Jan Akkerman Feat. Matt Schofield

Jan Akkerman Feat. Matt Schofield - Live At De Bosuil Muziekcentrum, Weert, Holland on 14.01.2007 - 2009 - Unof.

Unbelievable guitar playing from Jan Akkerman on this great album. There are many, many great guitarists on the music scene today. We are forever reading polls about "the world's greatest guitar player", "the greatest guitar player of all time", ad nauseam. The debate on this subject will go on forever. Every music fan has his/her own favourite. There are so many musical genres, and guitar styles and techniques, that it is not possible to say who the "best" player is. "Greatest", and "best" are very general words. The late Jimi Hendrix was a great guitarist. Was he the best? Likewise, the late Rory Gallagher was an astonishingly good player. Was Rory the greatest? One thing is for sure, - Jan Akkerman is a guitar genius. There is no style that he can't play, whether it be rock, Spanish, jazz, or blues. He can do things on a fretboard that should be impossible to do, but Jan plays these "impossibilities" effortlessly. On this live album he proves the amazing depth and skill of his techniques. The brilliant guitarist, Matt Schofield guests on track 7. Matt can certainly be added to the list of great guitarists, as in 2007, Guitar & Bass Magazine selected him as one of the "Top 10 British Blues Guitarists of All Time". We are back to lists again ! It has been stated before on this blog, so just to reiterate for the umpteenth time, listen to Focus' "Live At The Rainbow" album. Give Jan Akkerman's "Tabernakel" album a listen, and be blown away by the man's talent. If you are unfamiliar with Matt Schofield's music, buy his "Heads, Tails & Aces" album, and listen to another guitar maestro in action. Search this blog for other Akkerman / Focus / Schofield releases

N.B: Just as a matter of interest, why not use the "Message Board" on this blog to post your "TOP 10 GUITARISTS". "strat0" has already done so, and placed Robben Ford at 1, and Joe Satriani at 10. Give it a shot ! Results could be interesting ! The illustrious, the bodacious, the magnificent one, NEOPIXEOS will be publishing his list soon !

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Intro - (Dutch Radio Announcer)
2 House of the King - (Jan Akkerman)
3 Blues Route - (M.Muleta)
4 Tranquilizer- (Jan Akkerman)
5 Sylvia - (Thijs van Leer)
6 Urban String [Titled "Urban Song" on album sleeve] - (Muleta/Molendijk/Rietbergen/Meischke)
7 You do something to Me (Paul Weller) / Hocus Pocus (Jan Akkerman, & Thijs van Leer)

MUSICIANS

Jan Akkerman - Guitar
Matt Schofield - Guitar
Wilbrand Meischke - Bass
Coen Molenaar - Keyboards
Remco van der Slijs - Drums

BIO (JAN AKKERMAN)

Jan Akkerman was born on Christmas Eve 1946 and first picked up a guitar aged 5. Legend has it that he played accordian aged 3, and was entirely self-taught on the guitar, but in actual fact he took classical guitar lessons, studied at Amsterdam Music Lyceum for 5 years and won a scholarship. His father was a guitarist, and his mother played the accordian. He took a keen interest in group music-making, joining local bands The Friendship Sextet and The Shaking Hearts. In 1961, aged 15, he recorded his first single with his current band, Johnny & The Cellar Rockers, which also featured Pierre Van der Linden. The Cellar Rockers became the Hunters, and the first hit was scored with a cover of "Mr Tambourine Man", but an even bigger hit came from an original song called "The Russian Spy and I", inspired largely by the Shadows, but with a notable guitar solo from Akkerman. During the mid 1960s, Akkerman visited England, where he saw the guitarist Julian Bream performing Mediaeval lute music. This was an inspiration that was never to leave Akkerman. In the late 1960s, he formed Brainbox, with his old friend Van der Linden on drums, who negotiated a signing to Parlophone. During a recording session, Akkerman, who was fond of jamming and session playing, hooked up with the embryo Focus, and was ejected from Brainbox as a result. Brainbox's first (and only) album is regarded as a Dutch Prog Rock classic in some circles.
Not to be deterred, he recorded his own material, assisted by his friends from The Hunters; a solo album called "Talents for Sale", and joined Focus for recording the backing music to the musical "Hair", and their debut album "In And Out Of Focus". In 1971, Akkerman's old sparring partner Van der Linden is taken into Focus on drums, and "Moving Waves" is recorded. Despite the international success of this album, Akkerman relentlessly carried on recording his own material with the albums "Profile" and 1974's "Tabernakel", which features Akkerman's playing his newly acquired lute, and carries a Mediaeval flavour. Following "Moving Waves" and "Focus 3", Akkerman was pronounced best International guitarist by Melody Maker, in a poll that put him above Clapton, Beck and Page. In 1978, Akkerman's contract with Atlantic was ended due to the high costs involved with his insistence of hiring full symphony orchestras and low record sales, and Akkerman went off to persue other musical avenues, pausing only to attempt a Focus re-group. The album of this year "3" is an unusually funky album with very little ecelcticism. This didn't work out, so Akkerman carried on working, attempting to reform Focus once again in 1984, producing the rather raw "From the Basement". In 1989 he had a more successful collaboration with Miles Copland resulting in the successful "Noise of Art". His collaborations and various projects from then until now are too numerous to mention one by one, including work with B.B. King, Mike Kenealy, Alan Price, Charlie Byrd and Ice-T, but 1999's "Passion" is particularly notable. On February 16th 2005, Akkerman was awarded with a Golden Harp award at the Harpen Gala, proving that he is still not only going strong, with his favourite annual Dutch and UK tours, but still impressing with his skills. © Prog Archives, All rights reserved

BIO ( MATT SCHOFIELD)

Matt Schofield (born 21 August 1977) is a UK blues guitarist and singer whose music blends blues with rock and funky jazz rhythms. His band, The Matt Schofield Trio, play their own material, which is a blend of blues, funk and jazz, along with covers of blues classics such as Albert Collins' "Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home". Schofield's guitar playing is often likened to Robben Ford in reference to his melodic and fluid style, and jazzy lines. However, Schofield was also majorly influenced by B. B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Albert Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Gibbons, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan. The influence of funk bands such as The Meters and Soulive can also be heard in his music. Schofield has two studio albums and two live albums. The first of the live discs, The Trio, Live was recorded at the Bishops Blues club at The Half Moon, Bishops Stortford in 2004 and, funded and released by Richard Pavitt on his Nugene record label, gave the band their first breakthrough. The first studio album, Siftin' Thru Ashes was released in 2005. This album showcases not only Schofield as a virtuoso contemporary blues player, but also as a very competent songwriter, writing or co-writing eight out of eleven of the tracks on this album. AllMusic.com calls Schofield's approach "an enjoyable demonstration of what can happen when blues-rock and blues-jazz are united". The second live album, Live At The Jazz Cafe! was recorded at the London Jazz Cafe in April 2005, and was made available as a web only release. Schofield is one of only two living British artists to be given a four star (excellent) rating in the Penguin Book of Blues Recordings. The release of The Trio, Live prompted Schofield to be featured in a Guitarist magazine article listing the nine notable up and coming blues guitarists, Schofield being the only non-American. Of the album they said 'britblues meets jazz via N'Orleans - all played with the kind of sizzling guitar that just doesn't often surface in Fairford, Gloucestershire'. In 2007 Guitar & Bass Magazine picked Schofield as one of the "Top 10 British Blues Guitarists of All Time". Schofield performs with an organ trio (guitar, organ, and drums), which is an unusual format for blues bands. Organ trios are mostly associated with the 1950s and 1960s U.S. jazz groups led by organists such as Jimmy Smith. Blues bands more commonly use trios of guitar, bass and drums, quartets (guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums) or quintets (guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums). In Schofield's organ trio, organist Jonny Henderson plays a Hammond organ, performing basslines using his left hand, and playing chords and lead lines with his right hand. The trio's drummer is Evan Jenkins. Jeff Walker played bass on the final track of Siftin' Thru' Ashes. In 2009, as of the recording of 'Heads, Tails & Aces', The Matt Schofiled Trio became The Matt Schofield Band, a four-piece, featuring Jeff 'The Funk' Walker on bass, and also replacing Evan Jenkins with Alain Baudry.