JOHNNY BURCH

John Burch (Burchell), pianist, born January 6 1932; died April 18 2006 During the rise of jazz-rock and funk in the 1960s, many musicians moved easily between traditional jazz, bebop, blues, skiffle, boogie, and rock - a fluidity that led to the British R&B boom, and the emergence of such artists as Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Georgie Fame and John McLaughlin. The pianist, songwriter and bandleader John Burch, who has died aged 74 from cancer, was a significant force on that scene. Though generally relegated to footnotes in star biographies, he was a working musician who was contented with his playing life and drily amused by the odder experiences it offered - like playing the Playboy Club with rubber gloves on his head to divert the punters' attention from the bunny girls. His style would be called "straight-ahead" today, but he built it in the 1950s from the strong left hand read more...