The excellent buskers of Bath (England)

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

We just got home from visiting friends in Bath, where I discovered a treasure trove of seriously talented buskers. Most were guitarists (many of whom sang), with a trumpeter and a few piano players in the mix. I was most impressed with a few of the guitarists and the pianists, all of whom were excellent musicians who played a broad spectrum of music from jazz and blues to C&W to classical. And they all had fine equipment - AER, Schertler etc plus very nice guitars almost none of which I recognized.

This guy went from fingerstyle blues to chord melody jazz to show tunes without breaking stride. I talked to him for a few minutes and asked him if he was a pro out for a nice afternoon. He replied that he was a pro who earned his living as a busker. He said that they do very well there, so Bath attracts some of the best in the UK. I didn't want to keep him from earning his living, so I listened, tipped him, and went back to my wife and friends at a nearby cafe. Notice the Schertler Giulia X he's using - it sounded excellent, but he told me it didn't have enough power and he was looking for something the same size with more oomph. He was running it at full volume and it was still amazingly clean.



There's a location schedule that includes all the buskers, who rotate from spot to spot so yu can sit at a cafe for hours getting a great show along with your food, drink, and conversation. The piano players move their pianos around town with them! I didn't get a chance to talk to any because (unlike the guitarists) these were all in the middle of small town squares and were surrounded by listeners.





The trumpeter is Ivan Andre, who turns out to be a well known pro. I suspect the rest are also more accompished than the first guitar player suggested.

[Dennis D]

' The Excellent Buskers of Bath '

" I see a film - -"

" I see a photograph - - "

" I see a limerick - -"

That certainly has a ring to it !!

: )

[CliffR]

Awesome! I'm heading out there next weekend to visit my daughter, who has just finished her first year at Bath University.

[GuyBoden]

Bath is such as nice place to visit.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Awesome! I'm heading out there next weekend to visit my daughter, who has just finished her first year at Bath University.

Cool! We loved Bath - it's a wonderful town with an amazingly long and rich history. Our friends have a flat on Sion Road, a long way up a very steep hill from the town center. We walked into town every day and managed at least 5 miles of walking daily (except for day trips to Stonehenge and to Cheddar and Wells). But we did take the 31 bus up the hill at day's end.

[Glin66]

Bath is a beautiful place. People are generally friendlier and happier in my experience than London, and there's much more of a community vibe.

It's a city in the middle of lush countryside, so green walks and canoeing on the rivers and canals is never that far away.

[grahambop]

' The Excellent Buskers of Bath '

It’s actually a story in the Canterbury Tales (it’s the one where bold strummer John decides to pluck Alison’s lute, while her husband is away at a flour-milling convention).

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

It’s actually a story in the Canterbury Tales (it’s the one where bold strummer John decides to pluck Alison’s lute, while her husband is away at a flour-milling convention).

Hmmmm - I don’t think Chaucer was describing busking in The Miller’s Tale. Alison was “pretty, sweet, and lickerous”, and they were all trying to pluck her lute

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Bath is a beautiful place. People are generally friendlier and happier in my experience than London, and there's much more of a community vibe.

It's a city in the middle of lush countryside, so green walks and canoeing on the rivers and canals is never that far away.

Yes indeed! Here’s the Avon River running through the middle -

[grahambop]

Years ago I went there to see Jim Hall and Bob Brookmeyer at the Assembly Hall (the gig was part of the Bath Festival). I didn’t get a chance to see the city then, but more recently we went back and saw the sights, it is a great place to wander around (lots of good restaurants too).

The BBC actually filmed a short clip of Jim and Bob in the Assembly Hall, this was in the days when they actually showed a bit of jazz on TV. Luckily I managed to record it.

[northernbreed]

The loud, over-amplified buskers were probably the thing I disliked the most about my visit to Bath a few years ago. Interesting town otherwise.

[Dave70]

I visited bath around '92. The only busker I remember seeing was playing a charango.

[grahambop]

Hmmmm - I don’t think Chaucer was describing busking in The Miller’s Tale. Alison was “pretty, sweet, and lickerous”, and they were all trying to pluck her lute

ha yes I was just making that up, as you say there’s a bit of the miller’s tale there. But I think Chaucer should have written a busker’s tale!

[garybaldy]

The best busking guitarist I've seen in Bath was Mike Britton. World class.