David Jackson (rock musician)
Encyclopedia
David Nicholas George Jackson (born 15 April 1947, Stamford
, Lincolnshire
), nicknamed Jaxon, is a British
progressive rock
saxophonist
, flautist
, and composer
. He is best known for his work with the band Van der Graaf Generator
and his work in Music and Disability. He has worked with artists including Peter Gabriel
, Keith Tippett
and Howard Moody.
(whose style and technique influenced Jackson). He also plays flutes and whistles. In the NME
reviewer Jonathan Barnett called David Jackson "the Van Gogh of the saxophone - a renegade impressionist, dispensing distorted visions of the world outside from his private asylum window".
project). He collaborated on a number of projects with Van der Graaf Generator co-founder Judge Smith
. Jackson works often with Italian rock musicians, most particularly Osanna
from Naples.
Jackson attended the University of St Andrews
, reading psychology, and University of Surrey
, Roehampton, studying teaching. He has worked as a mathematics teacher for primary children in the UK.
He has also worked with physically and mentally disabled people, enabling them to make music through the use of a technology known as Soundbeam
. He is also a Soundbeam trainer, system designer and builder.
Tonewall is the name for his idea. Apart from Soundbeams this also features Echo-Mirrors and Jellybean Eye. Jackson works together with groups of people of all levels of ability and even profound disability to create music together on stage, accompanied by musicians from diverse styles, such as orchestral and jazz musicians, Caribbean music, and much more.
, Francis Dunnery
and William Topley
among others. His son is recording engineer Jake Jackson.
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
), nicknamed Jaxon, is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, flautist
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He is best known for his work with the band Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...
and his work in Music and Disability. He has worked with artists including Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Keith Tippett
Keith Tippett
Keith Tippett is a British jazz pianist and composer.Tippett, the son of a local police officer, went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. He formed his first jazz band called The KT7 whilst still at school and they performed numbers popular at the time by The Temperance...
and Howard Moody.
Van der Graaf Generator
Jackson was a member for most of the 1970s and for their 2005 reunion tour. His specialty was then electric saxophones, using octave devices, wah-wah and powerful amplification.Style
His saxophone-playing is characterized by the frequent use of double horns, playing two saxophones at the same time, a style he copied from Rahsaan Roland KirkRahsaan Roland Kirk
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...
(whose style and technique influenced Jackson). He also plays flutes and whistles. In the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reviewer Jonathan Barnett called David Jackson "the Van Gogh of the saxophone - a renegade impressionist, dispensing distorted visions of the world outside from his private asylum window".
Other work
In addition to his work in Van der Graaf Generator, Jackson has collaborated with other musicians (frequently with other members of Van der Graaf Generator, as on The Long HelloThe Long Hello
The Long Hello is a studio instrumental album by David Jackson, Hugh Banton, Guy Evans and Nic Potter recorded in August 1973 and released in Italy in 1974...
project). He collaborated on a number of projects with Van der Graaf Generator co-founder Judge Smith
Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith , is a songwriter, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994.- Early years :In 1967, with Peter Hammill, Judge...
. Jackson works often with Italian rock musicians, most particularly Osanna
Osanna
Osanna are an Italian psychedelic rock/progressive rock band.The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti , Danilo Rustici , Massimo Guarino , Lello Brandi , from the first line-up of the band Città Frontale, and Elio D'Anna , former member of the Showmen...
from Naples.
Jackson attended the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, reading psychology, and University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, Roehampton, studying teaching. He has worked as a mathematics teacher for primary children in the UK.
He has also worked with physically and mentally disabled people, enabling them to make music through the use of a technology known as Soundbeam
Soundbeam
Soundbeam is an interactive MIDI hardware and software system developed by The Soundbeam Project / EMS in which movement within a series of ultrasonic beams and is used to control multimedia Hardware / software.- System :...
. He is also a Soundbeam trainer, system designer and builder.
Tonewall is the name for his idea. Apart from Soundbeams this also features Echo-Mirrors and Jellybean Eye. Jackson works together with groups of people of all levels of ability and even profound disability to create music together on stage, accompanied by musicians from diverse styles, such as orchestral and jazz musicians, Caribbean music, and much more.
Family
His daughter is singer Dorie Jackson, who works with Chris DiffordChris Difford
Chris Difford is a singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer....
, Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as a solo performer , and for fronting the original lineup of the band It Bites between 1982 and 1990 .Dunnery served as a sideman and...
and William Topley
William Topley (musician)
William Topley is a British musician.Topley was the lead singer of the band The Blessing in the early 1990s, releasing two albums before breaking up. Topley was signed as a solo artist by Mercury Nashville after Luke Lewis, who had worked at The Blessing's label MCA, became president of Mercury....
among others. His son is recording engineer Jake Jackson.
As band member of Van der Graaf Generator
- The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each OtherThe Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each OtherThe Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970. The album was reissued in re-mastered form, with two bonus tracks, in 2005....
(1970) - H to He, Who Am the Only OneH to He, Who Am the Only OneH to He, Who Am the Only One is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970.During the recording of the album, Nic Potter quit the band. Organist Hugh Banton offered to play bass guitar on the two tracks that had not yet been finished. In...
(1970) - Pawn HeartsPawn HeartsPawn Hearts is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971. The album reached number 1 on Italian album charts.-Differences between the European and North American releases:...
(1971) - GodbluffGodbluffGodbluff is the first record released by Van der Graaf Generator after they reformed in 1975. It is their fifth disc overall.It features a tighter, more pared-down sound than the band's earlier recordings with John Anthony. Hammill makes extensive use of the Hohner Clavinet D6 electromechanical...
(1975) - Still LifeStill Life (Van der Graaf Generator album)Still Life is an album by Van der Graaf Generator. It was originally released in 1976. One bonus track was added for the 2005 rerelease. The album cover shows a Lichtenberg figure....
(1976) - World RecordWorld Record (album)World Record is an album by Van der Graaf Generator. It was originally released in 1976. Bonus tracks were added for the 2005 rerelease.It was the last album recorded by the classic line-up of the band until their 2005 reunion: Banton and Jackson departed in 1976, but Hammill and Evans carried on,...
(1976) - VitalVital (album)Vital is Van der Graaf Generator's first live album. Except for one-off reunions, it marked the end of Van der Graaf Generator as a band until their 2005 reunion. The album was credited under the truncated name Van der Graaf...
(1978) - Time VaultsTime VaultsTime Vaults is an album by Van der Graaf Generator. It was originally released in 1982 on cassette only. It contains out-takes and rehearsal recordings from the period 1972-1975, when the band was on hiatus. The recordings "are not studio-quality recordings". It was released almost four years after...
(1982) - Maida ValeMaida Vale (album)Maida Vale is an album by Van der Graaf Generator, recorded live-in-the-studio at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios. It contains eight songs from four different recordings from BBC sessions in 1971, 1975 and 1976...
(1994) - Present (2005)
- Real TimeReal Time (Van der Graaf Generator album)Real Time is a live album by Van der Graaf Generator, released in 2007 on Fie! Records . It contains the entire recording of the group's reunion concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England on 6 May 2005...
(2007)
Solo
- Savages (cassette) (1990)
- Hazard Dream Sequence (EP) (1991)
- Tonewall Stands (1992)
- Fractal Bridge (1996)
With Peter Hammill
- Fool's MateFool's Mate (album)Fool's Mate is the debut solo album by Peter Hammill of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. The title is both a chess and tarot reference. It was produced by Trident Studios' in-house producer John Anthony. The album was recorded in 1971, in the midst of one of Van der Graaf Generator's...
(1971) - Chameleon in the Shadow of the NightChameleon in the Shadow of the NightChameleon in the Shadow of the Night was the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It followed in the aftermath of the breakup of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator, although the other members of Van der Graaf Generator all perform on the album, blurring the distinction...
(1973) - The Silent Corner and the Empty StageThe Silent Corner and the Empty StageThe Silent Corner and the Empty Stage is the third album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It was released on Charisma Records in 1974, during a hiatus in the activities of Hammill's progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator...
(1974) - Nadir's Big ChanceNadir's Big ChanceNadir's Big Chance was the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975.It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator , and Nadir's Big Chance is actually performed by the reformed Van der Graaf Generator line-up.The album's songs...
(1975) - The Future NowThe Future NowThe Future Now is an album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1978. It was the first solo album Hammill released following the breakup of his band Van der Graaf Generator, although he had released numerous solo albums while VdGG were active...
(1978) - pH7PH7 (Peter Hammill album)pH7 is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Charisma Records in September 1979. It was Hammill's 8th solo album and his last release on the Charisma label....
(1979) - A Black BoxA Black BoxA Black Box is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on S-Type Records in August 1980.Hammill performed nearly all the instrumentation himself, including the drum parts, a task he had first undertaken on his previous album pH7...
(1980) - Sitting TargetsSitting TargetsSitting Targets is an album by Peter Hammill, released on Virgin Records in June 1981. It contains several songs in the raw new wave style typical of Hammill's work in the late 70s and early 80s, following the dissolution of his band Van der Graaf Generator, and one of his occasional tender...
(1981) - Enter KEnter KEnter K is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on the Naive Records label in Oct 1982. The label was owned and operated by Gordian Troeller, the former manager of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator...
(1982) - Patience (1983)
- Skin (1986)
- Out of WaterOut of WaterOut of Water is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Enigma Records in 1990 and subsequently re-released on Hammill's own Fie label...
(1990) - FireshipsFireships (album)Fireships is an album by English singer and songwriter Peter Hammill. Originally released in 1992, it was the first release on Hammill's own Fie! Records label. It was reissued in remastered form in 2006....
(1992) - The NoiseThe Noise (album)The Noise is an album by the English singer and songwriter Peter Hammill.As the title implies, the album is a collection of uptempo rock songs, in sharp contrast to Hammill's previous album, Fireships, which consisted mainly of ballads...
(1993) - Roaring Forties (1994)
- X My HeartX My HeartX My Heart is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Hammill's own Fie! Records in 1996. It is the last of Hammill's albums to date performed in what might be described as a full band style; the later albums have been more solo and intimate in style.Two of the songs on the album, "A...
(1996) - ThisThis (Peter Hammill album)This is an album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in 1998. There is a large variety in the compositions, ranging from the minimalism of the final song, "The Light Continent", to the rough, almost Nadir-like sound of "Always is Next", the complex "Unrehearsed" and the ballad "Since the...
(1998) - What, Now?What, Now? (album)What, Now? is an album by singer-songwriter Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in June 2001. According to the booklet it was "recorded, mixed and mastered at Terra Incognita, Bath between, oh, sometime in the late XXth Century and 11:23 March 23rd 2001." It was produced by Peter...
(2001) - ClutchClutch (Peter Hammill album)Clutch is an album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in 2002. Clutch contains 9 tracks played exclusively on acoustic guitar with accompaniments on saxophones and other instruments. The album was produced and played by Hammill himself, with contributions from Stuart Gordon on violin and...
(2002) - IncoherenceIncoherenceIncoherence is an album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in March 2004. Incoherence is a concept album about language, containing 14 tracks with soft transitions between them. The album was produced and played by Hammill himself, with contributions from Stuart Gordon on violin and David...
(2004)
With The Long Hello
- The Long HelloThe Long HelloThe Long Hello is a studio instrumental album by David Jackson, Hugh Banton, Guy Evans and Nic Potter recorded in August 1973 and released in Italy in 1974...
(Hugh BantonHugh BantonHugh Robert Banton is a British organist and organ builder, most widely known for his work with the group Van der Graaf Generator in the 1970s.-Career:...
, Guy EvansGuy EvansGuy Randolph Evans is an English progressive rock drummer, percussionist and composer, and a member of Van der Graaf Generator....
, David Jackson; 1973) - The Long Hello Volume TwoThe Long Hello Volume TwoThe Long Hello Volume Two is a studio instrumental album by Guy Evans and Nic Potter released 1981. It was recorded and mixed at Hidden Drive Studios.-Track listing:# "Surfing with Isabelle – 4:12# "Elsham Road" – 3:35...
(Nic PotterNic PotterNic Potter is a British bassist, composer and painter, best known for his work with the group Van der Graaf Generator in the 1970s.-Career:...
, Guy Evans; 1981) - The Long Hello Volume Three (David Jackson, Guy Evans; 1982)
- The Long Hello Volume Four (David Jackson, Guy Evans, Life of Riley; 1983)
With Judge Smith
- DemocraZy (1991)
- The House That Cried (live choral work, premiere 28 Oct 1993)
- Curly's AirshipsCurly's AirshipsCurly's Airships is a double CD by Judge Smith, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". Curly's Airships tells about the R101 airship, crashing in France during its maiden overseas voyage in 1930...
(2000) - Twinkle (stage musical, premiere 11 July 2007)
- "The Light of the World/I Don't Know What I'm Doing" (single, as The Tribal EldersJudge SmithChristopher John Judge Smith , is a songwriter, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994.- Early years :In 1967, with Peter Hammill, Judge...
, 2007) - Orfeas (2011)
Other collaborations
- Come un vecchio incensiere all'alba di un villaggio deserto (with Alan SorrentiAlan Sorrenti- Biography :Sorrenti was born in Naples, but his mother was Welsh, and he spent much of his childhood in Aberystwyth, WalesSorrenti's career began in the early 1970s...
, 1973) - Dinner At The Ritz (with City BoyCity BoyCity Boy were a moderately successful English rock band in the late 1970s, characterised by complex vocal arrangements and heavy guitars. The band consisted of Lol Mason , Steve Broughton , Max Thomas , Chris Dunn , Roger Kent , Mike Slamer , and Roy Ward...
, 1976) - "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" / "Something Tells Me" (single with Jakko JakszykJakko JakszykJakko M. Jakszyk is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter , multi-instrumentalist and producer...
, 1982) - "Straining Our Eyes" / "Fall To Pieces" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1982)
- "Grab What You Can" / "Tell Me" / "Would I Be The Same" / "I'd Never Have Known" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1982)
- "Dangerous Dreams" / "Opening Doors" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1983; Stiff RecordsStiff RecordsStiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
BUY 183) - "I Can't Stand This Pressure" / "Living On The Edge" / "Cover Up" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1984)
- "Who's Fooling Who" / "A Grown Man Immersed In Tin-Tin" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1984; Stiff Records SBUY 193)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blues (Hugh Banton, Guy Evans, David Jackson) (1985)
- Sarah Jane Morris (with Sarah Jane MorrisSarah Jane Morris (singer)Sarah Jane Morris , is a pop music, jazz, rock and R&B singer and songwriter.In 1982, Morris joined The Republic as lead singer. A London-based Afro-Caribbean-Latin band with leftish tendencies, they received enormous publicity from the music press including cover stories with NME and City Limits...
, 1988) - Eyes Of The Angel (with Magic Mushroom Band, 1989)
- Spaced Out (with Magic Mushroom Band, 1991)
- The Single (Grand Opening Song / Minutes Of Peace) (cassette single with the Wildridings Primary School Choir, 1991)
- Beams & Bells: Live at the QEH (live with Treloar School & Ballard School, 2001)
- A to Z Healthy Choices (with St. John's CE (Aided) Primary School, 2003)
- Batteries Included (live with René van Commenée, 2003)
- The Music That Died Alone (with The TangentThe Tangent-Formation:Originally formed by keyboardists Andy Tillison and Sam Baine of Parallel or 90 Degrees and The Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt, bassist Jonas Reingold, and drummer Zoltan Csörsz. The septet was completed by renowned saxophonist David Jackson of Van der Graaf Generator and...
, 2003) - Re-Collage (with Tony Pagliuca and Massimo Donà Quintet, 2004)
- Lycanthrope (with Mangala Vallis, 2005)
- The Courting Ground (with Dorie Jackson, 2007)
- Distress Signal Code (with Lüüp, 2008)
- Prog family (with OsannaOsannaOsanna are an Italian psychedelic rock/progressive rock band.The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti , Danilo Rustici , Massimo Guarino , Lello Brandi , from the first line-up of the band Città Frontale, and Elio D'Anna , former member of the Showmen...
, 2008) - Live in Italy (with Nic Potter, 2008)
- Down in Shadows (with N.y.X, 2009)
- Meadow Rituals (with Lüüp, 2011)