Noteworthy Deaths

Original bassist in Jethro Tull, age 67

The New York Times

Glenn Cornick, the original bassist in the popular British rock group Jethro Tull in the late 1960s, died Thursday at his home in Hilo, Hawaii. He was 67.

His death was announced on the band's website. His family said the cause was congestive heart failure.

The focal point of Jethro Tull, which was formed in late 1967 and remained active into this year, was always Ian Anderson, who in addition to being the lead singer and principal songwriter is one of the few rock musicians to play flute. But the contributions of Cornick and the band's other two members -- for most of his three-year tenure he played alongside guitarist Martin Barre and drummer Clive Bunker -- did not go unnoticed.

The group typically "creates a deep, rumbling bass and guitar line and paints a breathy flute ribbon upon it," Mike Jahn wrote in a 1969 New York Times review of Jethro Tull's performance at the Fillmore East. "It maintains this through moments of loud, typically British rock bashing, and occasional passages of relatively quiet, inauspicious jazz."

Cornick played on the band's first three albums, This Was (1968), Stand Up (1969) and Benefit (1970), and on its first tours.

He left shortly before the band recorded its celebrated album Aqualung and was replaced by Jeffrey Hammond. He later formed the band Wild Turkey and was a member of Paris, a group that also included the former Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist Bob Welch.

Metro on 09/02/2014

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