Home » Jazz Musicians » Ronald Shannon Jackson

Ronald Shannon Jackson

I was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas in 1940. Both my parents were music lovers. My mother played piano and organ at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church, and worked as a schoolteacher. My father owned the only black-owned local record store and jukebox business. On one side of my family is Curtis Ousley (who became famous as King Curtis). On the other is David “Fathead” Newman. I started playing drums in elementary school under the clarinetist John Carter, and in high school under Mr. Baxter, the same teacher who taught Ornette Coleman, Curtis Ousley, Dewey Redman, John Carter, Julius Hemphill, Charles Moffett, and James Jordan. I began playing professionally in Dallas with members of the Ray Charles band, and worked in Fort Worth, Houston, New Haven, and Bridgeport before moving to New York City in 1966. I attended New York University along with alto saxophonist René McLean, trumpeter Charles Sullivan, and bassist Abdul Malik, who had worked with Thelonious Monk. Since that time, I have performed with many legendary jazz musicians including Charles Mingus, Betty Carter, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ray Bryant, Stanley Turrentine, Bennie Maupin, Shirley Scott and others. I performed and recorded with three musical revolutionaries who virtually defined jazz in the 1970s: Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Ornette Coleman. I am the only musician to perform and record with all three. After my final performance with Ornette Coleman on Saturday Night Live in 1979, I created The Decoding Society, whose classic recordings, including “Eye on You,” “Mandance,” “Street Priest,” “Barbeque Dog,” and “When Colors Play” breathed new life into American music. On more than 15 albums and countless tours, I helped launch the careers of some of the most talented musicians in jazz, including Bill Frisell, Byard Lancaster, Billy Bang, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Melvin Gibbs, Akbar Ali, Jef Lee Johnson, Robin Eubanks, Eric Person, and James Carter. During the 1980s, I traveled on behalf of the Voice of America and the U.S. Information Service to 15 African countries, India, and eight East Asian countries with The Decoding Society. During a solo trip to Africa, I composed much of “When Colors Play.” My string quartets and other composed music have been performed by the most noted orchestras in Europe and the United States, the Cologne Jazz Society, WDR (Köln) and on radio in France, Germany, England, and Poland.

Read more

Tags

3
Album Review

Albert Ayler: At Slugs’ Saloon 1966 Revisited

Read "At Slugs’ Saloon 1966 Revisited" reviewed by Mark Corroto


With Albert Ayler it has seemingly always been “what If." What if he had survived that plunge to his death in the East River in 1970? Setting aside the question of whether he was murdered or committed suicide, how would he have altered the course of music if he lived beyond those 34 years? At the time of his passing he had fueled a revolution both in America and Europe for free jazz. Let's not fail to remember that his ...

7
Album Review

Albert Ayler Quintet: At Slugs’ Saloon 1966 Revisited

Read "At Slugs’ Saloon 1966 Revisited" reviewed by Chris May


There continues to be as much discussion about Albert Ayler's personality and motivations as there is about the music he left us. Was he a religious fundamentalist? Was he bi-polar? Was he an attention seeker? Was he some sort of leather fetishist? The evidence suggests Ayler may have been borderline bi-polar, but as for the other questions, the answer is a resounding “No." A clue to where Ayler was coming from, and where he was going to, ...

8
Album Review

Albert Ayler: La Cave Live-Cleveland 1966-Revisited

Read "La Cave Live-Cleveland 1966-Revisited" reviewed by Chris May


Cleveland club La Cave, a grungy cellar which could accommodate around two hundred people, opened as a folk venue in 1962, transitioned into rock mid-decade, and closed in 1969. Along the way, in amongst such counterculture flagbearers as the Velvet Underground and The Fugs, La Cave booked a few of the bad boys of so-called “new thing" jazz, among them tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler, a Cleveland hometown hero. The 2xCD La Cave Live-Cleveland 1966-Revisited comprises just over ...

229
Album Review

Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society: When Colors Play

Read "When Colors Play" reviewed by Derek Taylor


Prior to Knit Classics’ recent reissue deluge all of Ronald Shannon Jackson’s recordings as a leader were out of print. This may not seem like much of travesty to those unfamiliar with Jackson’s catalog but when you consider that he had over a dozen albums to his credit the reality of the rate of attrition begins to sink in. Fortunately for everyone involved the Knitting Factory’s new reissue imprint has chosen Jackson (along with Rashied Ali) as one of the ...

Read more articles

Radio

"Another Kind Of Funky Drummer", A Tribute To Ronald Shannon Jackson On WPFW This Friday Night

"Another Kind Of Funky Drummer", A Tribute To Ronald Shannon Jackson On WPFW This Friday Night

Source: Chris Rich

Tune in to WPFW radio’s Overnight Jazz Part I, this Friday beginning at 12AM (midnight) for “Another Kind of Funky Drummer”, a tribute to Ronald Shannon Jackson, who passed into ancestry this past weekend. In addition to the varied Jackson music to be heard as presented by program host Bobby Hill, the program will also feature a rare, never before heard 1983 interview with the gifted drummer, as conducted by university professor, archivist, and legacy WPFW programmer Art Cromwell. Art’s ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

La Cave...

Ezz-thetics
2022

buy

When Colors Play

Knit Classics
2000

buy

Shannon's House

RN Discs
1996

buy

What Spirit Say

RN Discs
1995

buy

Taboo

RN Discs
1990

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.