Newark
Star Ledger
Friday,
July 25, 2003
By Zan Stewart
Star-Ledger Staff
"I'm
just trying to find a center
that feels good," says
tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson.
"All the guys that I
love, Sonny Rollins, John
Coltrane, Gene Ammons, they
feel good, and the music on
this record speaks to that."
The
West Orange-based Jackson
is talking about his just-out
CD, Easy
Does It (Palmetto),
which takes him into a new
area. It's a mix of funk,
R&B and jazz tunes that
is more about feeling than
anything else. Some of the
tunes, like the ballad "Diane,"
come at you in a subtle way.
Others, like "House Party,"
can get you up and dancing.
"I
wanted to make something that
felt good, that presented
a happy atmosphere,"
says Jackson.
Jackson
appears Thursday through Aug.
2 at the Jazz Standard in
Manhattan with his Split Second
band, featuring the Hammond
B-3 organ. On the record,
Dr. Lonnie Smith is the organist;
at the Jazz Standard, Sam
Yahel will fill that chair.
Two other long-time colleagues
of Jackson's -- drummer Lenny
White and Jersey City-based
guitarist Mark Whitfield --
recorded the CD and will be
performing.
"I
enjoyed making this record,
playing in this emotionally
direct way," says Jackson,
37, a native of Carthage,
Mo., who grew up in Denver
and has been living in New
Jersey since 1998. "And
Lenny, Sam and Mark play more
from what they hear than what
they know, and that gives
us more options. As a group,
we're taking chances, seeing
what comes out. That's a great
experience for me."
Jackson
came into prominence through
his 1987-90 tenure with Art
Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
Later came appearances with
another drum master, Elvin
Jones, the trumpet great Freddie
Hubbard and bass ace Ron Carter.
He's made several albums as
a leader. His A-1 "Pleasant
Valley" (Blue Note, 1999),
employed his occasional sideman,
West Orange guitarist Dave
Stryker, as well as organist
Larry Goldings.
"Organ
allows me to go a lot of different
directions," says Jackson.
"I can play soul, jazz,
ballads, rock, a funk groove.
And I like the way my tenor
matches the organ."
Jackson
knew by age 12 that he wanted
to be a professional musician.
His father took him to see
Duke Ellington, played him
records by Sonny Stitt. Studying
saxophonists like Stitt, Ammons,
Coltrane, Joe Henderson and
Rollins rooted Jackson in
music's fundamentals. "That
gives you the confidence to
take more chances," he
says.
Playing
with Blakey, after three years
at the Berklee College of
Music in Boston, was primary
to everything he's accomplished,
Jackson says.
"It
gave me confidence, professionalism,
leadership abilities, seriousness,"
he says. "Without him,
I wouldn't be where I am today.
It was through Art that I
met most of the guys I worked
with -- Elvin, Freddie. I
grew up in his band. He turned
me into a man."
Asked
what he likes about playing,
Jackson says, "It's the
unknown." He laughs.
"You have to (offer)
your emotions and thought
process. It's a real challenge
to get (at) what's inside
you so that people can feel
it. Music gives you the greatest
feeling -- you do what you
love to do, something you'd
do for free." |
