Eric Clapton Pays Tribute To Cream Bandmate Jack Bruce With New Instrumental Posted Online

Classic rock fans and fellow musicians were saddened this weekend by news that influential bassist Jack Bruce died at the age of 71, succumbing to liver disease. The tributes poured in from members of The Beatles to Black Sabbath, and chief among them was those by his former Cream bandmates Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, with whom Bruce had pioneered the power trio format and hard rock genre. Now Clapton, who called Bruce "a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me," has posted a musical tribute to the bassist on his Facebook page.

Called simply "For Jack," the short instrumental features a plaintively picked acoustic guitar and wordless singing. It's descending chords and bluesy intonations invoke the memory of Bruce's songs for Cream and are a fitting tribute to the musician who helped change the way the bass guitar was viewed and played in rock music.