Jan Akkerman at Trading Boundaries

It was my joy to be down in Sussex last Friday at Trading Boundaries to catch the first of three concerts by Jan Akkerman and his band - the first time in a while. The concert was in two halves and was more jazzy for the first half (a nice section Crackers to Angel Watch) and more rocky for the second (though Focus 2 and Anonymous are unique). The bass player has broken his leg and so had to sit and Jan didn't seem quite happy with his two Gibson guitars for some of the time. I got a little lost on Tommy's Anniversary but otherwise it was a great concert. Nice to meet Jan and Mrs Akkerman, looking after the merchandise. Jan seemed tired at the end of a long day. He is 75, of course.

Shortest Focus Tracks

Though famed for their many longer tracks, Focus have plenty of shorter ones, many under 3 minutes. These are the top 10 stand alone tracks:

1 Delitae Musicae (1:12)

2 Father Bach (1:30)

3 Ship Of Memories (1:48)

4 Le Clochard ("Bread") (1:55)

5 House of the King (2:20)

6 Spoke The Lord Creator (2:28)

7 Moving Waves (2:30)

8 Hard Vanilla (2:36)

9 Tropic Bird/Crackers (both 2:38)

Also note: Focus vocal (2.43) Love Remembered (2:45) Sylvia Live (2:47) No Hang Ups, Early Birth (both 2:54) Janis, Soft Vanilla (both 3:00).

Track by track 49 Crackers

Archive number: 49

Title: Crackers

Main Album: Ship of Memories

Track number: 8

Genre: Jazz Funk Instrumental Studio: Decca Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (later Studio 55)

Length: 2' 38”

Composer: Jan Akkerman

Musicians: Jan Akkerman – Electric and acoustic guitars; Thijs van Leer – Flute; Bert Ruiter – Bass; David Kemper – Drums

Producer: Focus

Engineer: Eric Prestidge?

Label: LP – EMI, Harvest, Sire CD – EMI-Bovema, IRS, Red Bullet, JVC Date of recording/release: 1975. Not released until 1977 (LP). CD – 1988, 1993, 2001, 2006

Alternative version: Other longer fluteless versions appear on Akkerman's self-titled 1977 solo album and his live album of the following year. He also brought it out as a single.

Notes: This jazz funk piece by Akkerman features first his acoustic and electric guitars (with some pedal effect employed) then van Leer's flute leading the band (00:00-00:30; 00:31-00:45). This pattern is repeated (00:46-01:13; 01:14-01:29). The electric guitar then leads off on a riff (01:20-01:45) before returning to the original funky style with acoustic and electric guitars (01:46-02:12). A final all electric coda, which then fades, brings the piece to a close (02:13-02:38).

A note on Funk (from Wikipedia)

Funk is an American music style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul, jazz and R&B into arhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasises melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Unlike R&B and soul, which have many chord changes, funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord. Like much African inspired music, funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments such as electric guitar, bass, Hammond organ and drums playing interlocking rhythms. Funk bands also usually have a horn section, which plays rhythmic "hits". In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a percussive style, often using the wah-wah sound effect and muting the notes in their riffs to create a percussive sound. Influential funk performers include James Brown, George Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, etc. The 1970s was probably the era of highest mainstream visibility for funk music. Notable 1970s funk bands include Earth Wind and Fire, The Commodores and Kool and the Gang, though many of these most famous bands in the genre also played disco and soul extensively. Funk music was a major influence on the development of 1970s disco. In the 1970s, jazz music drew upon funk to create a new subgenre of jazz-funk, which can be heard in 1970s recordings by Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.