Composer and multi-instrumentalist
Brian Jackson will go down in history for the nine albums he cut with
Gil Scott-Heron between 1971 and 1980 as his writing partner, musical director, and sonic architect. After their split, he worked with
Bobbi Humphrey,
Kool & the Gang,
Phyllis Hyman,
Will Downing,
Gwen Guthrie, and
Roy Ayers, among others. In 2000 he released the wonderful, little-known solo offering Gotta Play. In mid-2018, he met the
Phenomenal Handclap Band's
Daniel Collás and they began working together in the latter's Brooklyn studio. They completed most of these tunes before
Jackson teamed up with
Adrian Younge and
Ali Shaheed Muhammad for
Brian Jackson JID008.
This Is Brian Jackson is the logical, soul-drenched follow-up to Gotta Play. While none of this music has been previously released, not all of it is new. Some cuts were drawn from 1976 demos, there's a lost soundtrack contribution, and two tunes were cut with
Malcolm Cecil in the early '80s. All are re-visioned, newly arranged, and re-recorded. Some of his collaborators include guitarist Binky Brice, drummer
Moussa Fadera, and singers Juliet Swango and Monika Heideman. Over its eight cuts, the music showcases
Jackson's prodigious gifts as a creative composer, conscious lyricist, and generous arranger. "All Talk" opens with elegant funk.
Jackson's grooving flute engages in interplay with Brice and a synth bassline framed by drums and handclaps.
Jackson is in fine voice as he exhorts citizens to see through the lies of politicians and corporations. The breezy, poignant "Force of Will" commences with
Collás' congas bubbling Afro-Cuban style under Rhodes, flute, acoustic guitar, bass, and synth before
Jackson's lyrics of hard-won self-actualization come down hard. "Nomad" employs his piano in a trio with drums and guitar. Its lyric reflects on inner discipline as the trio engage in gorgeous, syncopated interplay poignantly illumined by chamber strings. At over nine minutes, "Mami Wata" is the set's longest cut. A bubbling, trancey exercise, it melds jazz-funk, African juju music, and Afrobeat.
Jackson plays organ, clavinet, kalimba, and flute, framing Domenica Fossati's alto flute and synth, backing singers, roiling percussion, guitar, and sitar. The lyric is a syncopated chant held aloft by intoxicating polyrhythms and intricate modal melodies. "Hold On" is an exotic take on '70s disco, offering a monster groove driving
Jackson's deep, resonant vocal. Closer "Little Orphan Boy" offers bumping, jazz-funk driven by drummer
Harvey Mason. The groove is massive, recalling both
Stevie Wonder's mid-'70s records and the propulsive funk of
Heron's and
Jackson's Secrets. The retro go-go-style percussion during the final third takes the jam to an entirely different level. When the artist and
Collás began recording, their goal was to create a 21st century
Brian Jackson record that he might have made during the late '70s. They succeeded.
This Is Brian Jackson's music is timeless, a musical montage reflecting his multi-disciplinary immersion in jazz, funk, soul, and hip-hop, without sacrificing the focus, generosity, inspiration, and openness that have been at the very heart of his music all along. ~ Thom Jurek