Davy Graham & Bert Jansch: The Parting Glass

[@jazzmylife9649]

I knew Davy, me, a face on the scene, in late fifties, early sixties, London. Hanging out and jamming at the Gyre & Gimble and other, of the many, Soho venues. Also too, as an on and off resident, of a Notting Hill flat sharing, where Davy, was a member of the live-in conglomeration of musicians and artists. Angie was also a good friend. I remember, very distinctly, the morning when Davy came back to the flat, very elated, and told us he had, for the first time, taken hard drugs. At that time, hard drug users were not all that many in number. It was in fact, at that time, treated as a medical concern, and users, received prescriptions from their doctor. It was a pattern, correct me if I am wrong, of usage he followed for the remainder of his life. He was a great and original musician and performer who seemed to disappear from the public view. What makes a musician shine on a global level? There are quite a few, who do, in spite of obvious, though not obvious to the public, limitations. I was thinking about Davy earlier in the year when I heard of the passing of my old friend Victor Brox, another potential stadium filler, who did enjoy life, but had the talent and charisma to have achieved much more. It is not always the best who bubble to the top.

[@BartW-rt8zs]

No. Trauma causes some artists to produce, others to seek drug relief. Tragedy of early experience overwhelming talent later on. Bites yer bum!

[@aranos6269]

Met davy, from 3 pm he played in my friend's kitchen non stop, just for me, explaing tunes, tunings , guitars and so on. 7.45 he said :time for tbe gig. Gig was 8 to 10,amazing,you could hear a pin drop. First hour on oud. Than back to my friend's, he played non stop till 4 am, never repeated a tune. Again plenty advice on my guitar playing. Perfectly nice guy and a musical genius. Anything from renaissance music to Ellington, monk, from india to Ireland and all stuff in between. That is how i remember him. I was told by his brother and good friends, he had some mental issues hence periods of medication, sometimes self applied

[@julianvickery8341]

Thank you for the upload. A poignant reminder of the towering musical genius of two of Britain's finest ever musicians, shortly before they both departed the stage forever. Doubt if we will ever see their like again.

[@irishelk3]

I love that, seeing Davey Graham walk into a shopping centre, that’s so surreal, he was like a messiah. I’ve only discovered his music in the last say, five years, maybe more, saw the cry me a river video, wasn’t mad about that song, gave him another listen a couple of years later and was extremely impressed. I can’t help but feel slightly melancholy when i see him here or when i listen to his music, absolutely nobody listens to him where i live, or knows of him. I think its high time somebody made a movie about the guy or at least a new updated documentary, although i don’t care for sharing him to the masses either. Like the moon, he’s there if you want him. I wish i could have been part of that folk scene, because lets face it, the folkies were the coolest of all the other genres, and it’s the most interesting genre of music, just an in crowd of people gathering after hours in a club, bar or house, stoned or drunk and mingling and getting to experience a huge but but yet modest star all to yourself - why was i born in 91??... Sad how these characters end up really...

[@thebeans6534]

Genius is only what society claims.

[@robertcronin6603]

@@thebeans6534 genius is whatever moves you enough to call it genius

[@BartW-rt8zs]

I was B. 1950 and he and Bert and Muddy Waters and Peter Green and the Stones were our gods along with poor young Robert Johnson

[@kevincoffey6022]

@@BartW-rt8zs Yes, have had one of Davey's LPs for 50+ years. Have no idea how I found it living in CT as I did as a teenager.

[@davidc755]

Lovely to see this. Davey and I used to live close to each other in Camden in London in the late 1970s. We became friends and we would regularly busk together at Camden Lock Market with me on banjo or mandolin and Davey on guitar. He was a gentle soul, hugely encouraging of others, and modest about his own playing. He had the knack of injecting quirky little riffs and runs into straightforward music and bringing out something new in the process. It was sad to see his decline in later years but great to know the power of his legacy.

[@BartW-rt8zs]

Wow mate! Cooks Kleek?

[@davidcotton7180]

@@BartW-rt8zs Lost me there!

[@thewordofgord]

May I ask what caused his "decline in later years"? People refer but never explain.

[@davidcotton7180]

@@thewordofgord He had lung cancer

[@NickDuvet]

@@BartW-rt8zs Klooks Kleek was a club in West Hampstead, above the Railway hotel pub and next door to the old Decca Studios. Not sure whether Davy ever played there.

[@jamesrobert4106]

Folk, Blues and beyond is a masterpiece of an album. Anybody that helped create the magic of Bert Jansch deserves his place in the honour room of legendary musicians.

[@julianvickery8341]

Well said.

[@jamesrenz9475]

Wonderful film. He was a force to be reckoned with. Great and unique artist.

[@peteharbour8058]

he seems a bit nuts by then tho---still got the gift of music tho

[@SingleMalt77005]

I like how you can hear his foot tapping time to She Moved Through the Fair,

[@magicdave93]

A very sad end for one of the most underrated guitarists this country ever had. I’m so glad this documentary was made as a tribute to Davy

[@thebeans6534]

Its a human end for a talented man. We're all charged with carrying on the things that people before us couldnt whether through incapability, death or lack of care. It's important to hew to those that we can learn from now; we dont know when life might fail them.

[@grahamt33]

@@thebeans6534 Wise words indeed

[@thornil2231]

PLEASE, PLEASE, COULD YOU STOP USING "UNDERRATED" AT ANY SAUCE????

[@seanfinlay6822]

@@thornil2231Yes, underrated by who?

[@tonycooper6255]

Davy and Holly came to live here in Sandwich, Kent in the early 70s. Davy helped to start a Folk Club in St Mary's Church where we heard Decameron, the Etchingham Steam Band and a host of others. An unforgettable time but when Holly had to return to the USA Davy moved on. Holly is still I touch.

[@colindutnall360]

I remember seeing both of them performing in Les Cousins, back in the day, got the album godinton boundary as a reminder.

[@emlyngriffith5846]

So sad to see such great musician in his decline.....just some rare flashes of what he used to do. He changed guitar playing with his unique turnings. Good to see Bert Janch too.....saw him a few times in our younger days.

[@gabriellebarto8319]

That's the blues.

[@Deebemc]

Saw him with Bert in Oxford, before Broken Biscuits CD.....I made the contribution towards its funding. I’m glad I did. The gig was poignant.....a far cry from seeing him 40 years earlier, with Holly. But his encore with Bert, Key to the Highway was a step back to how it was once was. You can have all the talent in the world but drugs won’t do anything to develop it.

[@lazertadpole4977]

Whoah there! drugs have been hugely helpful to the development of music

[@thebeans6534]

Lets love his impression, yeah? A lot of our heroes have been dragged down, we dont need to do it to each other.

[@danielgiraud1118]

Je suis entièrement d'accord avec toi. * * Thou dost speak'st mah mind. I'm wholeheartidly wi' thee. @@lazertadpole4977

[@drigoli86]

The place where Davy Graham played in Edinburgh is the St Brides Centre. I was able to recognise it because years ago I was part of a musical project called GD Jam which is running still today in the same place in Edinburgh still today. It's nice to know now (totally by accident) I have been there playing music in the same room where Davy Graham did :)

[@Darren-D.C-Cross]

thank you for this and also thanks for not putting the youtube adverts on this- I watched a another Jansch vid yesterday with so many ads it was painful.

[@daleskidmore1685]

I've known about Davy Graham since my teens, through collecting second hand vinyl. The telling thing is that I have never, ever found any of his records for sale. It is nice to see a collection of his performances here.

[@jipes]

Absolutely wonderful, such a brilliant and sensitive soul ! Thanks a lot for sharing this gem

[@greatgooglymooglyify]

What a treasure trove! Very moving. This showed up on my birthday too, made my day. Thanks to all involved in making this available!

[@mordokch]

Davey looks like he got kicked out of the SAS for being too hard lol What a treat this vid is :)

[@tapcity2]

The delicate guitar starting at around the 50 minute mark till 53 is worth everything. Who needs the blues?

[@thebeans6534]

It hurts to see people use this as an admonishment. People are human, artists more than most; the amount of drug use, mental illness and life problems in your heroes is astounding and you need to recognize them as human beings with or without the amazing contributions that Graham and others gave us. He's still 10X the guitarist most these folks in the comments are and it makes me angry. He's still a goddamned work of human art and you should treat him like it.

[@Markplaysmusic]

remarkable man.

[@tipppingas]

Just about the greatest thing!

[@allancopland1768]

Big Thank you for posting this.

[@rogerfindlay6836]

The best doco I've seen in ages. Thanks. R.

[@oldbladderhorn949]

just love davies' comment. (25yrs of noise.) "it's so quiet in here, you can hear your hair grow". what a great saying?.

[@golden1789]

Thank you

[@stewartconacher6552]

Just came across this gem,Cheers.

[@suncat5160]

just wish they'd mic'd up Daveys voice, quite hard to hear/understand what he's saying. this is an historic piece of film regardless and i love thee who decided to make this. thank you

[@thewordofgord]

Yes I had trouble with his mumbling. Maybe it ws poor mic placement.

[@pamelasmith4594]

I love this guy!

[@gubberotoole]

Thank you so much for posting this fantastic programme and for making it. This is priceless. Magic work.

[@thewordofgord]

Gosh, what an unexpected pleasure! Did not know of this at all.

[@Labrecheradio]

Does someone recognize the version of "The Parting Glass" that is played around 07:00 ?? Thanks a lot !

[@jimmaculate5]

Wow, incredible chops!

[@michealcurrie8272]

The best....

[@davidschiff1851]

As a huge Davy fan who has attempted to play some of his stuff this was an extremely rare and wonderful opportunity to watch his technique. Tthank you! However, most players have had the experience of sitting down to jam with another player and just not finding a groove. It was eye-opening and a little painful to see this happening to two such great musicians. Even at the end, when they were in front of an audience, the did not sound as good as each does alone.

[@MarkJVSomers]

+David Schiff Saw this happen to Richard Thompson and Buddy Miller as well, indeed, at the same time painful yet reassuring ! It can happen to all of us.

[@gregmonk1556]

I think Bert always had such a haphazard chaotic approach to playing that he needed whoever played with him to provide structure to bounce off and the ability to improvise spontaneously. I think that's why John Renbourn and Danny Thompson were such good fits for him in Pentangle. Danny Thompson was amazing at doing the same breakneck improv with John Martyn. I think Davy was too far-gone at this point to do that with him, and he was more of a solo player to begin with. Despite their immense talent, they're just not a good fit for playing together.

[@DickPountain]

@@gregmonk1556 You got it. Davey was too far gone at this point: Bert never lost it, but he was too nice and too respectful to show Davey up and so could hardly play

[@BartW-rt8zs]

Sadly so

[@BartW-rt8zs]

Too harshh in my h op.

[@HarbottleAndJonas]

Just HOW GOOD IS THIS! Love it x

[@hottinroof2346]

Thank you Mark - such rare footage, absolutely brilliant

[@elmomontecerin1735]

Daviy must be considered as legendary hero8n in realm of guitar vertouso.like deival tunes,bluescand folksy melodies..grea5 to you davy..rip.

[@HermanoSolMusic]

Wonderful, I highly appreciate this work, which is a gem. Thank you so much for sharing it! Cheers from another Argentinian fan of British folk music!

[@robgray9620]

Great video thanks very much

[@axesofoz717]

this is gold...thanks

[@Trombonology]

Very special -- thanks!

[@jamesmitchell8922]

Some of which are from A Little Night Music

[@megpennywhistle]

They should have met earlier but this footage so so precious!! Thank you so much for capturing the moment of two legends!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tsb3093]

Bert Jansch knew Davey Graham in the 1960s. Those guys all knew each other and played in the same clubs.

[@BartW-rt8zs]

I believe Bert and Davey knew each other by 1963

[@kabali1788]

Priceless !.

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

Watching Davy and Bert rehearsing, there seemed to be a strange kind of tension between them, like Bert's shy of opening up and really playing, a modest musician. Davy, seems a little lost at times, uninterested, but maybe that's just age and my perception of the scene. Lovely version of Key To the Highway, but again, like they're both holding back a bit. But they both seem happy at the end. Thanks for this interesting look at Davy's fading years.

[@nigelmccluskey]

Anthony Monaghan

[@nigelmccluskey]

Nigel Mccluskey they have so much joy to give ,love listenin to xxx

[@davevarga]

+Duke L. Ington - wonderfully said, thank you...

[@barbwinger-rourke603]

oh wow! a gem!

[@MrNYaksich]

Wow! So great to be able to see this. Thanks so much for posting

[@CalonegoMusic]

..Thank you ♡

[@yuriiivanov8124]

Thousands of thanks, Marc! Words won't ever describe the way I feel about this find.

[@KevinBallmerMusic]

Amazing stuff!

[@juliamanacorda]

sooooooooooooooooooo thank you

[@hassammahmoodq]

OMG! thank u so much for this post :) SO SO much. sooooooooo much. :)They are absolute geniuses.

[@towhidulislam5716]

He played "Hesamalo" with the sarod, a song written and composed by Bengali composer Salil Chowdhury. Where he learned that? Anybody have any idea?

[@KingBiscuitTime61]

+towhidul islam"First heard on a Folkways recording in Alki Guest's House in 1958" (from the notes of Playin In Traffic)

[@aranos6269]

He went to india to learn sarod. He knew a lot of Indian music as well

[@bairdwill1]

Ever wondered where Jimmy Page got the riff for Kashmir...... Davy Graham.

[@robertcronin6603]

Yeah Jimmy had a habit of doing that from time to time...🙄

[@robertcronin6603]

@James Tudor exactly! Like, it's fine to be moved by a piece and be inspired to cover it, but *AT LEAST GIVE CREDIT* where it's due, right? Sheesh...😕

[@WindyFellow]

Kashmir wasnt taken from Graham, where do you hear him play a riff like that? Jimmy Page did lift a lot from Graham but thats not one of them

[@NegativeBodhiImage]

Nice shiner Davy!!! Pub Brawl? lol cheers charliewired

[@AidanHegarty97]

does anybody know where i could find some of those old celtic songs he was listening to?

[@unknownzone23]

One is joe holmes and Len Graham the parting glass

[@seanfinlay6822]

She moved through the fair. Listen to Sandy Denny.

[@NicoPazos]

Anyone knows what guitars the play at 57:00? Anything, model, brand

[@dimitriwolfs9370]

Haha wot a legend ! I dont think I understood one word ol' Davey said tbh! Did u?

[@WindyFellow]

Does anyone know the beautiful piece at 46 minutes?

[@matthewroberts2081]

Leaving Blues - Davey Graham

[@dannydine5263]

Gee now i know where Jimmy Page got White Summer =She moved through the fair and Black Mountainside = Black Waterside.

[@francescozamagni7798]

Any of you lads and lasses knows what’s the tuning for “The gold ring”? @18:10 DADGAD?

[@SJMadrid11]

DADEAD if I remember well

[@SJMadrid11]

Or maybe even EADEAD??

[@Mr.Pink1996]

Eadeae

[@pyleen]

EEWPOO

[@patrickgrant9073]

I am fascinated by ther early color footage shot in a mock Bedouin tent. What year was that?

[@alexfletcher5192]

He almost invented it. They all shut up and listened to him.

[@BelfastBoxingNBlues]

Nigel Tufnell at 39:00

[@wintermute0079]

anyone know the name of the piece being played around the 30 minute mark?

[@jamiethomson2840]

Anyone Know any of the songs Bert and Davy are playing together?

[@NicoPazos]

+Jamie Thomson the only one i could get was "3/4 A.D" at 53:10 . there's a lot of jamming though

[@DickPountain]

Keys to the Highway, Candy Man, Careless Love

[@dand900]

It's kind of discouraging when even the best guitarists in the world can only jam together playing 12 bar blues. That's why I play and write alone.

[@joshharrison1996]

Even then he left Bert for dust. I wish I could see him in his prime. Legend.

[@romeysullivan3281]

Graham hardly left Jansch for dust.

[@andrewmartin6445]

Why on earth do so many people seem to think playing the guitar is some kind of competition?

[@joshharrison1996]

@@andrewmartin6445 I don't. But many more people know Jansch than Davy. Which is a shame when you see how great a player he was.

[@zorbanongreco]

​@@joshharrison1996 Yeh he WAS great.

[@MarcosJ-mq4lk]

Jimmy Page would be shamed to be in their presence!

[@nourdichelld2075]

Pas de nouveau Nick drake thé great

[@MarkJVSomers]

Does anybody know more about the guitar Davy is playing ?

[@DukeLIngton]

It's a Fylde Falstaff, made in Penrith, U.K. by Roger Bucknall. I am the present fortunate 'keeper' of the very same guitar, having acquired it after Davy died.

[@patrickdocherty4439]

And this is what the net Was created for It has lost its way ANGIE THANKS BERT PLAY IT FREQUENTLY AND REMEMBER PENTANGLE

[@glennkimpton8585]

Mark, that looks like the DG signature OM Martin they produced.

[@thekatet]

To the two out of twenty thousand who disliked this: what the fuck?

[@patrickgrant9073]

How old was Davey when this was filmed, and how soon thereafter did he pass away?

[@DickPountain]

He died about three years after this

[@garrisoncaleb5718]

Davey u r my Greek hero but I cain't understan a word ye sed

[@aranos6269]

I do not see any decline others comment on. Davy was absolutely disintrrested in playing his old stuff. Bert is playing stuff he copied of davy, not so well IMHO, and davy, who flatly refused to play blues in 80s (I've done all that) is forced to humor bert and camera. Yet when he sings he sounds more genuine and soulful

[@richardcooper4206]

This is remarkable, what a player. Up till now the only piece I knew of his was Anjie a must play for any 60s player. (I tried it today but had forgotten it. More practice required!)

[@cymballine1]

@Danny. Where Page RIPPED OFF those songs. Tired of hearing people say he was "inspired", when he produced blatant ripoffs. These two geniuses inspired everyone from Syd Barrett to that jackass, but no one else stole their work like he did! Borrowing is indeed part of writing music, but I've never found another who did to the extant of Page. His career fizzled in 1980 because he ran out of material to plagiarize. He's the most overrated musician in rock history. Those in the UK have known that for decades, Americans are only recently discovering the extant of his theft. Listen to more of these guys, and you'll see what I mean!

[@iainscott5702]

+cymballine1 too true

[@lopezb]

The theft of Bert Jansch's arrangement of Blackwaterside by JimmyPage, without acknowledgement, and of and of Scarborough Fair by Paul Simon (from Martin Carthy) are mentioned in the documentary on Jansch and many of his friends including Graham and Carthy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoCxp2ikps-Vqac from Wikipedia: Carthy's debut solo album, Martin Carthy, was released in 1965, and also featured Dave Swarbrick playing fiddle on some tracks, although he was not mentioned in the album's sleeve notes. Carthy's arrangement of the traditional ballad "Scarborough Fair" was adapted, without acknowledgement, by Paul Simon on the Simon and Garfunkel album recording Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme in 1966. This caused a rift between the pair which was not resolved until Simon invited Carthy to sing the song with him on-stage at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2000

[@MrGiorgioud]

Geezer, could not concord more! Page was my Alpha and Omega when I was a teen learning guitar. Then, decades later, I found out the extent of his "inspiration". At least he got a lot of people, through that tangential way, into Arabic, Celtic and Indian music....

[@levistubbs8949]

100%

[@chrisvanhorne2285]

Finally someone saying it! Way overrated!

[@caliban7331]

somewhere else

[@oliveroneill1388]

Sounds like your struggling

[@oldbladderhorn]

You get that very odd feeling that maybe he was trying for much more in one voice than could be communicated as if, you don't have to wait for the whole of the sense of the idea to be known just an impression was enough or needs to be given. that you must try and hear that which is not said.. only hinted, in his conversational banter and that mumbled or even if it sounds so, his verbal short hand for his a over energetic mind, kind of work's maybe, nonverbal communication of ideas not said and the subject idea are spoken in a clipped way a private language if bothered to be learned as it stops the casual eavesdropping of the crowd they thinking he' a bit of an eccentric fellow that old manic magician musician and his wild humour and his guitar eccentricities that sounds so odd on the first listening.... But.... Brilliant His chatting guitar or even odd amalgam of philosophic hints of how to be really real amongst the synesthesia of lies of the everyday living we humans all endure.. Davey Graham just ordinary bloke no! extra extraordinary yes...extraordinary to the very end RIP

[@BelfastBoxingNBlues]

Nigel Tufnell at 39:00