The singer-songwriter and bass guitarist Jack Bruce, who has died aged 71 of liver disease, is best remembered as a mainstay of Cream, the first of the supergroups combinations, often short-lived, of already successful musicians. However, he also had an enduring solo career, worked with a wide range of collaborators across many genres, and was respected by those artists for his inventiveness, instrumental dexterity and exacting musical standards.
In 1966 the guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker set about launching Cream. Clapton insisted on the inclusion of Bruce despite the bad feeling that existed between him and Baker. Bruce agreed to undertake the bulk of the singing only after other possibilities had been explored, notably Ray Phillips of the Nashville Teens and the Spencer Davis Groups Steve Winwood.
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