Davy Graham & Bert Jansch: The Parting Glass 

I knew Davy, me, a face on the scene, in late fifties, early sixties, London. Hanging out and jamming at the Gyre & Gimble and other, of the many, Soho venues. Also too, as an on and off resident, of a Notting Hill flat sharing, where Davy, was a member of the live-in conglomeration of musicians and artists. Angie was also a good friend. I remember, very distinctly, the morning when Davy came back to the flat, very elated, and told us he had, for the first time, taken hard drugs. At that time, hard drug users were not all that many in number. It was in fact, at that time, treated as a medical concern, and users, received prescriptions from their doctor. It was a pattern, correct me if I am wrong, of usage he followed for the remainder of his life. He was a great and original musician and performer who seemed to disappear from the public view. What makes a musician shine on a global level? There are quite a few, who do, in spite of obvious, though not obvious to the public, limitations. I was thinking about Davy earlier in the year when I heard of the passing of my old friend Victor Brox, another potential stadium filler, who did enjoy life, but had the talent and charisma to have achieved much more. It is not always the best who bubble to the top.

Met davy, from 3 pm he played in my friend's kitchen non stop, just for me, explaing tunes, tunings , guitars and so on. 7.45 he said :time for tbe gig. Gig was 8 to 10,amazing,you could hear a pin drop. First hour on oud. Than back to my friend's, he played non stop till 4 am, never repeated a tune. Again plenty advice on my guitar playing. Perfectly nice guy and a musical genius. Anything from renaissance music to Ellington, monk, from india to Ireland and all stuff in between. That is how i remember him. I was told by his brother and good friends, he had some mental issues hence periods of medication, sometimes self applied

I love that, seeing Davey Graham walk into a shopping centre, that’s so surreal, he was like a messiah. I’ve only discovered his music in the last say, five years, maybe more, saw the cry me a river video, wasn’t mad about that song, gave him another listen a couple of years later and was extremely impressed. I can’t help but feel slightly melancholy when i see him here or when i listen to his music, absolutely nobody listens to him where i live, or knows of him. I think its high time somebody made a movie about the guy or at least a new updated documentary, although i don’t care for sharing him to the masses either. Like the moon, he’s there if you want him. I wish i could have been part of that folk scene, because lets face it, the folkies were the coolest of all the other genres, and it’s the most interesting genre of music, just an in crowd of people gathering after hours in a club, bar or house, stoned or drunk and mingling and getting to experience a huge but but yet modest star all to yourself - why was i born in 91??... Sad how these characters end up really...

Folk, Blues and beyond is a masterpiece of an album. Anybody that helped create the magic of Bert Jansch deserves his place in the honour room of legendary musicians.

A very sad end for one of the most underrated guitarists this country ever had. I’m so glad this documentary was made as a tribute to Davy

Lovely to see this. Davey and I used to live close to each other in Camden in London in the late 1970s. We became friends and we would regularly busk together at Camden Lock Market with me on banjo or mandolin and Davey on guitar. He was a gentle soul, hugely encouraging of others, and modest about his own playing. He had the knack of injecting quirky little riffs and runs into straightforward music and bringing out something new in the process. It was sad to see his decline in later years but great to know the power of his legacy.

So sad to see such great musician in his decline.....just some rare flashes of what he used to do. He changed guitar playing with his unique turnings. Good to see Bert Janch too.....saw him a few times in our younger days.

Davy and Holly came to live here in Sandwich, Kent in the early 70s. Davy helped to start a Folk Club in St Mary's Church where we heard Decameron, the Etchingham Steam Band and a host of others. An unforgettable time but when Holly had to return to the USA Davy moved on. Holly is still I touch.

Saw him with Bert in Oxford, before Broken Biscuits CD.....I made the contribution towards its funding. I’m glad I did. The gig was poignant.....a far cry from seeing him 40 years earlier, with Holly. But his encore with Bert, Key to the Highway was a step back to how it was once was. You can have all the talent in the world but drugs won’t do anything to develop it.

What a treasure trove! Very moving. This showed up on my birthday too, made my day. Thanks to all involved in making this available!

thank you for this and also thanks for not putting the youtube adverts on this- I watched a another Jansch vid yesterday with so many ads it was painful.

Big Thank you for posting this.

The place where Davy Graham played in Edinburgh is the St Brides Centre. I was able to recognise it because years ago I was part of a musical project called GD Jam which is running still today in the same place in Edinburgh still today. It's nice to know now (totally by accident) I have been there playing music in the same room where Davy Graham did :)

Wonderful film. He was a force to be reckoned with. Great and unique artist.

I've known about Davy Graham since my teens, through collecting second hand vinyl. The telling thing is that I have never, ever found any of his records for sale. It is nice to see a collection of his performances here.

Davey looks like he got kicked out of the SAS for being too hard lol What a treat this vid is :)

It hurts to see people use this as an admonishment. People are human, artists more than most; the amount of drug use, mental illness and life problems in your heroes is astounding and you need to recognize them as human beings with or without the amazing contributions that Graham and others gave us. He's still 10X the guitarist most these folks in the comments are and it makes me angry. He's still a goddamned work of human art and you should treat him like it.

Absolutely wonderful, such a brilliant and sensitive soul ! Thanks a lot for sharing this gem

just love davies' comment. (25yrs of noise.) "it's so quiet in here, you can hear your hair grow". what a great saying?.

just wish they'd mic'd up Daveys voice, quite hard to hear/understand what he's saying. this is an historic piece of film regardless and i love thee who decided to make this. thank you

The delicate guitar starting at around the 50 minute mark till 53 is worth everything. Who needs the blues?

Thank you so much for posting this fantastic programme and for making it. This is priceless. Magic work.

Watching Davy and Bert rehearsing, there seemed to be a strange kind of tension between them, like Bert's shy of opening up and really playing, a modest musician. Davy, seems a little lost at times, uninterested, but maybe that's just age and my perception of the scene. Lovely version of Key To the Highway, but again, like they're both holding back a bit. But they both seem happy at the end. Thanks for this interesting look at Davy's fading years.

As a huge Davy fan who has attempted to play some of his stuff this was an extremely rare and wonderful opportunity to watch his technique. Tthank you! However, most players have had the experience of sitting down to jam with another player and just not finding a groove. It was eye-opening and a little painful to see this happening to two such great musicians. Even at the end, when they were in front of an audience, the did not sound as good as each does alone.

Gosh, what an unexpected pleasure! Did not know of this at all.

The best doco I've seen in ages. Thanks. R.

Just about the greatest thing!

Thank you Mark - such rare footage, absolutely brilliant

Just came across this gem,Cheers.

Wow, incredible chops!

Thank you

Wonderful, I highly appreciate this work, which is a gem. Thank you so much for sharing it! Cheers from another Argentinian fan of British folk music!

They should have met earlier but this footage so so precious!! Thank you so much for capturing the moment of two legends!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is gold...thanks

Daviy must be considered as legendary hero8n in realm of guitar vertouso.like deival tunes,bluescand folksy melodies..grea5 to you davy..rip.

Very special -- thanks!

Great video thanks very much

Just HOW GOOD IS THIS! Love it x

I love this guy!

Ever wondered where Jimmy Page got the riff for Kashmir...... Davy Graham.

Wow! So great to be able to see this. Thanks so much for posting

The best....

OMG! thank u so much for this post :) SO SO much. sooooooooo much. :)They are absolute geniuses.

Priceless !.

oh wow! a gem!

..Thank you ♡

Thousands of thanks, Marc! Words won't ever describe the way I feel about this find.

Amazing stuff!

Nice shiner Davy!!! Pub Brawl? lol cheers charliewired

sooooooooooooooooooo thank you

I am fascinated by ther early color footage shot in a mock Bedouin tent. What year was that?

Gee now i know where Jimmy Page got White Summer =She moved through the fair and Black Mountainside = Black Waterside.

Haha wot a legend ! I dont think I understood one word ol' Davey said tbh! Did u?

He almost invented it. They all shut up and listened to him.

He played "Hesamalo" with the sarod, a song written and composed by Bengali composer Salil Chowdhury. Where he learned that? Anybody have any idea?

Jimmy Page would be shamed to be in their presence!

Does anyone know the beautiful piece at 46 minutes?

does anybody know where i could find some of those old celtic songs he was listening to?

anyone know the name of the piece being played around the 30 minute mark?

Even then he left Bert for dust. I wish I could see him in his prime. Legend.

Anyone knows what guitars the play at 57:00? Anything, model, brand

Mark, that looks like the DG signature OM Martin they produced.

To the two out of twenty thousand who disliked this: what the fuck?

Anyone Know any of the songs Bert and Davy are playing together?

It's kind of discouraging when even the best guitarists in the world can only jam together playing 12 bar blues. That's why I play and write alone.

Nigel Tufnell at 39:00

I do not see any decline others comment on. Davy was absolutely disintrrested in playing his old stuff. Bert is playing stuff he copied of davy, not so well IMHO, and davy, who flatly refused to play blues in 80s (I've done all that) is forced to humor bert and camera. Yet when he sings he sounds more genuine and soulful

How old was Davey when this was filmed, and how soon thereafter did he pass away?

@Danny. Where Page RIPPED OFF those songs. Tired of hearing people say he was "inspired", when he produced blatant ripoffs. These two geniuses inspired everyone from Syd Barrett to that jackass, but no one else stole their work like he did! Borrowing is indeed part of writing music, but I've never found another who did to the extant of Page. His career fizzled in 1980 because he ran out of material to plagiarize. He's the most overrated musician in rock history. Those in the UK have known that for decades, Americans are only recently discovering the extant of his theft. Listen to more of these guys, and you'll see what I mean!

Does anybody know more about the guitar Davy is playing ?

Any of you lads and lasses knows what’s the tuning for “The gold ring”? @18:10 DADGAD?

Davey u r my Greek hero but I cain't understan a word ye sed

somewhere else

Sounds like your struggling

You get that very odd feeling that maybe he was trying for much more in one voice than could be communicated as if, you don't have to wait for the whole of the sense of the idea to be known just an impression was enough or needs to be given. that you must try and hear that which is not said.. only hinted, in his conversational banter and that mumbled or even if it sounds so, his verbal short hand for his a over energetic mind, kind of work's maybe, nonverbal communication of ideas not said and the subject idea are spoken in a clipped way a private language if bothered to be learned as it stops the casual eavesdropping of the crowd they thinking he' a bit of an eccentric fellow that old manic magician musician and his wild humour and his guitar eccentricities that sounds so odd on the first listening.... But.... Brilliant His chatting guitar or even odd amalgam of philosophic hints of how to be really real amongst the synesthesia of lies of the everyday living we humans all endure.. Davey Graham just ordinary bloke no! extra extraordinary yes...extraordinary to the very end RIP

Nigel Tufnell at 39:00