Javon Jackson

Jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and educator Javon Jackson was born in Carthage, Missouri on June 16, 1965. As a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from 1987 to 1990, he caught the attention of jazz critics and fans alike. He has released numerous albums as a bandleader and has recorded alongside many of jazz music’s biggest names including Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, Elvin Jones, Freddy Hubbard, Betty Carter, Charlie Haden and many others. His musical style has shifted from hard bop to soul and funk, and then back again. He’s also played on albums by Tupac Shakur and Ben E. King. He appeared on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s Malcolm X. His back catalog of releases include a half-dozen albums on the Blue Note Records label: When the Time Is Right (1992), For One Who Knows (1995), Blue Spirit (1996), A Look Within (1996), Good People (1997), and Pleasant Valley (1999). Jackson – who earned his Bachelor in Music Degree from Berklee College of Music and his Master of Music Degree from the State University of New York – is also an educator. He served as Assistant Professor of Jazz at Long Island University (1996-98) and at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, New York (1999-2007). He serves as the Chair of Jazz for the National YoungArts Foundation and has been the Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford since 2013. He continues to record, releasing albums such as Expression (2014), Three’s Company (2016/with Ron Carter and Billy Drummond), and For You (2018).

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