Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas.

Musician, Player and Listener magazine writers David Breskin and Rafi Zabor called him "the most stately free-jazz drummer in the history of the idiom, a regal and thundering presence." Gary Giddins wrote "Jackson is an astounding drummer, as everyone agrees...he has emerged as a kind of all-purpose new-music connoisseur who brings a profound and unshakably individual approach to every playing situation."

In 1979, he founded his own group, the Decoding Society, As a child, he was immersed in music. His father monopolized the local jukebox business and established the only African American-owned record store in the Fort Worth area. His mother played piano and organ at their local church. Between the ages of five and nine he took piano lessons. In the third grade, he studied music with John Carter.

Jackson graduated from I.M. Terrell High School, where he played with the marching band and learned about symphonic percussion. During lunch breaks, students would conduct jam sessions in the band room. The Lincoln University band included Jackson, Hicks, trumpeter Lester Bowie, and Julius Hemphill on saxophone.

Jackson then transferred to Texas Southern University, and from there went to Prairie View A & M. He decided to study history and sociology at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Jackson intended not to play music at all, but after exposure to various artists and styles, he concluded that "the beat is in your body" and "the music you play comes from your life." By 1966, Jackson received a full music scholarship to New York University through trumpeter Kenny Dorham.

New York and the avant-garde (1966–1978)

Once in New York, Jackson performed with many jazz musicians, including Charles Mingus, Betty Carter, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, McCoy Tyner, Stanley Turrentine, and others. Whenever he would ask Charles Mingus to consider him for his group, Mingus used to push him "rudely out of his way". After Jackson sat in with pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, he heard loud clapping behind him. It was Mingus, who asked him to play with his band.

In 1966 Jackson recorded drums for saxophonist Charles Tyler's release, Charles Tyler Ensemble. Between 1966 and 1967, he played with saxophonist Albert Ayler and is featured on At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 1 & 2. He is also on disks 3 and 4 of Ayler's Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70). Jackson said Ayler was "the first (leader) that really opened me up. He let me play the drums the way I did in Fort Worth when I wasn't playing for other people."

The Decoding Society and other projects (1979–1999)

Jackson formed his band, The Decoding Society, in 1979, as a showcase for his blend of avant-garde jazz, rock, funk, and ethnic music. The instrumentation and arrangements, along with Jackson's compositions and drum style, brought The Decoding Society critical acclaim. Although considered to be part of the "new fusion" movement that emerged from Ornette Coleman's harmolodic concepts, Jackson was able to implement a voice of his own.

The Decoding Society's music can be hot, savage, and danceable, or cool, gentle, and contemplative. American, Eastern, and African sounds are distilled under Jackson's guidance. Meters, feels, tempos, and stylistic references are heard throughout different compositions; many times within a single piece of music.

In addition to leading Decoding Society lineups, Jackson was involved in other projects. Guitarist and fellow Coleman alumnus James Blood Ulmer recruited Jackson for another group that intended to push harmolodics to a new level

In the late 1980s, Jackson teamed up with Laswell on two other projects: SXL, with violinist L. Shankar, Senegalese drummer Aiyb Dieng, and Korean percussion group SamulNori, and the free jazz trio, Mooko, with Japanese saxophonist Akira Sakata.

With the help of some grants, Jackson took a three-month trip to West Africa and visited nine countries.

In 1987, Jackson formed an avant-garde power trio with bassist Melvin Gibbs and guitarist Bill Frisell called Power Tools. They released and toured behind an album titled Strange Meeting. Writer Greg Tate referred to the project as "that awesome and under-sung Power Tools album...in my humble opinion, the most paradigm-shifting power trio record since Band of Gypsys."

Later career (2000–2013)

His output slowed in the early 2000s due to nerve damage in his left arm. After consulting with a neurologist, Jackson declined surgery and was able to regain his strength through years of physical therapy. Physical limitations did not diminish his output as a composer, and he unveiled new material on YouTube in 2012.

Jackson joined trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet with pianist Vijay Iyer and double-bassist John Lindberg in 2005. Their collaboration is documented on the Tabligh CD and the Eclipse DVD.

He played with the Punk Funk All Stars in 2006, which included Melvin Gibbs, Joseph Bowie, Vernon Reid, and James Blood Ulmer. In 2008 Jackson and Jamaaladeen Tacuma toured Europe with The Last Poets; this collaboration was documented in the film "The Last Poets / Made in Amerikkka" directed by Claude Santiago.

In 2011 Jackson, Vernon Reid and Melvin Gibbs formed a power trio called Encryption. During their trip to the Moers Festival in Germany, Jackson suffered a heart attack and underwent an angioplasty. The next day, he checked himself out of the hospital to play with Reid and Gibbs at the festival. Afterwards, Jackson checked himself back in for medical observation.

On July 7, 2012, Jackson performed at the Kessler Theater in Dallas with the latest version of the Decoding Society, which includes violinist Leonard Hayward, trumpeter John Weir, guitarist Gregg Prickett, and bassist Melvin Gibbs. The new compositions were described as being as strong as the best of his recorded work. The performance was voted as one of the Ten Best Concerts of 2012 in the Dallas Observer.

Death

Jackson died of leukemia on October 19, 2013, aged 73.

Discography

As leader

  • Eye on You (About Time, 1980)
  • Nasty (Moers Music, 1981)
  • Street Priest (Moers, 1981)
  • Mandance (Antilles, 1982)
  • Barbeque Dog (Antilles, 1983)
  • Montreux Jazz Festival (Knit Classics, 1983)
  • Pulse (Celluloid, 1984)
  • Decode Yourself (Island, 1985)
  • Earned Dream (Knit Classics, 1984)
  • Live at Greenwich House (Knit Classics, 1986)
  • Live at the Caravan of Dreams (Caravan of Dreams, 1986) AKA Beast in the Spider Bush
  • When Colors Play (Caravan of Dreams, 1986)
  • Texas (Caravan of Dreams, 1987)
  • Red Warrior (Axiom, 1990)
  • Taboo (Venture/Virgin, 1990)
  • Raven Roc (DIW, 1992)
  • Live in Warsaw (Knit Classics, 1994)
  • What Spirit Say (DIW, 1994)
  • Shannon's House (Koch, 1996)

(dates are recording, not release)

With Last Exit

  • Last Exit (Enemy, 1986)
  • The Noise of Trouble (Enemy, 1986) with guests Akira Sakata and Herbie Hancock
  • Cassette Recordings '87 (Celluloid, 1987)
  • Iron Path (Virgin, 1988)
  • Köln (ITM, 1990)
  • Headfirst into the Flames (Muworks, 1993)

As sideman

With Albert Ayler

  • At Slug's Saloon, vols. 1&2 (ESP, 1982) – rec. 1966
  • Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) (Revenant, 2004) – rec. 1962–70
  • La Cave Live, Cleveland 1966 Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2022) – rec. 1966

With Ornette Coleman

  • Dancing in Your Head (A&M, 1975) – rec. 1973–75
  • Body Meta (Artists House, 1975)

With Music Revelation Ensemble

  • No Wave (Moers Music, 1980)
  • Music Revelation Ensemble (DIW, 1988)

With SXL

  • SXL Live in Japan (Terrapin/Sony Japan, 1987)
  • Into the Outlands (Celluloid, 1987)

With Cecil Taylor

  • Cecil Taylor Unit (New World, 1978)
  • 3 Phasis (New World, 1978)
  • One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (hat Hut, 1978)
  • Live in the Black Forest (MPS, 1978)

With James Blood Ulmer

  • Are You Glad to Be in America? (Rough Trade, 1980)
  • America – Do You Remember the Love? (Blue Note, 1986)

with others

  • Bertrand Gallaz, Talk To You In A Minute (Plainisphare, 1993)
  • Bill Laswell, Baselines (Elektra Musician, 1982)
  • Mooko, Japan Concerts (Celluloid, 1988)
  • Power Tools, Strange Meeting (Antilles, 1987)
  • Wadada Leo Smith, Tabligh (Cuneiform, 2008)
  • Charles Tyler, Charles Tyler Ensemble (ESP, 1966)
  • John Zorn, Spillane (Nonesuch, 1987) – rec. 1986–87

References

Further reading