Ton Scherpenzeel
Encyclopedia
Ton Scherpenzeel is a keyboardist
and a founding member of the Dutch
rock
band
Kayak
, together with Pim Koopman
and Max Werner
whom he met whilst at the Hilversum Muziek Lyceum (Hilversum College of Music).
His first solo album (1978) was an adaptation of Le carnaval des animaux
by French classical music composer Camille Saint-Saëns
.
In 1980, Ton wrote the score for the Dutch movie Spetters
, featuring Rutger Hauer.
His second solo album, Heart of the Universe (with Chris Rainbow
), came in 1984 and is a combination of instrumental and vocal tracks.
Subsequent to Kayak, Ton became the keyboardist of Camel
, a British band. He also played several years with Earth and Fire
.
He also wrote almost all music for the songs in the shows of Dutch comedian Youp van 't Hek
.
In 1991 Scherpenzeel released his third solo album Virgin Grounds, under the pseudonym
Orion.
In 1998 he played a synth solo on the song "Cosmic Fusion", from Ayreon
's album Into the Electric Castle
, a rock opera
on which Edward Reekers
, also of Kayak, played one of the main roles.
Scherpenzeel has a notable fear of flying, that has limited his touring to the European continent.
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and a founding member of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
Kayak
Kayak (band)
Kayak are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in 1972 in the city Hilversum by Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman. In 1973, their debut album "See See The Sun" was released, including 3 hit singles. Their main popularity was in the Netherlands, with their top hit reaching #6 on the Dutch charts in...
, together with Pim Koopman
Pim Koopman
Wilhelmus Frederikus Koopman was the drummer and percussionist of the Dutch Progressive rock band, Kayak.-Biography:...
and Max Werner
Max Werner
Max Werner was lead singer, drummer and percussionist of the Dutch Progressive rock band Kayak. He co-founded the band along with keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel, guitarist Johan Slager and drummer Pim Koopman in 1972....
whom he met whilst at the Hilversum Muziek Lyceum (Hilversum College of Music).
His first solo album (1978) was an adaptation of Le carnaval des animaux
The Carnival of the Animals
Le carnaval des animaux is a musical suite of fourteen movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The orchestral work has a duration between 22 and 30 minutes.-History:...
by French classical music composer Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
.
In 1980, Ton wrote the score for the Dutch movie Spetters
Spetters
Spetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven.Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to...
, featuring Rutger Hauer.
His second solo album, Heart of the Universe (with Chris Rainbow
Chris Rainbow
Chris Rainbow is a Scottish rock singer and musician who had two minor hit songs, "Give Me What I Cry For" and "Solid State Brain" in the 1970s....
), came in 1984 and is a combination of instrumental and vocal tracks.
Subsequent to Kayak, Ton became the keyboardist of Camel
Camel (band)
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
, a British band. He also played several years with Earth and Fire
Earth and Fire
Earth and Fire were a progressive rock group formed in the Netherlands by brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts. Most popular in the 1970s, Earth and Fire came to produce many chart topping hits in the Dutch pop scene. Though they experienced success in the Netherlands, their music never quite made it...
.
He also wrote almost all music for the songs in the shows of Dutch comedian Youp van 't Hek
Youp van 't Hek
Joseph Jacobus Maria "Youp" van 't Hek is a Dutch comedian and a columnist for NRC Handelsblad.- Biography :Youp was born and raised in the Gooi, a wealthy region to the southeast of Amsterdam. His youth there served as an inspiration for his ironic attitude toward the rich, the successful and all...
.
In 1991 Scherpenzeel released his third solo album Virgin Grounds, under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Orion.
In 1998 he played a synth solo on the song "Cosmic Fusion", from Ayreon
Ayreon
Ayreon is a project by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen.Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica...
's album Into the Electric Castle
Into the Electric Castle
Into the Electric Castle is a progressive metal two-disc album released in 1998 by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen A. Lucassen. It is the third album of his Ayreon project....
, a rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
on which Edward Reekers
Edward Reekers
Edward Reekers is a Dutch singer. Most notable is his work as lead singer for Dutch progressive rock band Kayak.Having been a fan of the band for years, Reekers joined Kayak in 1978. He replaced Max Werner, who became the band's drummer. With Reekers as the new lead singer, Kayak immediately...
, also of Kayak, played one of the main roles.
Scherpenzeel has a notable fear of flying, that has limited his touring to the European continent.
Solo
- Le carnaval des animaux (1978)
- Heart of the Universe (1984)
- Virgin Grounds (1991, under the pseudonym Orion)
studio albums with Kayak
- See See the SunSee See the SunSee see the sun is the first album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. It was originally released in 1973 and reissued with two bonus tracks in 1995....
(1973) - Kayak IIKayak II (album)Kayak II is the second album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. It was originally released in 1974 and reissued with a bonus track in 1995....
(1974) - Royal Bed BouncerRoyal Bed BouncerRoyal Bed Bouncer is the third album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, released in 1975. Their progressive approach from the first two albums was mixed with a more basic pop/rock sound. Nine of the ten songs were written by Ton Scherpenzeel, with Pim Koopman only contributing the instrumental...
(1975) - The Last EncoreThe Last EncoreThe Last Encore is the fourth album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. It was originally released in 1976 and issued on CD in 1995, with a re-release in 2002....
(1976) - Starlight DancerStarlight DancerStarlight Dancer is a 1977 album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. It was produced by Jack Lancaster and Kayak. It was released on the Janus label .-Track Listing :Side 1...
(1977) - Phantom of the NightPhantom of the NightPhantom of the Night is the 6th studio album by Dutch Progressive rock band Kayak. "Ruthless Queen" was released as a single, becoming the bands biggest hit, nearing the top of the charts in The Netherlands....
(1979) - Periscope LifePeriscope LifePeriscope Life is the seventh album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, originally released on LP in 1980. The first CD issue had 2 bonus tracks. In 1998, the album was part of the Double CD 3 Originals...
(1980) - MerlinMerlin (Kayak album)Merlin is the eighth studio album by Dutch band Kayak. The first half of the original LP is a concept-story about Merlin the magician. The second half of the LP is a collection of individual songs....
(1981) - EyewitnessEyewitness (Kayak album)Eyewitness is an album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. The original LP was released in 1981. The album was recorded 'live' in a recording studio, with some overdubs added later. To create a 'live' atmosphere, Kayak fans were invited later to cheer and clap to the already recorded songs...
(1981) ("Live" studio album) - Close to the FireClose to the FireClose To The Fire is a studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, released in 2000. It was a comeback album, the first since their split in 1982. The line-up was almost the same as the one that recorded the album Royal Bed Bouncer in 1975. Only guitarist Johan Slager was not involved...
(2000) - Night VisionNight Vision (Kayak album)Night Vision is a studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, released in 2001. It was the first studio album with singer Bert Heerink. Heerink had joined Kayak in 1999, to help original singer Max Werner on songs from the past that were originally sung by Kayak's second lead singer, Edward...
(2001) - Merlin – Bard of the Unseen (2003)
- Nostradamus – The Fate of Man (2005) (Double CD)
- Coming Up for AirComing Up For Air (Kayak album)Coming Up For Air is a studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. It was released in 2008. The song "Undecided" was a single in The Netherlands, featuring the non-albumtrack "Beat The Clock".- Track listing :...
(2008) - Letters from Utopia (2009)
- Anywhere but HereAnywhere But Here (Kayak album)'Anywhere but here' is the title of the sixteenth studio album of Dutch band Kayak. It is the first album with drummer Hans Eijkenaar. He replaces Pim Koopman, who died in 2009.- Track listing :# "Credible lie"# "November morning"# "Behind the scenes"...
(2011)
with Camel
- Stationary TravellerStationary TravellerStationary Traveller is the 10th studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. Like much of Camel's output, it is a concept album, in this case centering around the trials of East German refugees attempting to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin....
(1984) - Pressure PointsPressure Points (album)Pressure Points: Live in Concert is a live album by progressive rock band Camel, released in 1984.-Side One:#"Pressure Points" – 7:17#"Drafted" – 3:51#"Captured" – 3:02#"Lies" – 5:16#"Sasquatch" – 4:09-Side Two:#"West Berlin" – 5:19...
(1984, live) - Dust and Dreams (1991)
- RajazRajazRajaz is the 13th studio album by Camel, released in 1999. The album's songs have been composed on the camel's walking metre. Praised by fans & critics alike, the album is a return to form.-Track listings:#"Three Wishes" – 6:58...
(1999)
External links
- Camel web site (visited on 2006-03-08)
- Kayak web site (visited on 2006-03-08)
- Earth & Fire web site (visited on 2006-03-08)
- Ayreon
- Camel
- Earth & Fire
- Kayak