Remembering Anthony Jackson

It's taken me two months to really digest that one of my biggest musical heroes is gone. The Great bassist Anthony Jackson passed just over two months ago after a long struggle with illness. He was 72 years old.

To say that he was an influence on my playing would be a profound understatement. I discovered AJ at the young age of 14 on a record called Suntan (1984) by pianist Michel Camilo. It was adjacent to the fusion music that was captivating me at the time like Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. His sound, his accuracy, his chops were always of the highest level, but I was always taken by how different he played. How angular he sounded. How he always seemed to zig when every other bass player was zagging. He was using a volume pedal and almost sounded like he was bowing the electric bass! He was using a lot of dissonance and seemed to pick notes that built incredible tension and sound inside of the music. He was playing a SIX-STRING bass and fully utilizing every note on the fingerboard! It was almost too much for my young mind to take.

Almost overnight, he became my favorite bassist and I absolutely devoured everything I could that he played on. The pop records, the R&B stuff, the Jazz (of course), the Latin music and the symphonic playing, too. He was always sounding amazing but making those "Anthony" choices in the music. Later, I would find out that Olivier Messian was a huge influence of his and he helped me to discover THAT music, too.

Growing up WITHOUT the internet meant that seeing your heroes play live was a rare treat and when you were lucky enough to get a VHS copy of a concert video, you watched it until the tape wore out. I did this with Grover Washington Jr.'s In Concert (1981) featuring an all-star band that included AJ along with the great Steve Gadd on drums. Man, he wore the bass out! No solos. No slapping. Pure energy and groove and power. After seeing that video some 50 times, I remember finding the album Winelight in a record store hoping that AJ was on it and when I saw the credits, some dude named Marcus Miller was the bass player. I wish I could tell you how disappointed I was that my hero wasn't on that record, let alone some joker I'd never heard named Marcus Miller. LOL. I would definitely discover Marcus later, but that's how much I loved AJ's playing as a kid.

I'm positive I must have driven my band directors crazy trying to sound like AJ in Jazz Band, playing with a pick whenever I could sneak it in. His techniques actually came in pretty handy playing in the pit for musicals and I still lean heavily on his palm muting, octaves, and so many other ways he came up with to play the instrument. To this day, there are a couple of musicians that I play with that will turn and give me a wry smile when they hear me go "a la Jamerson" as Anthony would put it. I still take a lot of joy in trying to copy someone who is so uncopyable. It's like playing the piano like Thelonious Monk, I would imagine. You can imitate, but not much more than that.

My biggest regret is never having gotten to see him play live. I was prepared coming out of the pandemic to make a trip to NYC whenever he was going to perform, but it just never happened. I had missed my opportunity and I regret it more than anything. I have friends who have seen him at the Blue Note or the 55 Bar or even Seventh Ave. South that have wonderful recollections of his playing, his vibe, and his warmth after the set. I wish I could have experienced that just once. I will continue to play all these amazing records and picture him onstage embodying the music. Rest in peace, Maestro and thank you.

20 Essential Anthony Jackson Recordings

Roberta Flack, Feel Like Makin' Love (Atlantic, 1974)

Buddy Rich, Very Live at Buddy's Place (Groove Merchant, 1974)

Chick Corea, The Leprechaun (Polydor, 1976)

Al Di Meola, Elegant Gypsy (Columbia, 1977)

Lee Ritenour, Lee Ritenour & His Gentle Thoughts (JVC, 1977)

Quincy Jones, Sounds...and Stuff Like That (A&M, 1978)

Chaka Khan, Naughty (Warner Bros., 1980)

Steely Dan, Gaucho (MCA, 1980)

Steve Khan, Eyewitness (Antilles, 1981)

Donald Fagen, The Nightfly (Warner Bros., 1982)

Paul Simon, Hearts and Bones (Warner Bros., 1983)

Teena Marie, Robbery (Epic, 1983)

French Toast (Electric Bird, 1984)

Michel Camilo, Suntan (Electric Bird, 1986)

Wayne Krantz, Signals (Enja, 1990)

Rachelle Ferrell (Capitol, 1992)

Edward Simon, The Beauty Within (AudioQuest, 1994)

Michel Petrucciani, Trio in Tokyo (Dreyfus, 1999)

Hiromi, Voice (Telarc, 2011)

The O'Jays, Ship Ahoy (Philadelphia Internationsl, 1973)

...and so many more.