DD Jackson (musician)

DD Jackson (* 25. January 1967 in Ottawa as Robert Cleanth Kainien Jackson ) is a Canadian jazz - pianist , keyboardist , composer and band leader of the avant-garde jazz .

Live and act

Jackson began taking piano lessons at the age of six. He studied at New York's Manhattan School of Music (jazz) and Indiana University (classical music); he also took lessons from Don Pullen and Jaki Byard . At the beginning of his career as a musician he worked with Billy Bang and in big band projects by David Murray , Kip Hanrahan , Hamiet Bluiett and with the World Saxophone Quartet . Since the mid-1990s, Jackson has recorded a number of albums as the leader of his own formations with musicians such as Murray and Jack DeJohnette , such as the two-part work Paired Down from 1996/97, on which he performed duets with James Carter , Don Byron , Hugh Ragin , Ray Anderson , Murray, Billy Bang and others played. In the album Suite for New York (2003) he musically processed his impressions from September 11, 2001 . Jackson also worked with Bob Weir , a former member of the band Grateful Dead , and with Kip Hanrahan. He also helped his mentor Don Pullen with the completion of the album Earth Eagle First Circle .

As a member of the formation Lehman Engel BMI Musical Theater Workshop he wrote the opera Trudeau : Long March / Shining Path about the former Prime Minister of Canada. With Carl Kissin he wrote the musical comedy Depresses, Depressed . Jackson also worked as a regular writer on Living Jazz on the Down Beat for five years . He lives near New York City .

Jackson uses influences from Thelonious Monk , Don Pullen and Jaki Byard in his personal style and combines tradition and innovation according to Richard Cook and Brian Morton.

Selection discography

Recordings as a leader

• Peace Song ( Justin Time , 1994) with David Murray
• Rhythm Dance (Justin Time, 1995)
• Paired Down Vol 1 & 2 (Justin Time, 1997); Vol. 1 nominated for a Juno Award in 1998
• ... So Far ( RCA Victor , 1999)
• Anthem (RCA Victor, 1999) with James Carter, Jack DeJohnette
• Sigame (Justin Time, 2001)
• Suite for New York (Justin Time, 2003)
• Serenity Song (Justin Time, 2006)
• Live at Freedom of Sound: Solo Piano (2019)

Recordings as a sideman

• Billy Bang: Bang On (Justin Time, 1997)
• Hamiet Bluiett: Same Space (Justin Time, 1997)
• Davis Murray: The Long Goodbye ( DIW , 1990), Creole Project (Enja, 1997), Octet Plays Trane (Justin Time, 1999)
• World Saxophone Quartet: M'Biko (Justin Time, 1998)

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .

Web links

• Homepage of DD Jackson
• Entry via DD Jackson on allaboutjazz.com
• DD Jackson at Allmusic (English)
• DD Jackson at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry (Juno Award)