Javon Jackson
b. 16 June 1965, Carthage, Missouri, USA. Jackson's parents listened extensively to jazz on record and by the age of 10 he had decided that he wanted to be a musician. His first choice, the drums, was vetoed by his father so he chose instead the alto saxophone but later, when he had grown more, he switched to tenor saxophone. He played for a while in Denver, Colorado, with pianist Billy Wallace, a former Max Roach sideman, and during this spell he learned much of his basic grounding in jazz performance. In 1987, following two years at Berklee College Of Music, he became a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, joining the band on the same day as Delfeayo Marsalis. The other Messengers at this time were Wallace Roney, Kenny Garrett, Peter Brown and Peter Washington. For a while the responsibility of following in the footsteps of some seriously talented musicians weighed heavily upon him but, as Jackson told Jazz Journal International"s Derek Ansell, "Art said, "Don't worry about all that, just do the best you possibly can and that's good enough for me.' Then it became a real inspiring situation, as opposed to making me nervous." Jackson was with the band almost four years, his spell ending with Blakey's death. He then joined Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra and during the following years also played frequently with Freddie Hubbard. Among other musicians with whom he has worked on and off are Ron Carter, Richard Davis, Elvin Jones, who appeared on one of Jackson's recording sessions in the mid-90s, and Cedar Walton.
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