What truly is progressive music? Each month BraveWords will aim to dissect that answer with a thorough overview of the current musical climate that is the prog world. Old and new, borrowed and blue. A musical community without borders. So watch for a steady and spaced-out array of features, current news and a buyer’s guide checklist to enhance the forward-thinking musical mind. So, welcome to BraveWords’ monthly column appropriately titled, Between A Rock In A Prog Place.
In this month’s column, former King Crimson singer/guitarist, Jakko Jakszyk, discusses his new solo album, Son Of Glen and the current state of prog rock.
Let’s discuss the new album, Son Of Glen. From what I understand, it’s a companion piece to your book, “Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair”?
I don’t know if you know anything about the book or my life, but it’s a complicated tale. It’s not just a kind of rock and roll memoir of all the stuff I’ve done musically, it’s also about a kind of search for identity. And I was adopted as a kid, so I grew up in England, but I had a Polish adoptee as my father and a French mother, and I found my real mum in the 1980s. Turned out she was quite a famous singer in Ireland. In the ’50s, she fronted one of the big Irish show bands. And I eventually found my real father about four years ago, after all that time of not knowing, and it turned out he was an American airman based in England and had met this dark haired Irish singer.
And so, that was kind of weird. I’ve got half siblings in the south, and my mum ended up in Arkansas, and lots of what she told me were lies. I was told I had a full sister – turns out, we found out after she died that actually it was a half-sister. And that my mum had had six children by four different fathers. And so I eventually found out who my father was, and found a picture of him, and it just blew me away. And his name was Glen. That’s why the album’s called Son Of Glen. And I also found out that he died aged 36 in 1973, so there’s that connection with the book, where I tell this story about, who are any of us? We are the product of a place and a time as well as genetic information. And so there’s that constantly changing thing about when I eventually spoke to this new sibling, who was one of the kids my father had after he’d gone back to America, and she said very sweetly that her mother, my dad’s widow, ‘Had he known about you, we’d have happily brought you up.’ And then you think, ‘Okay, so then I would have been a kid brought up in in Madison County in Wisconsin, whose dad died when he was 14.’ Well, who would I be then? Almost certainly wouldn’t have been in King Crimson.
And it’s that whole thing of how much of who is innately who we are, and its nature nurture. So the book had that, that subtext. And the record label had taken up the option to do another album, and I’d kind of been doing bits and pieces. But then when I finished the book and the book came out, and my girlfriend at the time was incredibly encouraging and came up with this idea about this fantasy of, ‘Maybe your dad has been watching over you throughout this whole period,’ this fantasy idea. So that’s where the title track started. And then then it just became…because I’d opened up all those wounds and those scars and had immersed myself in that whole story. Then then it kind of became reflected in the album. So the album ended up being this kind of touching on parts of my story growing up. And there’s the Irish element of it. So, that’s inarticulately and approximately what the record is about.
Who is the woman on the album’s cover?
Her name is Louise Patricia Crane, and she made a fantastic album last year called Netherworld. People should check that out. It’s a really great record and really interesting and expansive.
What do you recall about the writing and recording of the title track?
Well, once this idea that we’ve discussed kind of came up this – this conceptual idea of, ‘What about a fantasy?’ Because the girl I was seeing was this beautiful Irish singer, too. So there was this kind of parallel – ‘Oh, this is exactly what my dad did.’ So it was the exploration of that. And it started on an acoustic guitar. And my two kids play as well, but they’re into all sorts of weird tunings, and it’s not something I’ve ever really gone into. And I picked up a guitar and I had no idea what the tuning was, and I came up with this initial acoustic part. And then it just kept developing. And then it ended up as this 10 minute epic, going through all these different sections. And it seemed to take, you know, those moments where it seems to take on a life of its own, where you stop feeling like you’re writing it and it’s driving you to create this thing. And I kind of demoed it up, and I played it to Gavin Harrison, who’s been one of my oldest pals, and was the drummer in Crimson with me. But, but I’ve worked with him since the early 80s. And he really liked it, and offered to play on it. And then that just brought the whole thing to life. And then my son plays bass on the album.
What do you think about the current state of prog rock?
The honest answer is I don’t really know. I don’t really listen to that. What little I have heard is there seems to be this thing, as someone that grew up with that music, there were people from all different kind of musical backgrounds that came together. And as a result of all of these disparate influences, they came up with this unique thing. Whereas the modern stuff is referential. It’s referring to the music they made. It seems to me, I mean, I’m making a sweeping generalization. My son, having young kids, there are bands that he’s introduced me to, that I would never have heard otherwise. There’s an English band called Everything Everything, who I think are really interesting and progressive in their own way. And there’s a band he likes called Black Midi. And that sounds different to me than the thing I think you’re alluding to, which is these bands that are definitely directly influenced by that stuff, and are kind of referencing that. Whereas at the time, it was as a result of bands like Gentle Giant – the keyboard player had been studying Elizabethan music at the Royal Academy. And you can hear that, which makes them rather unique.
Prog metal greats Dream Theater have announced the latest leg of their world tour in support of their album, Parasomnia, which will hit the US from September 5 through October 25. The 2026 edition of Cruise to the Edge has been announced, which will take place from March 4-9, 2025, and yes, tickets are already available for purchase.
Another upcoming prog performance of interest will be the 2025 edition of Progject, which runs from July 10-19, and will feature Mike Keneally, Ryo Okumoto, and Alessandro Del Vecchio, among other prog players. A collaboration between Marillion’s Steve Rothery and Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning, entitled Bioscope, will be issuing their debut LP Gentō, out August 22, and their first single, “Kaleidoscope,” can be enjoyed below.
Puerto Rican prog metallists Moths will be issuing a new LP on August 1st, Septem, and you can dine on their lead-off single/video, “Gluttony,” below. Described as a ‘progressive punk band,’ Darko will be using a new EP on July 18, entitled Canvas.
Royal Sorrow have unveiled a new single and video, “Give In,” which can be enjoyed by by clicking here. Norwegian progressive rockers AVKRVST will be issuing their latest album, Waving At The Sky, on June 13, and recently issued a video for the LP’s second single, “The Trauma”.
June 6
Phase Transition- In Search Of Being
Nad Sylvian- Monumentata
Tangerine Dream- The Pink Years Albums, 1970-73
Various Artists- High in the Morning: British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1973
Various Artists- Magic Power: All Star Tribute To Triumph
June 13
AVKRVST- Waving At The Sky
June 20
Various Artists- Shining On: Pink Floyd Tribute Collection
June 27
Jakko Jakszyk- Son Of Glen
Greg Lake- Live
Anthony Phillips- Radio Clyde 1978 [reissue]
Jakko Jakszyk did a jolly good job providing vocals and guitar during his stint with King Crimson from 2013-2021. And if you don’t believe us, then feel free to consult this rendition of the Crimson classic, “Starless,” from what may very well be the group’s last-ever performance, on December 8, 2021 at Orchard Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The post Between A Rock And A Prog Place: JAKKO JAKSZYK – “It Ended Up As This 10 Minute Epic…” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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In this month’s column, former King Crimson singer/guitarist, Jakko Jakszyk, discusses his new solo album, Son Of Glen and the current state of prog rock.
Let’s discuss the new album, Son Of Glen. From what I understand, it’s a companion piece to your book, “Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair”?
I don’t know if you know anything about the book or my life, but it’s a complicated tale. It’s not just a kind of rock and roll memoir of all the stuff I’ve done musically, it’s also about a kind of search for identity. And I was adopted as a kid, so I grew up in England, but I had a Polish adoptee as my father and a French mother, and I found my real mum in the 1980s. Turned out she was quite a famous singer in Ireland. In the ’50s, she fronted one of the big Irish show bands. And I eventually found my real father about four years ago, after all that time of not knowing, and it turned out he was an American airman based in England and had met this dark haired Irish singer.
And so, that was kind of weird. I’ve got half siblings in the south, and my mum ended up in Arkansas, and lots of what she told me were lies. I was told I had a full sister – turns out, we found out after she died that actually it was a half-sister. And that my mum had had six children by four different fathers. And so I eventually found out who my father was, and found a picture of him, and it just blew me away. And his name was Glen. That’s why the album’s called Son Of Glen. And I also found out that he died aged 36 in 1973, so there’s that connection with the book, where I tell this story about, who are any of us? We are the product of a place and a time as well as genetic information. And so there’s that constantly changing thing about when I eventually spoke to this new sibling, who was one of the kids my father had after he’d gone back to America, and she said very sweetly that her mother, my dad’s widow, ‘Had he known about you, we’d have happily brought you up.’ And then you think, ‘Okay, so then I would have been a kid brought up in in Madison County in Wisconsin, whose dad died when he was 14.’ Well, who would I be then? Almost certainly wouldn’t have been in King Crimson.
And it’s that whole thing of how much of who is innately who we are, and its nature nurture. So the book had that, that subtext. And the record label had taken up the option to do another album, and I’d kind of been doing bits and pieces. But then when I finished the book and the book came out, and my girlfriend at the time was incredibly encouraging and came up with this idea about this fantasy of, ‘Maybe your dad has been watching over you throughout this whole period,’ this fantasy idea. So that’s where the title track started. And then then it just became…because I’d opened up all those wounds and those scars and had immersed myself in that whole story. Then then it kind of became reflected in the album. So the album ended up being this kind of touching on parts of my story growing up. And there’s the Irish element of it. So, that’s inarticulately and approximately what the record is about.
Who is the woman on the album’s cover?
Her name is Louise Patricia Crane, and she made a fantastic album last year called Netherworld. People should check that out. It’s a really great record and really interesting and expansive.
What do you recall about the writing and recording of the title track?
Well, once this idea that we’ve discussed kind of came up this – this conceptual idea of, ‘What about a fantasy?’ Because the girl I was seeing was this beautiful Irish singer, too. So there was this kind of parallel – ‘Oh, this is exactly what my dad did.’ So it was the exploration of that. And it started on an acoustic guitar. And my two kids play as well, but they’re into all sorts of weird tunings, and it’s not something I’ve ever really gone into. And I picked up a guitar and I had no idea what the tuning was, and I came up with this initial acoustic part. And then it just kept developing. And then it ended up as this 10 minute epic, going through all these different sections. And it seemed to take, you know, those moments where it seems to take on a life of its own, where you stop feeling like you’re writing it and it’s driving you to create this thing. And I kind of demoed it up, and I played it to Gavin Harrison, who’s been one of my oldest pals, and was the drummer in Crimson with me. But, but I’ve worked with him since the early 80s. And he really liked it, and offered to play on it. And then that just brought the whole thing to life. And then my son plays bass on the album.
What do you think about the current state of prog rock?
The honest answer is I don’t really know. I don’t really listen to that. What little I have heard is there seems to be this thing, as someone that grew up with that music, there were people from all different kind of musical backgrounds that came together. And as a result of all of these disparate influences, they came up with this unique thing. Whereas the modern stuff is referential. It’s referring to the music they made. It seems to me, I mean, I’m making a sweeping generalization. My son, having young kids, there are bands that he’s introduced me to, that I would never have heard otherwise. There’s an English band called Everything Everything, who I think are really interesting and progressive in their own way. And there’s a band he likes called Black Midi. And that sounds different to me than the thing I think you’re alluding to, which is these bands that are definitely directly influenced by that stuff, and are kind of referencing that. Whereas at the time, it was as a result of bands like Gentle Giant – the keyboard player had been studying Elizabethan music at the Royal Academy. And you can hear that, which makes them rather unique.
Between A Rock And A Prog Place News Blast
Prog metal greats Dream Theater have announced the latest leg of their world tour in support of their album, Parasomnia, which will hit the US from September 5 through October 25. The 2026 edition of Cruise to the Edge has been announced, which will take place from March 4-9, 2025, and yes, tickets are already available for purchase.
Another upcoming prog performance of interest will be the 2025 edition of Progject, which runs from July 10-19, and will feature Mike Keneally, Ryo Okumoto, and Alessandro Del Vecchio, among other prog players. A collaboration between Marillion’s Steve Rothery and Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning, entitled Bioscope, will be issuing their debut LP Gentō, out August 22, and their first single, “Kaleidoscope,” can be enjoyed below.
Puerto Rican prog metallists Moths will be issuing a new LP on August 1st, Septem, and you can dine on their lead-off single/video, “Gluttony,” below. Described as a ‘progressive punk band,’ Darko will be using a new EP on July 18, entitled Canvas.
Royal Sorrow have unveiled a new single and video, “Give In,” which can be enjoyed by by clicking here. Norwegian progressive rockers AVKRVST will be issuing their latest album, Waving At The Sky, on June 13, and recently issued a video for the LP’s second single, “The Trauma”.
June 2025 New Albums
June 6
Phase Transition- In Search Of Being
Nad Sylvian- Monumentata
Tangerine Dream- The Pink Years Albums, 1970-73
Various Artists- High in the Morning: British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1973
Various Artists- Magic Power: All Star Tribute To Triumph
June 13
AVKRVST- Waving At The Sky
June 20
Various Artists- Shining On: Pink Floyd Tribute Collection
June 27
Jakko Jakszyk- Son Of Glen
Greg Lake- Live
Anthony Phillips- Radio Clyde 1978 [reissue]
Classic Clip
Jakko Jakszyk did a jolly good job providing vocals and guitar during his stint with King Crimson from 2013-2021. And if you don’t believe us, then feel free to consult this rendition of the Crimson classic, “Starless,” from what may very well be the group’s last-ever performance, on December 8, 2021 at Orchard Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The post Between A Rock And A Prog Place: JAKKO JAKSZYK – “It Ended Up As This 10 Minute Epic…” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
