RONALD SHANNON JACKSON

Ronald Shannon Jackson biography
Ronald Shannon Jackson, along with Bill Laswell, John Zorn, Vernon Reid and other NYC based jazz musicians, played an important role in that movement that took jazz/rock away from formulaic post-70s 'fuzak' and re-energized the genre with a punky urban urgency and creative use of musical forms that had previously been considered outside of the jazz boundries. Jackson got his start playing with prestigous free jazz culprits such as Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, & most importantly, Ornette Coleman. Jackson was an original member of Coleman's highly influentuial electric jazz emsemble 'Prime Time'. It was his exposure to Coleman's harmolodic compositional technique during this period that would shape the direction of Jackson's own music.

In the late 70's Jackson began forming what would come to be known as 'The Decoding Society' which showcased influential players Vernon Reid (Living Colour) & Melvin Gibbs (Rollins Band, Power Tools). Jackson released several albums with The Decoding Society throughout the 80's, the most notable of which was the 1982 release 'Mandance', an album that was praised by critics & fans alike as a watershed in the history of jazz.

In 1986 Jackson joined forces with free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock (an unaccredited contributor to Miles Davis' 'A Tribute to Jack Johnson'), avant-garde sax player Peter Brotzmann, & experimental bassist Bill Laswell (Material, Massacre, Praxis) to form 'Last Exit', a band that focused on improvisational jazz with an aggressive edge. A year later Jackson joined Bill Frisell (Naked City) & Melvin Gibbs to form the little known yet highly influential band 'Power Tools'.

Jackson's activity has steadily declined since the 90's. His last recording, 'Shannon's House', was released in 1996.

- Danial 'Captain Capricorn' and John 'Easy Money'