Jan Akkerman › C.U. (Import)

Personnel: Jan Akkerman (guitar); Jeroen Rietbergen (keyboards, programming); Wilbrand Meischke (bass guitar); Michel Van Schie (drums, programming); Ronald Molendijk (programming).

On his first outing since 2000, Amsterdam's best-known guitarist, Jan Akkerman, issues a smooth electric jazz date full of twists and turns with material that ranges from a slinky funk cover of the Isley Brothers' "In Between the Sheets" to the full-on house music of "Urbanstring." It's an unfocused batch of tunes to be sure, but the thing that holds them together is Akkerman's trademark spare, single-string style that never gets in the way of the groove. It's hard to point out what might have compelled him to make this record, but fans will delight in it nonetheless. ~ Thom Jurek

Genre:

• Funk

Music Categories:

• R&B: Funk