Jackson Plays Dylan Javon Jackson

• 1 One for Bob Dylan 04:57
• 2 Blowin' in the Wind 04:29
• 3 Hurricane 05:32
• 4 Gotta Serve Somebody 05:30
• 5 Lay, Lady, Lay 04:22
• 6 The Times They Are A-Changin' 07:16
• 7 Forever Young 05:03
• 8 Tombstone Blues 07:25
• 9 Like a Rolling Stone 05:10
• 10 Mr. Tambourine Man 06:21
• 11 Make You Feel My Love 05:26
• Total Runtime 01:01:31

Info for Jackson Plays Dylan

Jackson plays Dylan explores three decades of songs from the iconic singer-songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Dylan songbook with guest vocalists Lisa Fischer and Nicole Zuraitis.

“Saxophonist Javon Jackson, he of the sonorous tenor tone and the inquisitive musical mind... [is known as] one of the dauntless players of his era.” (R.J. DeLuke, AllAboutJazz)

On the heels of his acclaimed two-album collaboration with the late poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson embarks on a new project paying tribute to one of America’s most revered songwriters, whose own work has been hailed for its intricate poetry and outspoken politics.

Jackson Plays Dylan finds the saxophonist delving into songs spanning more than three decades of the legendary songwriter’s career, from still-poignant folk anthems to incisive and timeless love songs.

Jackson is joined on the album by pianist and keyboardist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Isaac Levine, drummer Ryan Sands, and Grammy-winning guest vocalists Lisa Fischer and Nicole Zuraitis. “I have a deep respect for Bob Dylan’s musicianship and his commitment to the craft,” Jackson says. “I’m a fan.”

With one foot in the past and one foot in the future, Javon opens his new recording on the vibrantly grooved Javon original One for Bob Dylan and the dutifully steadfast, yet connecting Blowin’ in the Wind, and then we get the dynamically sculpted Hurricane, and engagingly respectful Gotta Serve Somebody (that features the vocal power of Lisa Fischer), before one of my own personal Dylan favorites, the sumptuous, and a little sweltry in parts Lay, Lady, Lay is brought forth.

Along next is an impassioned growth within his rendition of the timeless classic The Times They Are A-Changin’ and the alluring Forever Young, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the absorbing poetry within Tombstone Blues (noted as being a Coltranesque modal revision), his beautifully connecting cover of the Gospel-imbibed Like a Rolling Stone, the set rounding out on the warmly rounded swing of Mr. Tambourine Man, closing on one of Dylan’s most heartfelt songs, here done within the structure of rhythmic balladry on the enduring Make You Feel My Love.

Javon Jackson, tenor saxophone
Jeremy Manasia, piano, keyboards
Isaac Levien, bass
Ryan Sands, drums
Guests:
Lisa Fischer, vocals
Nicole Zuraitis, vocals

Javon Jackson
Born on June 16, 1965, in Carthage, Missouri, Javon Jackson was raised in Denver, Colorado and chose saxophone at the age of 10. At age 16 he switched from alto to tenor and later enrolled at the University of Denver before spending part of 1985–86 at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He left Berklee in 1986 to join Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he later played alongside pianist Benny Green, trumpeter Philip Harper, trombonist Robin Eubanks and bassist Peter Washington. Jackson remained a fixture in the Jazz Messengers until Blakey’s passing in 1990.

In 1991, Jackson made his recording debut with Me and Mr. Jones, featuring James Williams, Christian McBride, and master drummer Elvin Jones. He joined Jones’ group in 1992, appearing on the great drummer’s albums Youngblood and Going Home. Jackson’s 1994 Blue Note debut, When the Time Is Right, was a straight-ahead affair produced by iconic jazz vocalist and bandleader Betty Carter. His subsequent four recordings for the Blue Note label through the ‘90s were produced by Craig Street and featured wildly eclectic programs ranging from Caetano Veloso, Frank Zappa and Santana to Muddy Waters, Al Green and Serge Gainsbourg. His subsequent four recordings for the Palmetto label had him exploring a blend of funk, jazz and soul with such stellar sidemen as organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, guitarists Mark Whitfield and David Gilmore, trombonist Fred Wesley and drummer Lenny White. In 2009, Javon was commissioned by the Syracuse International Film Festival to compose a full-length score for the Alfred Hitchcock film, “The Lodger,” a silent movie based on the hunt for Jack the Ripper. The original score had its debut at the festival, performed live by Jackson’s band (featuring pianist Manasia) at the film’s screening in October 2010.

In 2012, the saxophonist released a potent tribute to a towering influence, Celebrating John Coltrane, his inaugural release on his Solid Jackson Records which featured the venerable drummer and former Coltrane collaborator Jimmy Cobb. He followed later in 2012 with Lucky 13, which featured the great soul-jazz keyboardist Les McCann and included a mellow instrumental rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” along with a version of McCann’s 1969 hit, “Compared to What.” That same remarkably productive year, Jackson was the recipient of the prestigious Benny Golson Award from Howard University in Washington, D.C. for recognition of excellence in jazz. Jackson’s debut on the Smoke Sessions label, 2014’s Expression, was a live quartet recording from the Smoke Jazz & Supper Club in Upper Manhattan. On February 18, 2022, Javon will release, The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni, his fifth album for his Solid Jackson Records label.

Jackson finished and received his undergraduate degree from the Berklee College of Music and obtained a master’s degree from the State University of New York at Purchase, where he also taught. In 2013, he accepted the position of Professor of Jazz Saxophone; Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz Studies at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

This album contains no booklet.