Ekseption

In their eight year existence, Ekseption came as close as any group from the European continent ever did to stealing the thunder of early classical-rock outfits such as the Nice and rivaling the early work of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. In Holland they charted singles based on classical compositions and released successful concept albums, and were -- along with Focus -- the top progressive rock band in the Dutch-speaking world. The group's roots actually go back to 1958 and a Haarlem-based band called the Jokers, formed by Hans Alta (bass), Tim Griek (drums), Rein van den Broek (trumpet), and Huib van Kampen (guitar, saxophone), who specialized in covers of American rock 'n' roll. They changed their name in 1966 to the Incrowd, playing a mix of rock 'n' roll and r&b with a heavy jazz influence, and underwent some membership shifts around this time -- Rob Kruisman joined as a singer who also doubled on guitar, flute, and saxophone, but much more telling was the group's sharing a bill with the Occasional Swing Combo; Rick van der Broek was impressed with the playing of that group's keyboardman, Rick van der Linden, a conservatory-trained musician who also composed music. After playing together in an informal jam session, van der Broek invited van der Linden into the band. After a year of working as the Incrowd, the band was notified that another Dutch group had a prior claim on the name, and they had to change their name once again -- they finally settled on Ekseption. More personnel changes took place -- with Tim Griek (who later produced Brainbox's self-titled debut album) and original Jokers founder Hans Alta having been replaced by drummer Peter de Leeuwe and bassist Cor Dekker, respectively. More than the group's name or membership was in transition at the time,...