It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of Lake co-founder Bruce Jackson, who died during the early part of the weekend of 28th-29th January 2011 when the plane he was flying solo crashed in California. The circumstances of the tragic accident are not yet completely clear to us. The thoughts and heart-felt condolences of all here at Lake, and indeed Lab.gruppen and wider TC Group of companies, go out to Bruce’s wife, daughter and extended family at this time.
Bruce Jackson was an innovator and pioneer in the truest sense of the word. After working with Clair Bros for many years in the 1970s, he went on to establish Apogee in California, worked with Kim Ryrie to make the Fairlight sampling keyboard famous worldwide, and then established Lake Technologies with David McGrath, going on to develop the cutting edge PA technology that made the Lake name so famous – including the Contour and Lake Processor. Bruce was also closely associated with several other companies including Digidesign and most recently Dolby Labs, and his extensive, star studded live mixing credits include such names as Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Striesand, Dianna Ross, Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart and the Faces, Barry White, Jefferson Airplane, Ozzy Ozbourne (Black Sabbath), Jackson 5, Cat Stevens, Art Garfunkel and Lou Reed among many others.
As someone who worked closely with Bruce most recently, Miguel Hadelich expressed his fond regard of Bruce on behalf of all here, with these words:
“You inspired all of us at Lake with your multiple talents, friendship and humbleness. You will remain in our thoughts as a true visionary. Someone who revolutionized user interfaces, a purist and perfectionist when it came to audio quality and a genuine guru when it came to user experience.”
Bruce Jackson 1948 – 2011. RIP.