"I am shocked and stunned to hear that the awe inspiring trail blazer Jeff Beck has died. He is one of the greatest guitarists of all time and a true innovator who fused rock, blues, funk and jazz. An absolute legend!
I was slightly late to the table with regards discovering Jeff Beck, and first heard him a few years after my former heroes like: Dave Gilmour, Angus Young, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Tony Iommi etc. I was in my late teens, and instantly fell in love with his extraordinary style and the finesse and control he had over the guitar. He soon became my favourite guitarist. His playing was so melodic and fluid and he could conjure alien like sounds that I’d never heard previously. It seemed like he was speaking to me through his guitar. I’d spend hours painstakingly working out riffs and solos from three of his albums in particular: Wired, Blow By Blow and There And Back. This was way before the internet, so it was a case of constantly listening back to a few bars at a time… I could get close but they’d always be a couple of crazy bits that would leave me puzzled and scratching my head!
Jeff’s funk and blues undertones lead me to explore the blues. I deeply got into Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Clapton and ultimately Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. My top three were now Jeff, Jimi and SRV followed very closely by Gilmour, Van Halen and Page. Not only did Jeff have the speed and chops but he had the most beautiful feel. The gorgeous slow and lyrical playing on Goodbye Porkpie Hat and The Final Peace are examples of this. Two instrumental ballads that totally mesmerised me.Jeff’s huge influence on me as a teenager seemed to have rubbed off on me. I was given one of the biggest compliments in my life the first time I played with Duran Duran's John Taylor who said, “wow, it’s like having Jeff Beck in the band”. This meant so much to me on two levels: firstly that he obviously appreciated my playing and secondly that he knew about Jeff Beck.
It’s a very sad day and we will never get to experience his other worldly talent in live performance ever again but his music and influence will live forever. RIP Jeff Beck." - Dom Brown, London.
