Focus on Jan Akkerman - Guitar Genius
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Focus on Jan Akkerman - Guitar Genius
#janakkerman #classicrock #guitarsolo #focus #hocuspocus
Join us as we celebrate guitar's Dutch Master.
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I travelled from Australia to England in 1973 and fellow musicians from home took me to a Focus Concert in London.
The musicianship was outstanding but the volume was painful....I had just spent 5 weeks on a cruise with the sound of the sea still in my ears.
At the end of the Concert the huge crowd screamed for more and Akkerman came back on stage with a lute....alone.
He sat down and played a beautiful Bach piece and the entire Stadium was as quiet as a mouse.
Then it erupted in applause...unforgettable.
Far too many young players don't know who he is and what he has accomplished. A true guitar players guitarist.
Agreed!!! Thanks!
True. Very underrated. ❤️🎸👍.
Not just young ones.. and there are far to many to know them all.
Times they are a- changing ... his biggest achievement is his overcoming of his alcoholism ... if he did. I hope he did.
Staple diet for me growing up
My fellow Dutchman Jan Akkerman was a huge inspiration for many teenagers. As one of them I bought a guitar but never learned to play a note. Just holding the instrument while listening to Jan was magic.
You.
This Boston Mass drummer likes you. Smash the fear now. This whole joint is just one big recording studio don't you know?
In 1978 I rented a room of virtuoso guitarist Han Sonneveld in Groningen, NL. Han was incredibly skilled but his path somehow never led to fame. Han was a fan of Jan Akkerman, he even had a Framus Les Paul like Jan had (and as a consequence so did I but that was just the guitar and not the skill). Jan apparently knew of Han since the afternoon before an evening gig at Huize Maas, Jan visited Han to play together. That evening, Han and I went to the performance. At one point Jan played frantically with ONLY his left hand, still delivering a decent set of chords and notes, with his face in a spasm that indicated this really cost even him considerable effort. Han punches me in the side and says: "He learnt this from me this afternoon".
That's crazy! Thanks for sharing.
So not Han Solo but Han duo. 😂
flipping awesome!!! Ver damt noch mal - das ist ein geshischte!
Saw him two weeks ago in the Netherlands.77 years old and still playing this great fusion of styles
I saw him live in 1972 just before the Melody Maker award was published and after the concert I said to myself: "That's the best guitar playing I have ever heard".
Prescient!!!
I saw Focus twice in '72 and '73, in Birmingham, UK. Fantastic.
I was privileged to see (experience) Focus in Dallas, Texas way back in 1975 and what a memorable time. Not only was he, and the band, amazing but completely upstaged the lead band Joe Walsh. Joe just pulled the plug on his guitar and walked off stage.
Focus was just so much better and refined.
Great memories.
Why is You tube great? rediscovering old memories like Jan Akkerman and Hocus Pocus. How many decades has it been since I've heard his genius? truly a great guitarist.
5 décadas en mi caso
Akkerman is The Man, The Maestro. Unique delivery and choice of notes. Masterful technique, all while puffing on a Blunt. My Hero
Haha!! It’s where EVH learned it.
Also those scales that shouldn't work...
Thank you for highlighting our dutch hero Jan Akkerman ❤🇱🇺
Yes, Jan Akkerman is an awesome player. The whole Focus setting was great.
When I played the Montreux Jazz Fest in 1978, Jan was there. I was in the Casino watching his band set up, Jan was sitting next to me and had a brief chat. He asked if I was performing and told him I was on the following evening and he gave me a "thumbs up". Nice guy and a great musician.
What I like about him is that aura of toughness. He is not some nerdy guitar virtuoso, but a man who exudes self-confidence; every inch the son of an Amsterdam scrap meal trader. Personality is important.
The solos in Hocus Pocus are among the best ever done. When it came out in 73 people definitely took notice.
Acabo de comprar el cd , lo escuchaba hace 50 años y hace un mes me acordé de Hocus Pocus , en la onda de Camel , Yes , Pink Floyd , geniales
I may be exposing myself to acute criticism but: as much as I appreciate Focus, have their music in high esteem, almost anytime I reach for them (YT, live, or Hamburger Concerto album, or Focus 2 (Focus 3 being an exception), rather sooner than later I am confronted with Hocus Pocus that I grew really fed up with. It's ok once or twice but not coming up front most of the time you want to listen to the band. Time and time again until it's a nuisance - I see this is their tour-de-force, this is showmanship, vocal range and all, but too much is too much. I have to make myself a Hocus Pocus-less compilation to really enjoy the band again. This is about exaggeration. Imagine The Beatles where anytime you want them, you end up with Yellow Submarine.
By the way, the solo from 4:35 reminds me of Allan Holdsworth, but came earlier.
@@greg-warsaw4708Man, that’s ok. But that’s not a criticism, just oversaturation. Yeah, play something else by all means.
Some limited kids do ask from time to time what’s so special about him. They just don’t know what the likes of BB King or Brian May felt playing by his side 😅
completely agree, nice to hear someone else say it. To me, Hocus Pocus is their least interesting song@@greg-warsaw4708
Saw Jan in 1972 at Leeds Town Hall playing in the band Focus. I’ve seen many great guitarists since then, but I still love his playing and he remains the gold standard by which I judge other players. Glad to hear that he’s still playing. ❤
100/100! Cant agree more.
What I love about Jan's playing is how melodic, and even economical he is. Lots of his melodies are simply memorable, you can even hum or whistle them. Even though he can play blindingly fast and shred with the best of them, he never overdoes it. If his solo has fast parts, those are always there for a good musical reason, never just to show off or for the hell of it. Every guitarist on earth could learn something valuable from Jan Akkerman. If you can find it, grab his Complete Jan Akkerman box set - 26 discs and every one is mesmerising!
Jan already in the early seventies played very technical and intricate lines. The best thing about him is that on stage he's so adventurous. He never plays a song the same as before but always a bit different and the funny lines and notes he plays while soloing, these unexpectected things you sometimes hear tells you that he's confident on stage and he likes to make jokes, not only as a person but also on his guitar just as an ordinairy kid from the streets of Amsterdam.
SO, in the late 70s when I was in high school, in the middle of a summer night, me in my car filled with my buddies pull into a gas station to get gas and munchies. The pumps are packed and every car's radio just happened to be all on the same station. All car's have their windows rolled down. Then, the DJ on the radio says.... Here's a forgotten hit that'll blow you away... HOCUS POCUS by FOCUS! Well, it comes on and I'll tell you, that gas station began rockin'. Everyone there cranked their radios listening to Akkerman lay out that amazing cyclical guitar riff and everyone mimmic'd Van Leer's yodeling only to come back to that incredible guitar riff. I'll never forget it.
Good story!
Yes!! We were all doing that long before Wayne's World memorialized it on film! When that movie came out I was like, they get me.
The way you describe it, I am totally there.
Never saw him/them but listened quite a bit and always so amazed...great clip!!
Filling up with $2 for gas - and of course what ever for the 'munchies'- me I had to buy Visine all the time!!!! if you get my drift - 2 fingers - 4 was bitter - but moroccan imports were always preferred!! as was Lebanese or Afghani
Focus and Akkerman were brought to prominence when they appeared on the UK weekly music programme 'Old Grey Whistle Test'. I was in college at the time and the next day when we did our weekly review of the programme over a joint in the common room we all agreed it was the most outrageously good guitar playing we had ever seen. Been a big fan ever since!
I don't have to solve a complexly coded puzzle to see the truth behind that comment!!!
I first heard Jan as a 13 year old. Even at that early age I knew that I was listening to a genius. 53 years later, he still never fails to astound me with his music. Artists of Jan Akkerman's calibre only come round a couple of times a century. I thank my Gods that he came round in my lifetime.
He has been my hero since 50 years. In 1977 I had the pleasure to meet him at the Markthalle, Hamburg.
Unfortunately is very underrated in the Web, especially in the US.
Thanks for creating this video.
I always have been keen to reach his extraordinary style of playing, but I failed over the decades. Not completely and that is what I'm thankful for!,
I admire John Petrucci, Allan Holdsworth, Matteo Mancuso, Pat Metheny, Al di Meola..., but Jan is the hero of my youth, and as youth has gone so far, he's my guitar hero to the end of my life 😊
Thank you for sharing!
Jan had a fantastic technique and musicallity, he could not only play super quick and super rythmical and adapt to other style like virtuoso Gypsy jazz and Flamenco with Paco de Lucia, but what made him most special was his note choice. This gave him a special sound that is immediately recognizable between all other virtuoso guitar players.
I had the pleasure of seeing Focus live in Central Park on a Summer evening in the early 70's and they were amazing! Jan is a great classical guitarist and wonderful Lute player as well.
Oh man I wish I could've been there back in the day! Thanks for watching!
Oh man, I wish I could have been there! It must have been epic!
Saw Focus in 1972 .His guitar playing was incredible .
Me too😊
Blows Clapton May etc away Jan Ackerman 🎼👌
U hear the names, Vai, Satriani, May, Eddie….Focus was before my time but when I first was shown Hocus Pocus for a laugh, I was super impressed… especially, with his guitar work. Knowing he was ahead of them guys, I looked into him more and it’s led me here. What an inspirational player
What a great comment! Yes, I first heard Hocus Pocus in the 80s as a novelty song, too.
He is still playing! Always admired the guy. Being Dutch myself he could be heard on national radio a lot.
That opening, with the piece out of the middle of Eruption, is one of my all time favorite pieces of guitar work! It's so emotional. Thanks, Jan.
A genius who i had the oportunity to watch in 1990 in Brazil and even get his autograph. A monster and a nice guy at the same body!!
“Moving Waves” was the 3rd vinyl album I bought in the early 70s and I was at the Rainbow Theatre (in North London) in May 1973 when Focus recorded their “Live at the Rainbow” album. Jan Akkerman is one of the greatest guitarists ever to have graced the music scene. He was “sweeping” before anyone even knew what that meant….plus he’s a mean Lute player as well!
Check out some Chet Atkins videos from around 1964. He was sweep-picking back then.
I've been listening to Akkerman and Focus for 50 years, and I still don't get tired of listening to these amazing musicians again and drawing great inspiration from them! It should be remembered that the great Akkerman was and is first and foremost a lute player, and this practice made him able to range across many guitar genres with his extraordinary melodic and technical talent. Great Jan!
Well said! Thank you!
I was lucky enough to grow up in the early seventies. On our secondary school in Heemstede The Netherlands we had school parties with a live band. Focus with Jan played there almost every year. Along with Exception, Golden Earring, Rob Hoeke, Alquin, Kayak, Boudewijn de Groot. Lucky fellow!
I met him once, in Ibiza, in 1979. He was on a holiday there, and so was I. I guess his son and I were both 9 years old. We were playing on the rocks, near the beach, which he obviously didn't like. He got very angry and warned me how dangerous it was. 10 years later, being all into jazzrock, I became his fan.
Loved me some focus - Focus Moving Waves, Focus II, Focus III - live in LOndon - Sylvia - eruption etc. Born at the right time!!!
Man, he's amazing. His technique. The effortless touch. Micro movements. The sound.
His solo album "Profile" is one of the top guitar albums of all time for me.
Master Jan Is one of the Greatest Electric Guitarest of All Times!
Thank you for doing this tribute to Jan Akkerman showcasing his brilliance and talent as a guitarist.He is undoubtedly a maestro on the instrument whether electric or acoustic. It is a shame that he is not better known by younger guitar enthusiasts.
The first and only time that I've ever seen him play live was in London at the turn of the millennium at the London Music Festival. Slash and Steve Lukathur were their but Jan was the guitarist I wanted to see and he was astounding and I remember his final set stole the show. Sadly I have not seen him perform live since as whenever he plays in the UK it isn't in London but instead his dates tend to be in the North of England. I pray that he is well.
That must've been amazing to see! Thanks for sharing.
I have seen him several times during the past years, and trust me, he didn't loose his touch!
Been one of my biggest playing influences for over 30 years, and he still baffles me! 🙏🇬🇧🎸❤️
Jan Akkerman has always been one of my favourites.
I still enjoy Jan's playing. He does an excellent live performance.
His time with Focus is what got me interested in him.
Great appreciation. He is amazing. That shredding he was doing was unheard of at the time. Ever hear him play the lute? Incredible.
Absolutely my favorite guitarplayer, for years. Of course there are many good guitarplayers, but Jan Akkerman is sooo divers. Jazz, classic, rock, blues, progressive rock, you name it.
No mistakes, technical so perfect.
👌🏼
I've loved this guitar player since the first time I heard him.
A great tribute, thanks for sharing! I wish more players knew of Jan Akkerman. I was in my teens and playing guitar and renaissance lute when I first heard him. So it was a double-treat for me to hear his immense abilities on both those instruments. Besides his virtuoso chops, his note choices and phrasing were distinctly his own. He remains in the top five of my list of all-time favourite guitarists. Cheers!
Jan the MAN. Seen him many times. Please come back to the UK Jan.
JAN AKKERMAN ❤nog niet een meer getalenteerde speler gehoord.
Altijd zichzelf gebleven, zoekende naar mooie muziek.
He was brilliant back in Brainbox. I first heard "Downman" on Radio Veronica in early 1969, and was totally blown away! 🤩I bought it, and I've still got it, and it's still one of my all time favourites!
That Hamburger Concerto guitar solo is absolutely phenomenal.So much feel.Masterclass and true originality on display.
That solo was always my favorite one😊
@@tonakkie635 Good choice,come to think of it you may be right.
Experienced him years ago in my local pub ‘The Gallery’ in Den Helder (Netherlands). He was playing solo. Just one man on a small podium with some sampling equipment. He was incredible and far ahead of his time. Saw him playing in Brainbox as well, together with Cas Lux (singer). Just spot on. Thanks for posting this one. Sweet memories!!!!!
Jan Akkerman always play with groove and deep sentiment! He definitely influenced many generations! I was fascinated by his playing in the 70's big time for the fuzzion!
I've listened to Jan during his tenure with Focus in my teen years at length. His playing has always amazed and inspired me.
Got to meet Jan in person when we were both columnists for the same Dutch guitarmagazine (Gitaar Plus). Shaking in my boots the first time. Turned out the man has a great sense of humor as well. Mostly edgy "dad jokes" that only work in the Dutch language. They say never meet your heroes. In this case, not true.
"Moving Waves" by Focus is one of the most enjoyable and extraordinary Prog-Rock albums I have ever heard. The enormously successful, "Hocus Pocus" single made me delve further into their music and I ended up with several Focus LPs.
Did the same thing. Hocus Pocus was the reason I bought Moving Waves. Fell in love with their music and Jan's playing right there.
Holy crap! I knew about Hocus Pocus, but that last tune when they get all jazzy... Amazing.
Jan was one of my idols when I started to play guitar, for me he is simply a genius. I was even lucky enough to get to know him in person, when he played a "small gig" in my home town, and I had the pleasure to be his host for one day. Believe me, it was an incredible experience. He is a very funny and humble person.
Thanks for the tribute! One of my fave guitarists since the 70's!
One of my favourite guitarists growing up - I still listen to Focus III and Hamburger Concerto (there was a short clip of that in the video) a lot!
My Favorite Guitarist! thank you from Brooklyn, NY
Thank YOU for watching and commenting! I used to live in Brooklyn. 718!!!
one of my heroes. I saw Focus (‘72? ‘73?). Blew me away; been a devotee ever since….
Jan plays the most beautiful guitar melodies I've ever heard. I only heard him (in Focus) for the 1st time about 3 years back. His playing instantly 'spoke' to me.
One of the finest guitarists known eventhough not too many people know him. Thanks for bringing out a video on him.
I was fortunate to have met him while Focus was touring with the Mothers. So generous he let me play his ‘59 Les Paul!!
That is amazing!
My all time Favoriten guitar Player. Love Himmel.
Jan Akkerman IS a real MASTER!!!! I'm glad to hear is guitar art in my period of life. Love Focus.
When I was 4 or 5, I would listen over and over to Hocus Pocus, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, and Tubular bells. It greatly influenced my love of instrumental music and making my own music later :) Very underrated guitar player, a guitar player's guitar player!
🇬🇧Focus are still a fantastic group to see live❤an iconic piece of our music history ❤🇬🇧.
Yep, House Of The King' fame. Jan is a legend.
And still going like a champ
My number one favourite guitarplayer in the 1970's 🎸
My favorites : Jimmy Rory Jeff Eric Frank Alvin JohnML etc………
Even before the 70s
Jan Akkerman played in Brainbox.
Downman.
@@RedbadvanRijn-ft3vv I prefer Dark Rose and Summertime!
I saw Focus doing, among other stuff, Hocus Pocus in a small club in Glasgow in the early 1970s.
We sat on the floor and the group was very close to us.
To see Jan, Thijs, Hans and Martijn in such an intimate setting left an indelible impression my mind.
Truly magical.............😇☺
Please....listen to Focus / Jan Akkerman : answers questions.....one of the best guitar solos' ever in history...
Yeah bro you get it!
Just listen to the song "Dark Rose" by the band "Brainbox", in which Jan played before he joined Focus. One of the greatest guitar players ever!
Galema was a well-known guitar builder, who also built for Jan Akkerman, among others. I came to Galema for work, and over a cup of coffee we talked about (guitar) music, which was a very interesting conversation. When I went on the internet to look up how much their collaboration had meant 'for the musician and his sound', it was a special moment. I still have a sketch somewhere with pen on a piece of paper about electrical circuits with pickup elements.
For the record, the name is Galama (Anno)
Oh my God. I am ashamed to say I forgot all about this amazing guitarist.
I heard him mention of him when I was younger, but seeing this is incredible.
Thank you for posting this video. 😃👌👍🎸
Thank you!!!
Thanks for this, he had passed under my guitar radar, just knew the name but now I know he is brilliant & a great guitar model to take influence from. I was in a band that supported Focus Oct 15 2019 & found them to be amazing musicians that could jam forever, as we found out in the sound check!
the 2nd guitar break on the LP ( long version) Hocus Pocus is the reason why electricity was invented. Rock guitar had found its full expression by 1971.
Fantastic guitarist, ever since i heard him playing for the first time 😎👍🫡
If I really have to pick just one, then Jan is my all time favourite guitarist. As soon as I heard him in 1972 I realised there was a lot more music out there than the blues scale! Thanks Jan.👍
Jan's technique, ( which is phenomenal), pales in comparison to the soul and feeling produced by just a single note he plays.
Further more, he fuses rock with classical and baroque concepts in his playing beautifully.
He was a major force in my cultural development as a teenager back in the seventies.
I feel he's just as great in my opinion as guitarists such as John McLaughlin, Holdsworth, Joe Pass or many more with high accolades!
I would hope he receives my simple message of " thanks".
A fantastic guitar player. Goosebumps all over, hearing this great music. 🎶😍👍
I played during a festival before he played that evening. We didn't talk much but played pinball together. I lost.
Jan was de reden dat ik, na het uitbrengen van mijn eerst gekochte single SILVIA van Focus, gitaar ben gaan leren spelen.
Nu na dik 50 jaar hoop ik ooit een fractie zo goed als dat hij is te worden.
Mijn top 3 : Jan, Eddy van Halen en David Gilmoure.
When I hear Akkermann in the 70 with Hokus Pokus I buy the album and try to play it.Great.
I bought Moving Waves when it first came out, the fantastic track Tommy made the hairs on my arms stand up then and still does even now, never beaten in my view 🏆
Got Moving Waves and Focus Live at the Rainbow back in the early 70's. The man is a guitar God, pure and simple.
I saw him here in Munich in 1973 (I think) and was blown away how he performed!
Outstanding
Dutch (and also Universal)
guitar Hero!
Plays (2024!!!) guitar and in mine opion many, many and many years a completly and totality guitar Genius!
Still always" in the first(honeur) division"
world wilde!
It's good to see pops still getting praise, great video!
Thank god for the legacy that the OGWT left behind, I saw in this in the early 70's and couldn't believe what I had just seen and heard, and still nothing comes close to the skill of the man, and the excitement he creates.
After 50 years lm still trying to master the Hocus Pocus solos. Akkerman was different class
We play Hocus Pocus and my solo is never the same. You can solo in both the major as minor scale.
I have seen and heard Jan play quite often (which is easy when having lived in Utrecht, NL, during the 2000s, he'd be playing during the local blues festival nearly every year). His style is very recognizable and somehow is very relaxing to listen to, even during faster and more 'wild' parts, love to hear him play.
The playfulness of Focus' music, which, at the same time, was performed with such excelence was something new at the time. Jan Akkerman really had a big part in this. Thanks for this reminder.
Every time I want to demonstrate to youngsters what a fantastic and diverse universe we had on the radio in the early 70s, I play them "Hocus Pocus." It's impossible to fathom such an original, weird, wild song could ever be a "hit" up there on AM radio with "Heart Of Gold" and all the amazing music we had - but it was. And people still listening to Akkerman whether they know it or not.
Stunning
3:22 I play guitar and do know he is a genius. I love Focus and particularly this line up. Jan is among my favorite guitarists along with the late Allan Holdsworth.
My favorite 70's guitar player. Beaatiful and intense phrasing! I wish he would have stayed in Focus longer.
Akermann is one of most important influence that made me a guitar player
Jan's self-titled solo album was EPIC !!!
Yes, that one was truely genius!
Been a fan of Jan since the early 70s. I was listening to some EVH material the other day and thought some of his playing and tones reminded me of someone who had gone before, then I realised Jan was that man. Eddie must have been a big fan.
No doubt!
I love Brainbox,Focus and his early solo work and especially Tabernacle which was mostly solo lute.But a lot of his later solo stuff left me cold.But he was huge influence on my guitar playing.