Trace was a Dutch

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

trio founded by

Rick van der Linden Rick van der Linden (5 August 1946, Badhoevedorp, North Holland - 22 January 2006, Groningen) was a Dutch composer and keyboardist. Van der Linden first gained fame as a member of Ekseption, but he played in several other bands including most no ...

in 1974 after leaving

Ekseption Ekseption was a Dutch rock band active from 1967 to 1989, playing mostly-instrumental progressive rock and classical rock. The central character in the changing roster, and the only band member present on every album, was conservatory-trained tru ...

. The band was formed in 1971 and released its debut album, "Trace," in 1974. The band's music was characterized by complex arrangements and intricate instrumental work, and their compositions often featured a mix of rock, jazz, and classical influences. Trace released a total of three albums during their career. Trace was fairly popular in Europe, and they gained a loyal following among fans of progressive rock. However, they never achieved widespread commercial success and disbanded in the late 1970s, merging back into Ekseption. Despite this, the band's music has continued to be appreciated by fans of progressive rock.

History

In 1973, after releasing their album entitled ''Trinity,'' the other members of Ekseption asked

to leave the band. At this time Ekseption were quite famous which led

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

, their record-company, to give van der Linden the opportunity to find a new band. In January 1974 van der Linden started rehearsals with Peter de Leeuwe, who had previously played drums with Ekseption. The pair split up again soon after, since van der Linden considered de Leeuwe to be lacking in skill. De Leeuwe was replaced in February by

Pierre van der Linden Pierre van der Linden (born 19 February 1946) is a Dutch drummer, songwriter and member of the band, Focus. Biography Van der Linden was influenced by his childhood hero Buddy Rich. He finds inspiration in French philosophers and classical comp ...

(a second-cousin of Rick), who had left

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

in October, 1973. To complete the trio, Rick asked Jaap van Eik, a self-taught musician considered to be one of the best Dutch bass players, to join the band. Originally named Ace (in the tradition of

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

and

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

to highlight their supergroup status), they had to change the name to Trace when they discovered a British band had already trademarked the name. In May 1974 the trio recorded their first single, a

prog rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

version of

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

's ''Tabu,'' backed by an original theme, ''Progress,'' which saw release in July 1974. On 9 September 1974 the group released its eponymous, first album. Their second album ''Birds'' was released on 1 January 1975, and featured future Marillion drummer

Ian Mosley Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953, Paddington, London, England) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 19 ...

. A third album, ''The White Ladies'', was released in 1976 with Rick van der Linden being supported by all of the former members of Ekseption except trumpeter Rein van den Broek. In 1978 van den Broek rejoined the group, which became Ekseption once again.

Discography

''Trace'' (1974)

Personnel: * Rick van der Linden - keyboards * Jaap van Eik - guitars * Pierre van der Linden - drums

''Birds'' (1975)

Personnel: * Rick van der Linden - keyboards * Jaap van Eik - guitars, vocals * Ian Mosley - drums *

Darryl Way Richard Darryl Way (born 17 December 1948 in Taunton, Somerset, England) is an English rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their Progressive Rock seminal albums from 1970 to 1976. He is best kno ...

- violins * Coen Hoedeman - assorted monkeys All tracks written & arranged by Rick van der Linden except as noted

''The White Ladies'' (1976)

Personnel: * Rick van der Linden - keyboards * Cor Dekker - bass guitar * Peter de Leeuwe - drums, guitars * Dick Remelink - saxes, flute * Hans Jacobse - keyboards * Hetty Smit - vocals * Harry Schäfer - narrator * The Benny Behr Strings conducted by Job Maarse

References

Dutch progressive rock groups Dutch musical trios {{Netherlands-band-stub