When I interviewed guitarist Steve Khan in 2011 (the interview published in Jazz Journal in September and October 2018), I asked him about Anthony Jackson, who died yesterday. Biographical treatments of Jackson abound but Khan’s comments give a particular insight and they are here republished as a tribute to the late contrabassist:
“Anthony Jackson is a most special musician, a very special case. Yes, we’ve been working together, in a very particular way, since 1981. That now includes the following recordings: Eyewitness (’81); Modern Times (’82); Casa Loco (’83); Public Access (’89); Headline (’92); Crossings (’94); The Suitcase (’08) [recorded in ’94]; & Parting Shot (’11). When we started Eyewitness in ’81, that band, that music changed my life – changed everything! Without Anthony, Steve Jordan, and Manolo Badrena, that would have never happened.
‘He does not play solos in the traditional way – in fact, he refuses to do it … but I have come up with ways to fake him out enough so that he does it without knowing that he’s doing it’
“In the end, what it’s about is playing together, making music together in a conversational style. If you look at the electric bass and its practitioners, Anthony is virtually alone in approaching making music this way. Yes, he does not play solos in the traditional way – in fact, he refuses to do it. I gave up asking him such things, in a normal way, a long, long time ago. But I have, along with the help of all the drummers, come up with ways to fake him out enough so that he does it without knowing that he’s doing it. You often hear this being put into use during our intros and what some people would consider the fades on the recordings. Again, if one wants to hear what Anthony Jackson is really about as a musician, the full palette that he brings with him, then you only have to have The Suitcase and you will know!
“But, where the fundamental feel of jazz is concerned, the walking acoustic bass, to these ears, no electric bass feels that way – no matter who the player might be. For example, if you revisit the two beautiful ballads included on The Suitcase: You have Melancholee (Lee Morgan) and Dedicated To You (Cahn-Chaplin-Zaret) – at some point during the solo sections, Anthony chooses to walk – personally speaking, I always hated that – it feels forced to me, and I don’t believe that most acoustic bassists would have done that in those spots – it’s really not necessary on a ballad – one doesn’t have to force it to move. It’s OK for a ballad to be a ballad for 8-10 minutes, if that’s what it is! It’s a musical choice, it’s his musical choice – and we don’t always agree about everything. But sometimes, not agreeing is what forces you to invent to improvise because the unexpected is part of the equation, and that is a great thing!
“For this one complaint, I can think of 100s of things that are stellar and unique! In the end, when all is said and done, Anthony is a most special player and he’s made me a better musician.”
