Javon Jackson, Ron Carter, Billy Drummond
Biography Javon Jackson, Ron Carter, Billy Drummond
Javon Jackson
A fine tenor saxophonist influenced by Joe Henderson, Javon Jackson helps to keep the legacy of Art Blakey and hard bop alive. He grew up in Cleveland and Denver, and studied at Berklee (1984-1986). Jackson was with the last version of the Jazz Messengers (1987-1990) and, after Blakey’s death, he worked with the Harper Brothers, Benny Green, Freddie Hubbard, and Elvin Jones. Javon Jackson has recorded as a leader for Criss Cross and Blue Note, including 1991’s Burnin’ all the way to 2008’s Once Upon a Melody. Also in 2008, Jackson appeared live with soul-jazz legend Les McCann.
Ron Carter
born on May 4, 1937, is one of the last living legends of jazz.
Imagine if there were no Ron Carter. Then there would be so much less art in this world – as Stanley Clarke famously said. The "fox," as Nat Adderley called him, is a soloist of the highest caliber and, as a sideman, becomes the calming influence of any ensemble. Ron Carter: "The bassist, as the mainstay of the group, is responsible for timing, rhythm, harmony, and lines." His risky drops are inimitable expressions of rhythmic sovereignty, and his polished, stripped-down yet not abstract bass lines, which he first introduced to a wider audience in the mid-1960s with Miles Davis, are full of melodic adventures. As a soloist, the musician, who is a fan of acoustic instruments, often uses a piccolo bass, which measures about three-quarters of a standard bass, is similar in sound to the cello, but can sustain significantly longer note values in pizzicato. Ron Carter was born in 1937 in Ferndale, Michigan. At the age of ten, he learned cello in high school, then bass, violin, clarinet, trombone, and tuba. He studied at the Eastman School in Rochester and then at the Manhattan School of Music. Carter is the ultimate jazz bassist. He has made jazz history and has continually evolved. His unique playing can be heard on around 3,000 albums, about 50 of which he recorded as a leader. In 1963, Ron Carter became a member of the Miles Davis Quintet. With Miles, he recorded albums such as "Seven Steps to Heaven," "My Funny Valentine," and "Miles Smiles." Carter also participated in several Friedrich Gulda projects in Austria and, starting in 1968, worked with singer Lena Horne, later with Michel Legrand, and after 1973 with his own New York Jazz Quartet. Ron Carter has consistently been voted the top performer in various jazz magazines, performed at all major festivals, and attracted attention for his interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach and his publication "Building A Jazz Bass Line," a standard method for advanced bassists. Also worth mentioning is "The Music of Ron Carter," which contains 140 of his compositions. Ron Carter has virtually unlimited technical and musical resources at his disposal, but he uses them judiciously. He has worked with Eric Dolphy, Don Ellis, Jaki Byard, Charles Lloyd, Mal Waldron, the Jazz Composers Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, George Benson, McCoy Tyner, Tony Williams, Carlos Santana, and many others.
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond also known as King Boy D (born April 29, 1953, Butterworth, South Africa) is a Scottish musician, media personality, record producer, writer and artist. He is best known as co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde "pop group" The KLF and its 1990s "avant-art" media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994. He has also written several books, produced a variety of different conceptual art projects, and helped to set-up The Foundry, an arts centre in Shoreditch, London.
