Robert King 2020

100 Notable Books of 2020: The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review .

Jakko Jakszyk had a life-changing moment when he saw King Crimson playing Watford Town Hall on the 15th July 1971. Hearing the band that night instilled in the 13-year-old Jakko a determination to become a professional musician, setting him off on the road to what has been by any definition a remarkable career. 2020 sees the release of Jakko Jakszyk’s latest solo album, “Secrets & Lies” featuring King Crimson bandmates, Robert Fripp, Gavin Harrison, Tony Levin, and Mel Collins.

King Crimson If there is one group that embodies progressive rock, it is King Crimson. Led by guitar/Mellotron virtuoso Robert Fripp, during its first five years of existence the band stretched both the language and structure of rock into realms of jazz and classical music, all the while avoiding pop and psychedelic sensibilities.

On August 15, 1684, the Sun King’s war against Emperor Leopold I and King Charles II of Spain reached a temporary end. Louis XIV had secured the advantage, and so several influential gentlemen sought to delight His Majesty with extravagant tributes. One of them was the Marquis de Seignelay, who spent the staggering sum of 100,000 livres on illuminations, lavish banquets, and a concert at his Château de Sceaux on a summer evening. In doing so, he sparked a sensation that echoed for years: the Idylle sur la Paix (Idyll on Peace), featuring music by the court composer Lully and poetry by the court poet Racine. The Duke of Richelieu (the great-nephew of the legendary Cardinal) could only remain in second place. He, too, had planned a grand fête at his estate, with music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and the unveiling of an equestrian statue of the king. But the devil lurked in the details, and the Fête never came to pass. Now, 340 years later, the Boston Early Music Festival brings this long-lost vision to life.

Jean Sibelius, original name Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, (born Dec. 8, 1865, Hämeenlinna, Fin.—died Sept. 20, 1957, Järvenpää), Finnish composer, the most noted symphonic composer of Scandinavia.
Sibelius studied at the Finnish Normal School, the first Finnish-speaking school in Russian-held Finland, where he came into contact with Finnish literature and in particular with the Kalevala, the mythological epic of Finland, which remained for him a constant source of inspiration. (Many of his symphonic poems, such as Pohjola’s Daughter [1906] and Luonnotar [1913], drew on this source.) Although intended for a legal career, he soon abandoned his law studies at Helsinki, devoting himself entirely to music. At first he planned to become a violinist. Under the guidance of Martin Wegelius he composed much chamber and instrumental music. He adopted the name Jean, which he used throughout his professional career in preference to his baptismal names. In his mid-20s he left Finland to continue his studies in Berlin and Vienna, where his teachers included the composers Robert Fuchs and Karl Goldmark.

Adding a very different kind of atmosphere in a King Crimson gig, this piece written by Robert performs a similar function to the ‘vectoring’ undertaken by the 2000 - 2003 iteration of the band. Following Tony’s introduction and Mel’s initial statement of the theme, it’s doubled by Jakko on flute. On this occasion at Brighton, Robert’s twinkling notes and drifting layers would have led directly into The Letters.