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D.D. Jackson

D.D. Jackson is an award-winning jazz pianist/composer whose work spans 12 CD’s as leader or co-leader (including two for the major label RCA Victor/BMG) featuring almost entirely original material. His most recent CDs are Serenity Song (2006 Justin Time), Suite for New York (2003 Justin Time) (a meditation on the events of 9/11), and Sigame, a Latin-tinged work featuring drummer extraordinaire Dafnis Prieto. A member of the prestigious Lehman Engel BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, Jackson's theatre work includes an upcoming opera entitled Trudeau: Long March/ Shining Path on the former Canadian Prime Minister and the musical-comedy “Depressed, Depressed” written with Chicago City Limits veteran Carl Kissin. Jackson performs all over the world with his groups and has also appeared and recorded with some of the most distinguished names in jazz including saxophonists David Murray and drummer Jack Dejohnette. He is also an accomplished classical pianist and recently released a recording of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on Summit Records. Jackson also writes a regular column for Downbeat magazine entitled “Living Jazz” and maintains  the related “D.D. Jackson Living Jazz Podcast”. For more on D.D., visit ddjackson.com

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2
Play This!

D.D. Jackson: I Call

Read "D.D. Jackson: I Call" reviewed by John Chacona


"I Call," is a poem about the immigrant's dilemma of identifying with two places but fully inhabiting neither, using the refrain, “a place that doesn't exist" to name this condition. Yet Quebec-born Toronto poet Choucri Paul Zemokhol's family came to Canada from the Middle East, a place that, even in the interval since the poem's publication in 2009, doesn't exist, metaphorically or in fact. On Poetry Project (Self Produced, 2024) D.D. Jackson's setting begins in a swirl of piano before ...

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Radio & Podcasts

D. D. Jackson, Asher Gamedze & Caroline Davis

Read "D. D. Jackson, Asher Gamedze & Caroline Davis" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


A big “welcome back" to pianist D.D. Jackson who's not been heard much on recordings for the last several years. He returned to his native Canada to make Poetry Project, inspired by a commission received during the pandemic to compose music for a poem written by former poet laureate George Elliott Clarke. That led to Clarke creating a curated list of other Canadian poetry for D.D. to set to music. Also featured in this episode, South African drummer Asher Gamedze's ...

197
Download Review

D.D. Jackson: Unreleased Live Performances

Read "D.D. Jackson: Unreleased Live Performances" reviewed by Mark Sabbatini


D.D. Jackson Unreleased live performances ddjackson.com

D.D. Jackson is truly one of jazz's good guys, which just makes it harder saying anything negative about this collection of unreleased live songs available as free downloads at his web site.

But while he gets high marks for performance, the imperfections--due mostly to sound quality often resembling a mediocre audience bootleg tape--can't be ignored.

Jackson is an elite modern pianist whose range ...

189
Album Review

D.D. Jackson: Suite For New York

Read "Suite For New York" reviewed by Nic Jones


The musical evocation of New York is nothing new. Julius Hemphill and Laura Nyro have done it before, and for all of the dissimilarities between their works their powers of evocation leave Jackson with a lot to live up to. He does so here with aplomb, producing music with no modest personality of its own. His is the only work of the three to appear in the wake of the events of 9/11, though these events have little overt influence ...

114
Album Review

D.D. Jackson: Sigame

Read "Sigame" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Pianist D.D. Jackson has covered a lot of ground in his seven records as a leader. During this process of evolution, he moved from the powerfully warm sound of his first disc, Peace-Song (a true masterpiece), through signature efforts in solo, duo, trio, and sextet settings. Jackson's piano playing draws heavily upon blues, soul, and gospel roots while exercising a strong sense of modern adventurism. A student of the late Don Pullen, Jackson retains elements of Pullen's characteristic style: for ...

123
Album Review

D.D. Jackson: Sigame

Read "Sigame" reviewed by Jim Santella


D.D. Jackson's piano trio opens his latest album with a down-home flavor. Laid back and wholesome, the piece forms an instant association with Ray Charles. Jackson's improvisation, however, moves off into a different, desired direction. More adventurous than most, the pianist stretches his blues tinge across the keyboard in favor of dynamic inflection. All the compositions are Jackson's. His impressionism runs from one continent to another throughout history, and retains a highly romantic mood. It's an acoustic session. As the ...

109
Album Review

D.D. Jackson: Sigame

Read "Sigame" reviewed by Jim Santella


D.D. Jackson's piano trio opens his latest album with a down-home flavor. Laid back and wholesome, the piece forms an instant association with Ray Charles. Jackson's improvisation, however, moves off into a different, desired direction. More adventurous than most, the pianist stretches his blues tinge across the keyboard in favor of dynamic inflection. All the compositions are Jackson's. His impressionism runs from one continent to another throughout history, and retains a highly romantic mood. It's an acoustic session. As the ...

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3
Festival

PJ Morton, Will Downing, Paul Jackson Jr, Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp, Tito Puente Jr, Maysa & More At The 6th Annual Dymally Jazz Festival

PJ Morton, Will Downing, Paul Jackson Jr, Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp, Tito Puente Jr, Maysa & More At The 6th Annual Dymally Jazz Festival

Source: Daryl Sweeney

The 6th Annual Dymally International Jazz & Arts Festival is being held at Dignity Health Sports Park on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills on April 26th, 2025 with two stages, a visual arts pavillion and specialty retail and food vendors. The event is set to please jazz lovers from around the globe. The festival is co-produced by Rainbow Promotions, producers of the Long Beach and San Diego Jazz Festivals. This year's festival lineup will include Grammy Winner ...

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Award / Grant

Saxophonist/Composer Javon Jackson And Poet Nikki Giovanni Nominated For NAACP Image Award In 'Outstanding Jazz Album' Category

Saxophonist/Composer Javon Jackson And Poet Nikki Giovanni Nominated For NAACP Image Award In 'Outstanding Jazz Album' Category

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies, a collaboration between the groundbreaking poet and activist Nikki Giovanni and saxophonist/composer Javon Jackson, has been nominated for a 56th NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Jazz Album. Recognized as the nation’s preeminent multicultural awards show from an African American point of view, the NAACP Image Awards celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances in the arts, as well as individuals and groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors. The ...

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Recording

Yes! Trio: with Ali Jackson, Aaron Goldberg and Omer Avital release 'Spring Sings'

Yes! Trio: with Ali Jackson, Aaron Goldberg and Omer Avital release 'Spring Sings'

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

Four years after the success of Groove du Jour, named best album of the year in 2019 by the French Academie du Jazz, Yes! Trio is finally back! Strengthened by their differences, these musicians, who never seemed predisposed to meet—a drummer, scion of the great African-American jazz family; a hippie bassist with Yemenite and Moroccan roots; a bon ton Bostonian with a Harvard degree pianist—united by thirty years of love of swing continue to embrace jazz with the same happiness, ...

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Performance / Tour

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With A Free Concert Featuring The Music Of Two Iconic American Singers: Chris Connor And Mahalia Jackson

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With A Free Concert Featuring The Music Of Two Iconic American Singers: Chris Connor And Mahalia Jackson

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Musical Arts Department pays tribute to two of the most iconic and creative American singers of the 20th century in Night and Day: The Music of Chris Connor and Mahalia Jackson on Wednesday, February 14, 7:30 p.m. at Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Avenue, Boston. The program is curated by faculty members Hankus Netsky and Ran Blake. Admission is free, but tickets are required. For information visit https://necmusic.edu. The title of this Valentine’s Day concert, Night and ...

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Event

An Empty Room - An Episodic / Live Stream & Podcast Series Continues With Tyrone Jackson Watch Party On November 6, 2022

An Empty Room - An Episodic / Live Stream & Podcast Series Continues With Tyrone Jackson Watch Party On November 6, 2022

Source: Cyber PR

An Empty Room, the six part original series that explores the connective tissue between six uniquely influential artists from the Atlanta music scene, which debuted on Volume.com continues with composer, performer, and educator Tyrone Jackson on Sunday November 6. Being born in the New Orleans, he embodies the spirit of the Crescent City. His boundless creativity coupled with harmonic mastery, he utilizes the piano as a blank canvas. The blends of jazz, funk and Afro-Caribbean melodies are ever present in ...

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Recording

Exotic International Singer Patrina Morris Released 'Up So Close' Featuring Brian Jackson

Exotic International Singer Patrina Morris Released 'Up So Close' Featuring Brian Jackson

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Patrina Morris brings a romantic summer dance feeling this month with the release of an upbeat single “Up So Close” the original 1966 vibe mix featuring Brian Jackson. Brazil meets a touch of Ibiza in this duet. Recorded in home studios, Brooklyn, Portugal, London and Brazil come together for the first time. Patrina: “We made this in an “old skool” way, before I had even met Brian in person and never released the original version, only an Ibiza remix. ...

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Special Offers

Whirlwind Recordings Announces 5x Customer-Voted New Vinyl Reissues: Jensen Sisters, Paul Jackson, City Of Poets (Jason Palmer & Cedric Hanriot), John Escreet & Mike Gibbs

Whirlwind Recordings Announces 5x Customer-Voted New Vinyl Reissues: Jensen Sisters, Paul Jackson, City Of Poets (Jason Palmer & Cedric Hanriot), John Escreet & Mike Gibbs

Source: Emma Perry Publicity

Exciting news for vinyl fans: Whirlwind Recordings announced (in January) five brand-new reissues of celebrated back-catalog releases, available on LP for the first time. The new reissues come from a range of artists, featuring releases many customers have requested on LP for some time. The first five all ship in May 2021—look out for more reissues coming later in the year. These limited edition printings are a one-off and limited to 300 copies, making them a unique collector's item, grab ...

Video / DVD

Video: Milt Jackson, 1984

Video: Milt Jackson, 1984

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson's earliest recordings were accompanying Dinah Washington on her first releases on Apollo Records in Los Angeles in 1945. He also was among the first to perform bop with Dizzy Gillespie's Rebop Six in December '45 (Groovin' High) and with Gillespie's big band of 1946. Through the years, he recorded with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and many other important artists in the early 1950s. And he pioneered chamber jazz as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, starting ...

Video / DVD

Bull Moose Jackson: Jazz Jump

Bull Moose Jackson: Jazz Jump

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

A careful look at a jazz discography always yields an interesting historical story. Back in the late 1940s, many jazz artists had their start in R&B and jump blues bands. The groups were often smartly organized jazz-blues hybrids that played tightly arranged charts and regularly toured, ensuring they'd be well-oiled recording artists. Bull Moose Jackson led one of those bands. A veteran of the Lucky Millinder Orchestra in the mid 1940s, Jackson formed his own band in 1947. A glance ...

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Recording

The Lost Nashville Sessions Of Wayne Jackson & The Memphis Horns Band Released After More Than Three Decades April 19th

The Lost Nashville Sessions Of Wayne Jackson & The Memphis Horns Band Released  After More Than Three Decades April 19th

Source: The Last Music Company

In the preamble to the 50th Anniversary of Grammy Lifetime Award winners The Memphis Horns in June, Skytone Entertainment releases The Lost Nashville Sessions by Wayne Jackson and The Memphis Horns Band in all digital formats today. The recording unearths tapes that were found lying dormant in a Nashville attic for over 34 years. Recorded in the mid-80s, The Lost Nashville Sessions is an eclectic collection of rock, soul, blues, pop and the eccentric—and heralds the one of the only ...

Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Author of "Living Jazz", Downbeat magazine, a column that has been running bi-monthly for 5 years covering all aspects of being a jazz musician in this day and age, from performance/composition, to business and everything in between and associated D.D. Jackson's Living Jazz Podcast"

Adjunct Professor, Long Island University; 2005-present

Private lessons (composition/jazz piano performance): 1990-present

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Suite For New York

Unknown label
2003

buy

Suite For New York CD

Justin Time Records
2003

buy

Sigame

Justin Time Records
2001

buy

The Calling

Soul Note
2001

buy

Peace-Song

Justin Time Records
2000

buy

Rhythm-Dance

Justin Time Records
2000

buy

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