Javon Jackson

Javon Jackson brings deep skill to both saxophone performance and music instruction, delivering inventive solos through a rich tone that merges bold acoustic post-bop with rhythmic soul-jazz grooves. Born in 1965 in Carthage, Missouri, he was raised in Denver by parents immersed in music, his mother on piano and his father on trumpet. He picked up alto saxophone around age ten and moved to tenor during his high school years. After graduation he enrolled at the University of Denver and Berklee College of Music, only to leave school and spend 1988 to 1990 touring and recording as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

Since that period he has appeared on stages and in studios with Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Donald Byrd, Bobby Hutcherson, Stanley Turrentine, and numerous additional artists. His debut as leader arrived in 1991 on Criss Cross with Me and Mr. Jones, featuring drummer Elvin Jones, bassist Christian McBride, and pianist James Williams. The follow-up, Burnin' from the same year, added tenor saxophonist Billy Pierce, pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist McBride, and drummer Louis Hayes. Signing to Blue Note, Jackson issued the well-received albums When the Time Is Right in 1994, Look Within in 1996, and Pleasant Valley in 1999, exploring varied corners of the jazz tradition while collaborating with Kenny Garrett, Betty Carter, John Medeski, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, and others.

He later joined Palmetto and broadened his approach through funk, soul, and R&B on the 2003 release Easy Does It, which included guest spots by Fred Wesley, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lenny White, and Mark Whitfield. Similar directions shaped Have You Heard in 2005 and Now in 2006. After leaving the label, Jackson continued to alternate between standards-based acoustic jazz and funk-inflected material on 2007's Sugar Hill: Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, 2008's Once Upon a Melody, and 2012's Celebrating John Coltrane. Also in 2012 he recorded Lucky 13 alongside pianist and vocalist Les McCann. The live album Expression appeared in 2014, captured at New York's Smoke jazz and supper club. He then joined bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Drummond in the trio Three's Company for the 2016 album We'll Be Together Again.

Outside performance and recording, Jackson maintains a strong commitment to teaching, holding positions at Long Island University and the Conservatory of Music at the State University of New York at Purchase, where he earned his master's degree. He currently serves as professor and division director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in Connecticut.