Jan Akkerman - ...and on guitar (2001)

I've already covered Jan Akkeran's early years in my 'Minstrel' post, which took him up to the solo albums that he released in 1972 and 1973, so this collection of guest appearances follows on nicely from that one, as it starts in the early 70's and includes his collaborations with fellow musicians over the next 30 years. His solo career actually dated from 1968, though his attempt at a solo album, later titled 'Guitar For Sale', and which contained his covers of numbers such as 'What'd I Say', 'Ode to Billy Joe', and 'Green Onions', was so primitive by the standards of the time that it was deemed unreleasable until Akkerman started topping reader surveys as best rock guitarist in the mid-'70s. Although it's unlikely that it would have been heard much in the UK, you can hear his early prowess on 'The Morning After The Third' by Hans Dulfer & Ritmo Natural from 1970, which came out two years before his first real solo album, 1972's 'Profile'. The music on that album was actually recorded in 1969, while he was still a member of Brainbox, and so it wasn't util 1974's 'Tabernakel' that the music reflected his interests at the time, which included the lute. Having finally acquired a medieval lute of his own, he taught himself to play it, and the results comprise more than half of the album, with authentic medieval music mixed with originals composed in a medieval style. After leaving Focus in 1976, Akkerman began releasing a stream of solo albums, beginning with the concept offering 'Eli', and this also gave him more time to offer his services as a guitarist for hire, mostly appearing on records by fellow Dutch artists such as The Tielman Brothers, The Joachim Kuhn Band, Mark Nauseef, and André Hazes. His own albums frequently embraced classical, jazz, and blues, and much of his work during the 1980's wasn't released officially outside of Holland, but in 1990 he issued the album 'The Noise Of Art' in the US on Miles Copeland's I.R.S label, and this revitalized him in terms of releases, becoming more active than he had been in over a decade, although this caused the guest appearances to slow down as a consequence. When he did show up on someone else's album his guitar-work was as fluid and emotive as ever - just listen to him on Ange's 'Autour D'Un Cadavre Exquis' from 2001. Akkerman's first two albums of the new century, 'Jazzah!' in 2000 and 'I'm In The Mood' in 2002, were self-released, but gained much acclaim from critics and the public alike, and 2003's 'C.U. On Coast To Coast' even earned him a place in the Dutch charts. He continues to record and release albums to this day, and I mentioned 2019's 'Close Beauty' in the last post, so enjoy this celebration of his contribution to Dutch music over the years, both as a solo artist, with his bands, and with these collaborations with his fellow countrymen. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 The Morning After The Third (from 'The Morning After The Third' by Hans Dulfer 

                                                                                                                 & Ritmo Natural 1970)
02 The Sky Has Called Us Out To Dance (from 'Scarecrow's Journey' by Robin Lent 1971)
03 Get Out Of My Fridge (from 'Two Sides Of Peter Banks' by Peter Banks 1973) 
04 Be-Bop-A-Lula (from 'Rock And Roll, Our First Love' by The Tielman Brothers 1976)
05 Orange Drive (from 'Sunshower' by Joachim Kuhn Band 1978) 
06 Don't Want Nobody (from 'J.D. Drews' by J.D. Drews 1980) 
07 Doctor Marathon Parts I & II (from 'Personal Note' by Mark Nauseef 1982)
08 Volgens Mij Ben Ik Getrouwd (from 'Dit Is Wat Ik Wil' by André Hazes 1989) 

Disc Two
01 Atlantis (from 'Atlantis: Bilder Från En Ö' by Björn J:son Lindh 1983)
02 I Lose Again (from 'The Talisman' by Forcefield 1988)
03 Stealth (from 'Guitar Speak II' by Various Artists 1990) 
04 Blij En Bang  (from 'Mijn Hart Slaapt Nooit' by Henny Vrienten 1991)
05 Soul Detective (from 'Soul Detective' by Bernard Oattes 1995)
06 Autour D'Un Cadavre Exquis (from 'Culinaire Lingus' by Ange 2001)