Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Dave Arbus.
Although primarily known as the violinist on The Who's 'Baba O'Reilly' and the 1971 top ten single 'Jig-a-Jig' by the band East of Eden, he was in fact a multi-instrumentalist, playing flute, saxophone, and trumpet.
When East of Eden formed in 1967, along with Ron Caines (saxophones) and Geoff Nicholson (guitar), Arbus had just finished his PhD in Philosophy and Languages at Bristol University. At this time, he had only ever played classical violin and jazz trumpet.
East of Eden gained a large following in Europe and released two albums, 'Mercator Projected' (1969) and 'Snafu' (1970), with limited success. Although the band was known for jazz-influenced 'progressive' rock, it was 'Jig-a-Jig', an ironic throwaway number they performed at the end of the set, that became a hit, confusing their audience. When it was first released, it sank without a trace, but upon re-release in 1971, it became a hit. By this time, most of the original band members had left.
Arbus made two more albums with East of Eden with different line-ups, but these were very straightforward rock albums that didn't represent the band's original purpose.
He briefly joined the band Fiddler's Dram, then spent some years with his successful rattan furniture business. He later moved to various countries abroad, working as an artist before returning to England, where he was diagnosed with kidney failure.
PS A big THANK YOU to The Who's Facebook people for using my short for their Facebook post
Dave Arbus.
Although primarily known as the violinist on The Who's 'Baba O'Reilly' and the 1971 top ten single 'Jig-a-Jig' by the band East of Eden, he was in fact a multi-instrumentalist, playing flute, saxophone, and trumpet.
When East of Eden formed in 1967, along with Ron Caines (saxophones) and Geoff Nicholson (guitar), Arbus had just finished his PhD in Philosophy and Languages at Bristol University. At this time, he had only ever played classical violin and jazz trumpet.
East of Eden gained a large following in Europe and released two albums, 'Mercator Projected' (1969) and 'Snafu' (1970), with limited success. Although the band was known for jazz-influenced 'progressive' rock, it was 'Jig-a-Jig', an ironic throwaway number they performed at the end of the set, that became a hit, confusing their audience. When it was first released, it sank without a trace, but upon re-release in 1971, it became a hit. By this time, most of the original band members had left.
Arbus made two more albums with East of Eden with different line-ups, but these were very straightforward rock albums that didn't represent the band's original purpose.
He briefly joined the band Fiddler's Dram, then spent some years with his successful rattan furniture business. He later moved to various countries abroad, working as an artist before returning to England, where he was diagnosed with kidney failure.
PS A big THANK YOU to The Who's Facebook people for using my short for their Facebook post
