* En anglais uniquement
Jacqui McShee was already singing traditional folk in British folk clubs when she began working with virtuosic acoustic guitarist
John Renbourne in 1966. A year later, she agreed to join
Pentangle, a band Renbourne was forming with equally skillful guitarist
Bert Jansch, bassist Danny Thompson, and percussionist/drummer
Terry Cox.
McShee's decision to accept Renbourne's invitation proved pivotal to the history of British music as
Pentangle joined with
Fairport Convention and
Steeleye Span to put British folk-rock on the international map.
McShee's talents were obvious early in her career. In 1969, the Times of London wrote that she "tackles accompanied and unaccompanied folk songs, spirituals, blues, and a variety of songs in other styles; her first interest was folk song." Although
Pentangle experienced numerous personnel changes,
McShee and
Jansch continued to perform under the band's name. In 1995,
McShee formed a trio with drummer
Gerry Conway and keyboardist
Spencer Cozens. The trio's first album, About Thyme, released in August 1994, featured such guests as
Ralph McTell,
Albert Lee,
Mike Mainieri, and
John Martyn. The album reached the top of the British folk charts compiled by Folk Roots in November 1995. Expanding to a five-piece band with the addition of tenor and soprano saxophonist
Jerry Underwood and bassist/guitarist Alan Thompson, the trio was renamed Jacqui McShee's Pentangle. The group received extremely favorable press. While Dirty Linen explained, "When the last incarnation of
Pentangle tried such nontraditional arrangements, they often sounded strained, while
McShee's new group pulls it off with grace and style," Folk Roots wrote, "(
McShee), who used to sound so fragile you feared she'd break, now has an earthiness in her voice that gives her performance much more passion." The first album by Jacqui McShee's Pentangle, Passe Avant was released in 1999. According to reviewer George Graham, "The sound is miles from the acoustic guitar-dominated arrangements of the earlier
Pentangle. The instrumental sound instead is dominated by Cozen's keyboards and the very jazz sax of Jerry Underwood." ~ Craig Harris