Jazz Articles about Javon Jackson

Joanne Brackeen: Popsicle Illusion

by AAJ Staff
August 1, 2000

Joanne Brackeen is an original, that's for sure. And a very talented original, needless to say. Seeming to go her own way in the inspirations for her music, she also goes her own way during a performance. It's as if she sets out with a foundation for a tune, and then anything goes as she builds the structure upon her immovable underpinnings.Take “If I Were A Bell". Legitimized by Miles Davis as a source for jazz improvisation, Brackeen ...

Javon Jackson, et al. / Joanne Brackeen: Thank You, Joe! / Popsicle Illusion

by C. Michael Bailey
July 1, 2000

Several Arkadia discs have made their way to my desk and two releases have finally floated to the top for my attention. Two very fine releases, I might add.

Joe Henderson. Continuing their Grammy(r)-nominated Thank You... series, Arkadia serves up a tribute to the very much alive and recording Joe Henderson. Past Thank You... recordings have highlighted deceased artists and include Thank You, Duke (Duke Ellington, 70003), Thank You, John (John Coltrane, 70002) and Thank You, Gerry (Gerry Mulligan, 71191). ...

Javon Jackson: Pleasant Valley

by John Sharpe
October 1, 1999

Having been tutored in Art Blakey's school of hard bop, it comes as no surprise that Javon Jackson's first albums as a leader were steeped in that idiom. Pleasant Valley, his fifth effort for Blue Note, departs slightly from the hard bop genre and heads into “grooveland." Working with guitarist Dave Stryker, organist Larry Goldings and drummer Billy Drummond, Pleasant Valley recalls the soul-jazz of many a classic organ combo. Unexpectedly, the CD opens with a rather low-key rendition of ...

Javon Jackson: Pleasant Valley

by Jim Santella
August 1, 1999

A solid, dependable and mild-mannered saxophonist, Javon Jackson studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for several years before joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. The saxophonist’s niche in today’s jazz world is filled with solid mainstream vibrations and a caressing respect for the instrument. Jackson’s approach is a bit laid-back, his tone is true, and his articulation serves him well. At 33, the saxophonist is in a position to either branch out or to focus more on that ...

Javon Jackson: Pleasant Valley

by Mark Corroto
July 1, 1999

Javon Jackson’s mission is to make a popular record. Imagine that, a non-smooth jazz release that’s hip enough for dad (a sixties guy), yet catchy enough for radio! Jackson, an Art Blakey and Elvin Jones graduate has a pedigree and a sound on the tenor saxophone that’s somewhere between Gene Ammons and Joe Henderson. At 33, he has played the bebop route, and like Ammons or Stanley Turrentine before him he has chosen to explore soul jazz. His latest, a ...