Author:akko M Jakszyk
This autobiography tells the story of Jakko Jakszyk, familiar to most through his membership of King Crimson and before that the Crimson playing ensemble of previous members (sans Robert Fripp). Maybe you know him as a touring member of Level 42 or as a technical mastermind for Jethro Tull reissues? As we learn through the book, there is much more to his CV than that. There is clearly no ghost writer here – you get the feeling Jakko is talking to you directly as he starts at his birth and moves through his childhood. We quickly learn that he was adopted, an event which goes on to shape the rest of his life. He is self-effacing to a fault throughout, constantly underplaying his achievements and putting them down to luck and being open and frank about his many false starts and dead ends.
As a teenager he discovers the theatre as an outlet for his bubbling creativity, gaining an Equity card at an early age and throughout his career this thespian dimension pops up and down as the vagaries of the music business wax and wane. He gets steady work as writer and performer behind the scenes as well as in various productions on stage, TV and radio. I was surprised that “a guitarist” had such a varied and interesting side to his career.
And what a career. Gravitating quickly to the proggy end of things after hearing King Crimson at age 13 he picks up the guitar and swiftly achieves levels of expertise which give him the confidence to knock on Allan Holdsworth’s door and ask for a few tips. Allan agrees, probably unable to resist such youthful chutzpah. He plays in numerous bands, some where he is involved in their formation, some as a side man or as a solo act. Along the way he meets numerous more famous people from Kate Bush to Uri Geller and the Dalai Lama and it seems inevitable that eventually he ends up in the real King Crimson. In an early rehearsal, despite woodshedding for hours, he makes a mistake and looks fearfully at the forbidding figure of Robert Fripp who beams and says “relax, this isn’t an audition, you’ve already got the gig.” Jakko reveals that notorious hard task masters such as Fripp and Ian Anderson (Jakko achieves the impossible by syncing video from one gig with the audio from another for a JT box set) are actually pussy cats – “as long as you are dedicated and quite brilliant”, we say to ourselves.
His adoption features throughout the book as he learns about his biological family and deals with the reality of meeting them in the era of lockdown and Trump, along with coming to terms with the scars he has carried throughout his life. Suffice it to say that by the final line there was dust in my living room.
There are no great philosophical insights, and certainly no “groupies and blow” revelations. This is an interesting life story told plainly and well, as if you were talking across the table in the pub. I enjoyed it very much and like him as a result, not having known anything about him before I read it.
Watching the King Crimson at 50 documentary the Jakko I see there and the one in the book are perfectly consistent. The interviewer asks him “What makes you unique as a musician?” Jakko replies “Luck.” Interviewer tries again. “But do you feel you’re standing in some very long shadows?” to be drowned out by Fripp in the background shouting “That’s a terrible question. He’s talking utter shite. Jakko is standing in no one’s shadow. He is a towering giant in his own field.”
We have to agree.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Music biog. Anyone interested in his chosen domain.
One thing you’ve learned
Hard work and perseverance pays, and being really talented helps too!
Blimey
I doubt that I’ll enjoy another book as much as this one for quite some time. It’s also really funny in places – the story about him recommending a shoe shop to Michael Jackson is hilarious.
At the end, I want to give him a big hug and say: it’s ok Jakko, you did it, lots of people love you.
Yes I felt the same way!
Goodonyer Bob Fripp, I say.