Versatile and sophisticated jazz guitarist Ron Jackson has performed, recorded and taught music in over 30 countries. With a varied career as a performer, composer and arranger, Highlights include shows and tours with artists such as Taj Mahal, Jimmy McGriff, Larry Coryell, Benny Golson, Oliver Lake, Russell Malone and Mulgrew Miller. Ron has been featured as a leader in jazz festivals all over the world, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festivals and Winter Jazzfest, NYC. Mr. Jackson was initially influenced by rock guitar greats like Jimmy Page, before falling under the spell of jazz and following the style and career of jazz guitar luminaries like Pat Metheny and George Benson. After attending Berklee School of Music on scholarship, studying jazz composition and arranging he spent two formative years in the mid-1980’s living and playing guitar with the lively expat jazz community in Paris, France. Ron then moved to New York City, where he remains an active participant in Gotham’s always vibrant jazz scene. A master of the six, seven and twelve string guitars, Ron appeared on over 40 albums by such artists as Hal Singer, Graeme Norris, Ron Blake, Gisele Jackson and T.K. Blue, before founding the independent record label Roni Music in 2003 which has since released some of his eight of his albums as a leader including The Dream I Had (2003), Flubby Dubby (2008) and Akustik InventYours (2014). His latest project, Jazz Standards and Other Songs (2019) is an alluring mix of familiar jazz numbers and innovative adaptations of songs from other genre’s like his trendsetting arrangement for jazz trio of Drake’s “Passion Fruit.” An acclaimed music educator, Ron currently teaches guitar at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The New School, Midori and Friends, and is the founder and director of the website www.practicejazzguitar.com. Ron has held master classes, concerts and workshops at Jazz at Lincoln Center-Jazz in the Schools, The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Escuela Creativa Musica in Madrid, Spain and California State University.
I had the honor of catching up with Mr. Jackson to talk about his upcoming show on March 12th a Cafe Coda in Madison on the heels of his brand new 7 string jazz guitar led trio album, ‘Standards And My Songs’ out now on his Roni music label. We dive head first into how he was able to get a grant for this tour that brings him my way [Jazz Road national initiative of South Arts], the maGic of the 7 string guitar and the creation of the new record. I heard a connection to my brother, Mr. Melvin Sparks, so we paid a little homage to our pal and Ron put together an idea of an extended setlist he might build around one of the new tunes. New record and a tour – sounds like 2 ways to take home music to me.
