At the first anniversary of his untimely death, David Gerrish remembers the legacy of a truly unique and exceptional guitarist.

Jeff Beck as we remember him best, with muscle top and white Strat

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Jeff Beck’s death, it’s a suitable time to remind ourselves what a one-off talent he was, innovative and exciting at every step of his long career, and one of the best to ever pick up a guitar. Born in 1944, he played a big part in the rise of British blues. His music from those early years demonstrates a serious study and deep connection to tradition, all delivered with a youthful energy and masterful touch. While his music from this period was fairly strict to the genre, he wasn’t one to ever stay in the same place for too long. The 1970s saw him push the boundaries of his early blues influences and delve into psychedelic rock and jazz-rock fusion, experimenting with altered harmony and odd time signatures. While his music was always evolving and he was constantly looking for new, exciting sounds, his devotion to the blues remained. His ‘blues and beyond’ approach saw him take the music to new heights and greater levels of creativity than arguably anyone else ever has, before or since.