Redacción: Central
El músico y guitarrista de rock, Bruce Hampton murió este lunes por la noche al final del concierto realizado por su cumpleaños 70 en el Fox Theatre de Atlanta, Georgia.
En el video se puede apreciar al guitarrista Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, de 14 años, comenzar un electrizante solo, mientras el hombre de 70 años se encuentra inmóvil a sus pies, con el brazo sobre una bocina, todos pensaron que se trataba de otra de sus actuaciones extravagantes.
Después, los músicos improvisaron en una de las canciones favoritas de Hampton, “Turn On Your Love Light”. Los admiradores bailaron y los músicos sonreían mientras esperaban a que Hampton se levantara pero el guitarrista ya nunca lo hizo.
Cuando se dieron cuenta que Hampton no estaba actuando, la banda interrumpió abruptamente su interpretación y el público guardó silencio, mientras los paramédicos subían a Hampton a una ambulancia los admiradores gritaban "¡Bruce, Bruce!” como lo habían hecho toda la noche.
“Gracias Colonel Bruce por todo lo que me has enseñado y el amor que mediste en los últimos cuatro años. Agradezco a todos los músicos y amigos que me están ayudando a pasar por esto. El coronel vive en todos nosotros. QEPD”, dijo Niederauer en un comunicado, que confirmó la muerte del guitarrista.
Col. Bruce Hampton shaped my entire being. I feel so lucky to have been around him since I was too young to remember. Having older brothers who revered him like some musical, philosophical guru trickled down to me in my formative years. Whether it was reading J. Krishnamurti before I could really understand it or listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or Albert Ayler before I knew what I was hearing, his impact was everywhere around me. After high school I moved to Atlanta from Jacksonville with the hopes of one day playing with him. Just through listening to old tapes my brothers had of ARU as a teenager, I felt like he’d already taught me some ancient secret knowledge. Later I would find out first hand that that was exactly what he taught me. He taught me about transcendence. Transcending your instrument, transcending the music, transcending art itself, reaching for life. He always said “We’re not here to play music, we’re here to put the Devil in the room.” I always took “the Devil” as spirit. Whether it was the spirit of joy, the spirit of sadness, the spirit of humor, it didn’t matter what the emotion was. He would say “I don’t wanna hear what you practice in your bedroom. I wanna hear you!! How do you feel today? What’d you eat for lunch? Play THAT!” Everyday I learn something more from him. Last night. Today. Everyday. He was an open channel to the universe. We’re all lucky to have shared the planet with him. What we thought we were planning as a birthday celebration ended up being the most poetic farewell imaginable. Actually, it was unimaginable. As is everything with him. Now we say our goodbyes to him, but he will never be gone. He lives in every note played by the thousands of musicians he inspired. He lives in every conscious thought of those he enlightened with his wisdom. Now he’s off to be in the stars that so inspired him. Thank you Bruce. Thank you for the eyes to see and ears to hear. Una publicación compartida de Duane Trucks (@dtrucksdrums) el 2 de May de 2017 a la(s) 4:48 PDT