Biography – Harry Sacksioni (http://www.harrysacksioni.nl )

Harry Sacksioni’s career as a guitar player starts as an (almost) self-taught player – he did have 2 years of lessons starting at the age of 11 – at the young age of 17 as an oft requested studio musician, where he especially stands out with his recognizable, unique way of playing the acoustic guitar. In 1969 he has his first nightly gig playing guitar for a live audience in the political satire show of Sieto and Marijke Hoving.

Within a year, the native of is asked by (famous Dutch Entertainer) Herman van Veen to assist in his shows. This collaboration lasts for ten years. During this period, a mainstream audience gets to know his versatility, and his fan base, both as a composer and a guitar player, grows steadily.

In 1974, his first solo album entitled HARRY SACKSIONI: GITAAR (HARRY SACKSIONI: GUITAR) is released, with sales of 200,000 copies in The and Belgium it eclipses sales of any previously released acoustic recordings. 1975 marks Harry’s first solo appearance on Dutch TV in the “Van Speyckshow”, as well as a performance in the German “Session” (TV show). In 1976 the “Vensters” (“Windows” or “Window Panes”) is released, the title track of which is recorded for television in 1977 in Antwerp (Belgium) with the “Nationaal Orkest Belgie” (National Belgian Orchestra).

In the same year he produces and arranges the LP “Gift From A Stranger” for the American singer Lucy Steymel; he also is responsible for some of the guitar and piano accompaniments on that album. Also during this time the now world famous Alfred J. Kwak comes to life. For the theater show around the story of Alfred J. Kwak by Herman van Veen, he co-writes parts of the musical score, together with Herman van Veen and Eric van de Wurff. 1978 marks the release of his third album “Om De Hoek” (“Around The Corner”).

Austrian television broadcasts a life solo performance of Harry in 1979. During this time Harry also plays in the Herman van Veen television series “Herman En De Zes” (“Herman And The Six”), a sequel to the earlier series “De wonderlijke avonturen van Herman van Veen” (“The Curious Adventures of Herman van Veen). 1980 Marks the release of Harry’s fourth solo LP “Het dubbelleven van Holle Vijnman” (“The double life of Holle (Hollow) Vijnman”), as well as the LP “Live in Amsterdam” which contains the recording of Harry playing with a large orchestra. A year later he releases his fifth album with the meaningful title “Strikt Persoonlijk” (“Strictly Personal”).

In the end, Harry’s solo career takes off to the point that the collaboration with Herman van Veen becomes unsustainable (1979). Starting in that year and continuing until today, Harry Sacksioni keeps a continuous annual national and international tour schedule, both with his band and as a soloist. Some highlights include the performances in Sportpaleis Antwerpen (Antwerp Sports Venue in Antwerp, Belgium) where he plays as a soloist for 32,000 people in two days, and the “zegetocht” (“triumphal march”) during a short tour with Frank Boeijen and Raymond van het Groenewoud (1994). Among his many television performances the live recording of his performance at the “Koninklijk Theater Carré” (“Royal Theater Carré”) in Amsterdam (1980) is broadcast world wide in 52 countries. The 2003 tour “THE 5 GREAT GUITARS” (in which he appears with 4 other guitar players, each from a different discipline) is so successful in Holland that the show has an encore season in 2005 and 2006. He also produces the live CD of this tour.

In the 2005/2006 he starts his CITY! Program, with as guest stars the funky bass/guitar player Digmon Roovers and the rhythmic all-rounder Sebastiaan Kaptein (percussion/drums).

In the 2007/2008 he starts THE CITY TALENT TOUR program. In each city the tour visits, he allows a local guitar hero to share the stage with him for 20 minutes. In the 2008/2009 season he celebrates his 40th anniversary as a live performer with an extensive solo tour supported by visual materials from his television, movie, and cartoon history under the title DE SACKSIONI METHODE (THE SACKSIONI METHOD).

His CD career by now spans 25 LPs and CDs, many of which have gone Gold, with a large number of titles also released in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. His 1994 CD release “Who’s Pulling The Strings” earns him the highest Dutch musical award, the EDISON.

Many well-known Dutch artists have asked, and continue to ask, Harry to play on their CDs, including: Youp van ‘t Hek, Frank Boeyen, Stef Bos, Jam de Wilde (B = Belgium), Raymond v/h Groenewoud (B), Ramses Shaffy, Henny Vrienten, Herman van Veen and many others. His custom compositions for specific artists are also widely recorded.

His talent as a composer is not solely focused on the guitar, he has also composed music for the Dostojevski play Witte Nachten (White Nights), and for a number of children’s television series such as “De Zesde Class” (“The Sixth Grade”) for IKON television, and together with Herman van Veen and Erik van der Wurff the world renowned Alfred J. Kwak (amongst other: Spetter, Pieter, Pater).

Between 1980 and 1992 he produces a number of cartoons and animated films, and in 1998 he completes his impressive orchestral composition for the ballet program Piste, requisitioned by INTRODANS, which is released on CD. He also composes the music for the daily television quiz show Denktank (Think Tank), which airs for 6 years.

Starting in 2001 he writes and plays almost all music for the advertising campaigns of KWF (Non-profit organization to fight cancer), MLDS (Non-profit in support of Stomach, Liver, Intestinal diseases), Foundation “Mensen in Nood” (Non-profit to support People in Trouble), and the STIVORD foundation (anti-smoking non-profit foundation). In 2003 he writes and produces the theme for the BNN television documentary series The Warzone, with vocals by singer Barry Hay. For the not-for-profit Jantje Beton (a not-for-profit that stands up for children in need, literally Johny Concrete) he writes and produces the music in 2004 for the KIND VAN DE REKENING (CHILD LEFT HOLDING THE BILL, a dutch expression that means “The Innocent Victim”) campaign with vocals by Rob de Nijs.

He’s the founder and publisher of the quarterly “Pulling The Strings” print publication (since 1994) that morphed into an interactive Web magazine in 2007. It contains background information on the world of music, his tours, reviews, as well as his column and his guitar workshops.

Five of his music books have been published, which are very popular with guitar players inside and out of the country. The many requests to explain his extraordinary guitar techniques, which allow him to play multiple parts at once, make him decide to write DE SACKSIONI METHODE (THE SACKSIONI METHOD). This complete finger-style guitar method is released in December 2008, including instructional DVD. The method (400 pages long) is very successful, especially after his explanation (of the method) on the (Dutch) television show De Wereld Draait Door (Double meaning: The World Keeps On Spinning / The World Is Spinning Out Of Control); within ten days of the show, the first printing is sold out. Three months later, the third printing is released, and within a year it’s the best selling guitar teaching method of all times in Holland and Belgium.

In 2001 he again chooses to go against common practice, saying farewell to his record label, and starting his own CUTAWAY CD label. In October of that year he releases his first production for this new label, the live CD HELDEN (HEROES).

In September 2001 the label issues the re-release of his CD OORSPRONG (ORIGIN), in 2003 the self- produced live CD THE 5 GREAT GUITARS, in 2007 the live CD CITY!, and in May of 2009 the three part TIJDGEEST (SPIRIT OF THE TIME or ZEITGEIST) to coincide with his 40th anniversary as a live performer. The three part release consists of the DVD HEART LABOUR which contains an integral recording of a live performance, insights into his many activities, an overview of his musical life, and interviews. The three part set is completed by the CD TIJDGEEST (SPIRIT OF THE TIMES or ZEITGEIST) (containing 16 compositions of his entire body of work, all re-recorded for this release) and his book of anecdotes titled DAT KUNNEN ZE ALLEMAAL WEL ZEGGEN (THEY CAN ALL SAY THAT, a Dutch expression in a sarcastic tone, with the emphasis on ALL, indicating the opposite, or disbelief).

In 2010 his ADRENALINE CD is released. He also starts a solo tour by the same name in Dutch theaters which will run until May 2011.

In May of 2009 he is knighted as a Royal Dutch Knight in the Order of Oranje Nassau (The highest Royal honor bestowed on a citizen by the Queen).

In May of 2010 the Belgian guitar world honors Harry with an homage because “Harry Sacksioni’s music has been sounding for 40 years from the open windows of all Flemish music academies”.

For three months there are Sacksioni contests in Belgium at all music academies, while Harry is teaching master classes, with as the apotheosis in May of that year a concert honoring him in De Singel in Antwerp, including a performance by Harry himself.

Meanwhile in Holland, in October, Harry gets a possibly even bigger honor in the Royal theater Carré in Amsterdam where a homage show is held that include all artists with whom he has shared the stage in the last 40 years, including Herman van Veen, Raymond vh Groenewoud, Leoni Jansen, Freek de Jonge, and Erik Vaarzon Morel. He closes the performance himself with the composition he wrote at the age of 16, which turned out to be the start of a bountiful career: Meta Sequoia.

At the start of October of 2010, the readers of the musical magazine GITARIST (GUITAR PLAYER) elect him with an overwhelming majority as the “Best Acoustic Guitar Player of the Benelux (The combined territory of the countries of Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg)”.

In addition to his many performances, Harry Sacksioni hosts both open and closed guitar workshops, and master classes in music schools and conservatories in many countries, in which he explains his unusual style of playing the guitar: the playing at the same time of an autonomous bass line, the harmony (chords), and the melody line.

A complete and up-to-date overview of Harry Sacksioni can be found at: www.harrysacksioni.nl

Information:

KATOWEE HOLLAND Phone: 011-31-34-460-1748 Fax: 011-31-34-460-4436 [email protected]