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Jan Akkerman

For over fifty years, Jan Akkerman (b. 1946) has been one of Holland’s most respected guitarists. In addition to his leading role in the globally acclaimed bands like The Hunters, Brainbox, Focus and collaborated with many local and international artists, in his solo projects, Akkerman has combined rock, jazz, blues, classical music and dance in his own distinctive style.

Throughout his respected career, Akkerman has appeared on worldwide stages. Besides several gigs at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, he has played on countless tours around theatres and various stages, also performing far beyond Europe in countries/comtinents like Japan, Russia, Syria, North & South America and Australia.

Since early 2012, Jan has revived his old Brainbox times with the start of My Brainbox, featuring ex-Vandenberg singer Bert Heerink. This project was in celebration of Akkerman's 50 years of activity on worldwide stages.

Jan also continues to design his own guitars. In 2013, he drew out the new J.A. Personal II for the Dutch company, Brandin Guitars.

In 2005, Akkerman received the prestigious Golden Harp Award for his complete oeuvre and, again, garnered recognition and support for his distinctive role in guitar music by many people.

At the end of 2012, Akkerman was knighted in the Order of Oranje Nassau, in recognition of his influential contribution to Dutch music.

Since 1968, Akkerman has released many solo records, on which he has let his creativity run free. Fifty years later, the Red Bullet record company has compiled his work into the 26CD box set, The Complete Jan Akkerman, featuring all of his solo albums, his most important live records, his work with Johnny and his Cellar Rockers, The Hunters, Brainbox and Focus, as well as a selection of previously unreleased recordings.

Even now, in 2018, Akkerman is still considered the most influential guitar player ever to come out of the Netherlands. For generations, he has impressed and inspired a large numbers of guitarists with his timing, harmonics, virtuosity and ability to perform with a wide range of musicians from various musical backgrounds.

He has always taken chances and forged his own path, as is evident across his twenty-plus albums and countless concerts. Being fresh, energetic and unpredictable, Akkerman continues to perform at the highest level, sharing his passion for the guitar with current band members Coen Molenaar (keyboards), David de Marez Oyens (bass guitar), Marijn van den Berg (drums) and, last, but not least - in fact foremost - with his worldwide audience.

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Unsung Heroes

In Memoriam: A Song for Boris Neisser

Read "In Memoriam: A Song for Boris Neisser" reviewed by Phillip Woolever


It was over a decade ago when I first encountered jovial Boris Neisser, the late administrative sparkplug of Dusseldorf's schauinsland-reisen Jazz Rally. He was flat on his back on a nicely carpeted opera house floor, grinning up at ornate ceiling chandeliers after a late night Sunday concert by Jan Akkerman and a competent Russian group called Jazzprom. Akkerman was in superb shredding form that night, while his makeshift backing band rose to the occasion to provide a blazing midnight finish ...

8
Live Review

Jan Akkerman And Friends at Café de Noot

Read "Jan Akkerman And Friends at Café de Noot" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Jan Akkerman And Friends Café de Noot Hoogland, The Netherlands December 28, 2019 Is there a more exciting electric guitarist on the planet than Jan Akkerman? For most of those packing out Café de Noot the answer is no. When Akkerman is on form there are few electric six-stringers to touch him. His acoustic playing, classically informed, is no less impressive, but tonight it's all about letting rip and having fun. Akkerman doesn't play ...

36
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John Kelman's Best Releases of 2018

Read "John Kelman's Best Releases of 2018" reviewed by John Kelman


Once again, the chronic health problem that has reduced my writing pace to a crawl continues without any respite. My best of the year lists have traditionally been predicated upon having reviewed the releases chosen, but with only a relative handful of reviews to choose from this year (and with those choices, more than ever now, always representing music that moved me in a big way), there's simply no way to come up with the big lists I used to ...

31
Profile

The Complete Jan Akkerman: Focusing on a Life's Work

Read "The Complete Jan Akkerman: Focusing on a Life's Work" reviewed by John Kelman


He may be largely regarded as the most influential guitarist to emerge from the Netherlands, a country that, bordering on the North Sea, is roughly one-quarter the physical size of England and, with a current number of about seventeen million, has just one-third the population of the UK's largest country. Still, despite garnering major in-country recognition, including the country's most prestigious music prize, the Golden Harp Award, being made a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau, and winning the De ...

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Album Review

Peter Banks: Two Sides of Peter Banks

Read "Two Sides of Peter Banks" reviewed by John Kelman


Pity poor Peter Banks. Unceremoniously ousted from the group he co-founded, on the cusp of greater success, the guitarist went on to relative obscurity after a quick run with Flash, while his band mates in Yes became megastars with hits like “Roundabout" and albums like Close to the Edge (Atlantic, 1972). He may not have possessed the instantaneous charisma and stunning virtuosity of his replacement, Steve Howe, but he was a fine guitarist, as this remastered edition of his solo ...

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