Jakko M Jakszyk had an unusual upbringing. His mother was an Irish singer, Peggy Curran; his father an American airman that Peggy has always refused to identify. The baby was born in London and named Michael Lee Curran. At the age of 18 months, Michael was adopted by a refugee couple who met and settled in London after the Second World War. His adoptive parents were Norbert Jakszyk, who was Polish, and his wife, Camille, who was French. Neither parent was a native English speaker.

There was a lot of confusion — English was second language for both of them, so although I could understand them both, they often couldn’t understand each other — it led to all sorts of daft misunderstandings and rows.

Jakko Jakszyk in an interview for Sound On Sound, October 1997

The boy Michael grew up to be the highly successful musician, Jakko M Jakszyk. His early influences range from pop to progressive rock and on to jazz fusion artists, particularly Allan Holdsworth, Henry Cow, King Crimson and Hatfield and the North. Since then, he has been associated with many others that have appeared in these pages, including the bands Dizrhythmia, Level 42 and Japan. But Jakko is best known as the guitarist and vocalist of King Crimson, and as a solo artist.

Jakszyk compositions are categorised here as “universal appeal”. I don’t mean the bland “easy listening” style popular in the ’50s. Here we have a bang up-to-date blend of 2020s pop, rock and jazz that just sits easily on the ear. Like the seasoned producer that he is, Jakko has a knack of finding just the right textures for the song – an acoustic guitar, a wooden flute, or a cello perhaps, peeping out from behind piano chords or synthesised strings. Each and every track on the album warms and caresses the soul of the listener.

There’s a quiet, but gloomy sentiment running through the Son of Glen album. The lyrics often reflect on father/son relationships. It is as if Jakko is remembering when he was 16 and his adoptive father kicked him out of the family home, only to be reconciled many years later. Is ‘Glen’ another name for ‘Norbert’? It’s hard to tell.