Rock fans may not know much about Bert Jansch, but his innovative acoustic guitar work had a profound influence on a lot of acoustic and electric players they consider guitar greats.  Neil Young, who recently did a series of dates with Jansch, called him as talented as Jimi Hendirx. Jimmy Page is said to have drawn direct inspiration from Jansch for some of his most admired work with Led Zeppelin.  Johnny Marr praised him for having broken so much ground that 'There are people playing guitar that don't even realize they've been influenced by him.'
Jansch got on the radar of a lot of pickers with the jaw-dropping versatility he displayed while a member of Pentangle, a group that infused it's Folk base with elements of Jazz & Rock with Jansch sharing the guitar work with another brilliant player, John Renbourn. 
Pentangle recorded together for the last time in 2008, but the five members reunited for a couple of concerts just a few months ago.  Jansch lost his long battle with cancer on Wednesday (10/5).
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