 1979). Oxford Polytechnic, my place of study at the time, had been chosen to host one of the early editions of "Rock Goes to College." The BBC, on the look out for a new live music format, saw the ever popular UK college gig circuit as an opportunity to move away from tried and tested theatre broadcasts, and attempt to transfer some of the atmosphere of more compact unseated venues to the small screen. The theory was fine, but in practice, for various reasons, the Bruford gig was not a raging success. As is usually the case with television or radio broadcasts the tickets were all free, thus ensuring a reasonable, but not necessarily committed audience. It is a fact of life that at such events many are not there for the music, with which they may be totally unfamiliar or even actually dislike, but are simply there for the spectacle.

Under the glare of the TV lights Bruford kicked off with the quirky rhythms and melodies of "Hell's Bells," a Dave Stewart/Alan Gowen number, followed by further selections from the "One of a Kind" and "Feels Good to me" albums. A couple of friends had decided to attend on the strength of Jeff Berlin's bass playing, as witnessed during a soundcheck earlier in the day. Like many of the audience though, their enthusiasm waned as they attempted to come to grips with "difficult" music played by a band yet to establish its identity and direction. Having said that, those of us familiar with the musicians and the style of music found much to enjoy. Bill Bruford's drumming was solid and much to the fore in a set that featured mainly his compositions. The post-National Health Dave Stewart utilised a synth far more than in any previous incarnations, certainly a hint of things to come.

Allan Holdsworth's contributions were brilliant within the structure of pieces allowing limited scope for extended improvisation. His all too short sojourn with Soft Machine (1974-75) provided a far more sympathetic environment for his talents. Indeed, when interviewed in Facelift 12 he admitted dissatisfaction with virtually all his recorded output until his second solo release IOU in 1982. A guest vocalist was unexpectedly announced, and on strode Annette Peacock, an American composer/singer inhabiting the fringes of rock, jazz and other more avant garde activities. She had contributed vocals to Bill Bruford's first solo album "Feels Good To Me" in 1977, after he had played on her earlier "X Dreams" set. Her presence on the night was perhaps to give the music wider appeal, or simply to put on a better show for the TV audience. The songs were an interesting diversion, and the vampish way she came across certainly livened things up.

Fast forward 26 years for a minute. My good friend and Bruford devotee Steve Reynolds discovers and purchases an extremely expensive copy of a Canadian bootleg DVD showcasing this very gig! My thanks to Steve for supplying the stills shown above.

Considering their embryonic stage of development and the pressure of the TV situation, Bruford could feel satisfied with their performance. The mixture of light and shade in the material made for a balanced set and enhanced the overall picture. When the concert was broadcast some weeks later a superior sound mix and sympathetic editing had improved things considerably. Four months later they were showcased on the New York radio station WLIR, a concert that that became an official bootleg, "The Bruford Tapes." By this time they had tightened up considerably, Allan Holdsworth had left to be replaced by the "unknown" John Clark, and on the evidence of this recording the band were playing well to enthusiastic audiences.

Their second appearance at Oxford Poly was on 23rd May 1980 as support on the Brand X tour. 12 months of touring and recording with a stable line up had created a well oiled musical unit.

The shortened set allowed no room for over indulgence, solos were concise and ensemble playing superb. Bill Bruford's eye for talent had certainly paid off with American bass player Jeff Berlin who was rapidly becoming the star of the show. The leader's own solo spot was an object lesson in economy. Crisp, inventive and not too long, were descriptions and phrases that came to mind, if only the Brand X drummer had been watching. Although lacking in stage presence, on purely musical terms guitarist John Clark was far more suited to this band than his illustrious predecessor.

Allan Holdsworth had departed in search of more freedom, but the loss of his blindingly fast single note playing was more than adequately compensated by John Clark's more adaptable all round skills. Behind all this, Dave Stewart was the engine room, stoking up his synth to produce a collage of constantly inventive accompaniment. Brand X would have to be very good to follow this, and in the event they were rather disappointing. Their dense, bass heavy sound seemed to lack the focus, energy and colour shown by Bruford. The encore ritual was a little more interesting than usual, as musicians from both bands joined forces for an entertaining version of Cream's "Sunshine of your Love," featuring Jeff Berlin on vocals.

Almost two years later the reformed and remodelled King Crimson embarked on a nation-wide tour including a date at Lady Spencer Churchill College, Wheatley, Oxfordshire (10th March 1982). As venues go this was a bit off the beaten track, but a welcome opportunity to see Bill Bruford and his percussives in a new context. It also fulfilled a long held ambition of mine to see the legendary Robert Fripp in action. I particularly regretted not having seen the remarkable Fripp / Bruford / Wetton / Cross version of King Crimson).

This latest incarnation featured Americans Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals) and Tony Levin (bass/stick bass) as well as Fripp and Bruford. The improvisational aspects so prevalent in the earlier line up had been pared down in favour of a tighter more disciplined approach. This filtered out much of the tension and excitement in the music, but was compensated by outstandingly intricate playing within more structured compositions. The emphasis was on the overall sound rather than featuring specific players.

Some areas of development were noticeable though, for instance Bill Bruford's use of tuned and other non-kit percussion, and Belew and Fripp's extensive use of treated sounds and other effects. My diary entry reads "Impressive hardware and technique, cold music, sometimes brilliant, occasionally painful."

A big leap forward in time to Summer 1999, the venue is The Stables hidden away in the rural outskirts of Milton Keynes. The owners, jazz legends Johnny Dankworth and Cleo Laine, ensure that the booking policy is always interesting, particularly in the area of jazz. This was one of the last gigs on the Earthworks UK tour and found the band in fine form, and if I'm not careful I'll run out of superlatives, quite simply they were sensational. Tightly arranged compositions mainly from the pen of Bill Bruford punctuated by inspired solos made for a memorable evening.

The material was all from the Bruford jazz catalogue, mostly from Earthworks albums past and present, as well as a couple of selections from the collaboration with American veterans Eddie Gomez and Ralph Towner. Most of the best musicians in this genre tend to be found in the USA but it was a gratifying on this occasion to be told that the other members of the quartet were "the cream of British jazz talent." There was no disputing that Patrick Clahar (Tenor/Soprano Sax), Steve Hamilton (Keyboards) and Mark Hodgson (Bass) were in that category.

Equally at home playing the complex arranged stuff as the high flying solo interludes, they were unassuming yet clearly enjoying themselves, the flamboyance and on stage chat was left in the more than capable hands of their leader. Throughout Bill Bruford was relaxed and totally in control, a gifted musician versatile and talented enough to play jazz in low key venues whilst earning a handsome living in the premier division of rock. How many musicians could get away with a drum solo as an encore? Forty years ago jazz legend Max Roach recorded an album purely of drum/percussion pieces, Bill Bruford took the stage by himself and performed one of these compositions. It demonstrated perfectly how to take drumming into new dimensions, there are few who have the talent to do so. An Earthworks gig is definitely a jazz gig, but the curious rock fan coming on the strength of the Yes/King Crimson connection might find this an education, a case of opening the ears to new possibilities.

The ten years encompassing the events discussed in this article saw Bill Bruford emerge as a major player and composer. His territory is probably more jazz nowadays than rock, but whatever his current musical direction it is always interesting, challenging and employs musicians of the highest calibre.

BACK TO FACELIFT INDEX