Ode to a Guitarist

It rained in the middle of summer when world guitarist Jan Akkerman played music in Damascus last August. “I brought rain with me,” the charismatic musician told me one recent afternoon. Remember the awkward rain showers that wetted the Damascene Citadel during the last Jazz festival last year? That was the day Akkerman was scheduled to play tunes that rock the soul with his band of musicians, including seasoned Dutch bassist Wilbrand Meischke. They not only defied the awkward weather by going on stage as scheduled, they also ended up questioning long standing stereotypes about Syria and the Arab World.  
 

I met Jan Akkerman in Amman right after his Syria tour last year. Being half Syrian, I was too eager to find out whether Damascus left an impression on Akkerman, a spiritual impression. After a few days of very intense conversations about the Sufi tradition in Damascus, the kind people of Syria and the unusual hospitability of the Arabs, Jan Akkerman went on stage before an audience of 500 people in Amman and made a spine-tingling announcement. I cannot remember the exact words… he said that during his last visit to Syria he found out the Western media has been wronging Syria and the people of Syria with the way it portrayed them. “I will take this revelation back home with me,” he continued.

Akkerman is a musician who gets “involved;” he does not judge things from a detached point in existence but rather becomes one with the new experience that presents itself. Although not politically inclined, Akkerman admitted his last visit to Syria and Jordan created a great paradigm shift in this man’s relationship with this part of the world, the Levant, the mysterious Orient.

“From what I gathered is that the Western media has a very twisted and manipulated opinion about the Arabian world,” he said in a recent email. “I have full faith in the spiritual aspect of Music… Music will always touch common ground with people who want to hear a fresh view upon things, or even one that adds another dimension to the existing way of looking at things.” 

A musician of legendary fame, Jan Akkerman handles music the way a Sufi handles his Quran; with great respect and belief in the spiritual origin of music. His existential thoughts permeate his guitar solos, and his thoughts about humanity transcend any stereotype rolled out by the media machine. He does not see people as flat, two or three dimensional creatures, who can be summarized or sealed in a can of definitions. For him an Arab man is not just an Arab man, he’s a mystery waiting to be unfolded and an existence much larger than words can describe.

“When I look in the mirror in the morning, I don’t see a Dutchman or an Arab or Syrian or a Black guy or a Chinese or a label, or content or a brand. People are something far more mysterious than that, and when I look a bit further in the mirror sometimes the question that pops up is: ‘Who are you??!’ And next comes: ‘Well, I might not know you, but I’m going to shave you!’” 

A captivating Dutchman who takes people’s breaths away both by his music and presence, he happens to be humble yet very serious and meticulous about his needs. His band play and joke around him, but you can tell there are certain lines they cannot cross, especially when it is rehearsal time. They know they are playing with a man whose name has for sometime eclipsed world-acclaimed musicians like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck as the world’s top guitarist.

Now on a very busy world tour, Akkerman is not worried about making millions from his music and records; he’s in it for the passion. One thing he said one sunny afternoon is: “Music bows to one lord only. It’s either God or money!” This might sound like Akkerman is a missionary kind of guy, he’s not. He’s a well-built, cool-looking, shade-wearing, beer-drinking man who is in love with God above all religious labels and doctrines, or so I saw him.

“God has given me the gift of music and that’s totally for free,” he said. “Actually there is a difference between ‘for free’ and ‘for nothing.’ It’s like when someone goes to school and learns something and that’s for free. Another goes to school and learns nothing. One has to work a bit harder in order to appreciate the gift because the Lord didn’t give it to you for nothing.”  

Akkerman & experimentation  

Dutch guitar player Jan Akkerman (1946) has worked with many different musicians like BB King, Charlie Byrd, Cozy Powell, Claus Ogerman and Ice-T. He is a former member of international acclaimed bands such as Brainbox and Focus. With more than a dozen solo records that show his versatile playing techniques, Akkerman is known for having no boundaries or limitations; a true free soul. Akkerman is also known for exploring new musical flavors by combining elements of rock, jazz, blues, classical or modern dance music and give those his own signature. 
  
Ruba Saqr is associate editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine and an award-winning singer-songwriter from Jordan, and of Syrian roots.