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1960s Coral Sitar (Danelectro) Vincent Bell Guitar Demo

As featured in Tabernakel

Imagined Interview

An invented interview with Dutch rock guitarist Jan Akkerman from 1974, translated into English, about his solo album Tabernakel. The AI interview is imagined.

Interviewer: So, Jan, Tabernakel is quite a surprise. We’re used to your virtuosic electric playing in Focus, but on this album, you've gone in a completely different direction. Were you worried about alienating your fanbase with so much lute and acoustic guitar?

Jan Akkerman: (Leaning forward, a wry smile playing on his lips) Worried? No. I’ve never done anything for other people. I make music for myself. The lute is where my passion began, before the rock and roll. It’s always been with me, so it was only a matter of time before it demanded its own voice. If people don’t like it, that’s fine. I won’t stop playing.

Interviewer: The title, Tabernakel, is quite striking. It suggests something sacred, almost like a religious sanctuary. What does it mean to you?

Jan Akkerman: It’s a place of worship, yes, but not in the conventional sense. It's my own sanctuary, a place to explore my musical faith. For two weeks in New York, I was almost a hermit, playing from morning until night. It was just me, the music, and all these instruments. The music itself was the tabernacle, a space to rediscover my roots, my past.

Interviewer: You’ve got a real mix of material on here. Side one is almost entirely medieval and Baroque pieces from composers like John Dowland and Anthony Holborne. How did you find and connect with this ancient music?

Jan Akkerman: I first saw Julian Bream play the lute in London years ago, and that was it for me. I needed to learn. I eventually found an antique lute and taught myself. This is the music that speaks to me, that feels honest. It's not about being a show-off; it's about the beauty of the composition itself. It’s pure.

Interviewer: And then you throw in a rock version of “House of the King” and the epic 14-minute track “Lammy” with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice. What was it like bringing in American rock musicians for those sessions?

Jan Akkerman: (Laughing) Those two are madmen. But they're brilliant. Tim and Carmine could turn any idea into a force of nature. We'd been touring together, and I wanted to see what would happen if we combined their power with my music. I brought them into my little tabernacle, so to speak, and they brought the thunder. It's a completely different energy, but it fits. It's the sacred and the profane together on one record.

Interviewer: The closing track, “Lammy,” is truly a journey. It has everything—choral arrangements, a church organ, and a sitar-like guitar sound. It even starts with that beautiful, almost Wagnerian choir.

Jan Akkerman: Yes. That track is a whole world in itself. It's the climax, the moment where all the disparate parts of my musical mind come together. It's a journey through the medieval, the mystical, the rock, and the jazz. All of it is my sound, all of it is in my head. And if you listen closely, you can hear it all come together in that single piece.

Interviewer: So what’s next for Jan Akkerman? Is this classical direction something you will continue to explore, or are we going back to the electric madness of Focus?

Jan Akkerman: Who knows? I am a musician, and I will follow where the music takes me. The road is always changing. And anyway, who says it has to be either/or? With Tabernakel, I’ve proven that you can do it all at once. And that, I think, is a very good starting point for whatever comes next.

AI Assisted Limericks

The great guitarist Jan Akkerman,

From rock to lute, he'd play the full span.

He played deft-fingered lead,

And was known for his speed,

This masterful, musical Dutchman.

On his record, Taber-nakel,

Jan rock and John Dowland did tackle.

He played lute and guitar,

He took music quite far,

Producing a prog rock spec-tacle.

New Live Album Coming

Former Focus guitarist Jan Akkerman has announced that he will release his latest solo album, My Focus - Live Under The Rainbow through Artone/Music Theories Recordings on December 12.

A live album, My Focus - Live Under The Rainbow was recorded during Akkemran's February tour which saw him and his band playing Bush Hall (London) which I was at, The Fire Station (Sunderland), Philharmonic Hall (Liverpool), Oran Mor (Glasgow), The Met (Bury), The Stables (Wavendon) and The Apex (Bury St. Edmunds), and features some of Focus' classic tunes.

"Live audiences give you the tension and responsibility to be creative, for me, that's the challenge I like," he says. "It's my love to play for people all around the world. I play these songs because my soul and heart are in there. It's a God given talent I have, which makes me feel proud of myself!"

Track listing (vinyl)

Side 1

1. Answers Questions - Questions Answers (Live)
2. Focus 2(Live)
3. Focus 1 (Live)
4. Anonymous (Live)
5. Sylvia (Live)
Side 2

1. Big Sur (Live)
2. Tommy's Anniversary (Live)
3. Pietons (Live)
4. Hocus Pocus (Live)

CD/Digital

Spiritual Privacy
Answers Questions – Questions Answers
Focus 2
Focus 1
Palace Of The King
Anonymous
Big Sur
Tommy’s Anniversary
Piétons
Hocus Pocus
Sylvia

Time Signatures

1 Britannia 4/4

2 Coranto For Mrs. Murcott 4/4
3 The Earl Of Derby, His Galliard 4/4
4 House Of The King 3/4
5 A Galliard (Holborne) 4/4

6 A Galliard (Dowland) 3/4
7 A Pavan (Morley) 4/4
8 Javeh 5/4
9 A Fantasy 4/4
10 Lammy (14:06) 4/4

AI Haiku

ヤン・アッカーマン

 流浪の神殿

The lute strings they twang
Jan's fingers dance like wind
Music fills the air.

Strings whisper secrets,
Akkerman's fingers dance past,
Echoes of the soul.

Melodies unfold,
In the heart of darkness,
Light shines through the notes.

Ancient tales retold,
Each chord a fleeting story,
Time suspended here.

Focus Concert Manchester January 1973

 

Frederick Buldrini and James Buffington

Buffington

As far as I can see Buffington and Buldrini are the only two musicians who managed to be credited both for Tabernakel and Thijs van Leer's own New York album in 1978 Nice to have met you.

Buldrini