Glenn Cornick-Bass Player

Photo Claude Delorme Ever since high school I’ve been a fan of the band Jethro Tull. While not acquainted with the group’s music in the last few decades I still love their old stuff from the late60s and 70s.  Great music does indeed stand the test of time and in my opinion Jethro Tull was one of the best.  Those not familar with the band, Tull emerged in the late 60s as a blues/rock band with a very unique and unmistakable sound. Ian Anderson, flutist, vocalist, acoustic guitar player and leader of the band pioneered the flute as a rock instrument with a breathy style and stage presence that rivals the better knownfrontmen of that era (Jagger, Morrison, Plant). His trademark playing of the flute while standing on one leg added to his command of the stage.

A few weeks back I had the idea of Googling original Tull bass player Glenn Cornick’s name just to see what ever happened to him. Glenn always dressed in flashy pants and shirts with long straight hair and a colorful headband. After poking around at a number of fan sites I ran across a site that was Glenn’s. The site is very simple but had a great collection of old Tull photos obviously from Glenn’s personal collection. In addition it has photos of his family over the years. On the site was an email link for Glenn so I dropped him a note. To my surprise I heard back from him the next day. It was a short note but answered a number of questions I had and pointed me to a new release of a film from the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival (Jimi Hendrix’s last show) showing Tull’s performance. I promptly ordered the Tull DVD fromNetflix and had it a few days later. 

Photo Andreas Buttman
What a stroll down memory lane!  I had seen the band probably five times in the 70s and once about 4 years ago and had forgotten how fabulous they are live. At the Isle of Wight Festival Ian Anderson pulled out all the stops, he was just incredible. Also notable is Clive Barker’s drumming. Again, he rivals many of the better known drummers of that era (and he is still alive!). And of course Glenn’s playing was as steady as ever.

Glenn told me that he still plays a few times a year. On his site there are a number of pictures of him playing at “Tull conventions” and at several reunion events. Glenn reports that many of the Tull cover bands he has played with are better than the current incarnation of the band!

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