Brian Jackson

Born in Brooklyn in 1952, Brian Jackson trained early on in piano and flute before developing a practice that blends keyboards, vocals, composition and production in a style situated between jazz, soul, funk and spoken word. Brian Jackson met Gil Scott-Heron at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and this partnership defined the 1970s: he contributed to Pieces of a Man (1971) and Free Will (1972), then co-signed a series of albums under both their names, from Winter in America (1974) to 1980 (1980), including The First Minute of a New Day (1975), From South Africa to South Carolina (1975), It’s Your World (1976), Bridges (1977) and Secrets (1978). His electric keyboard work and flute lines occupy a central place in the aesthetic of these records, where jazz intersects with soul, urban groove and socially charged lyrics. After the duo split, Brian Jackson pursued a lower-profile path, working with Kool & the Gang, Roy Ayers, Will Downing, Gwen Guthrie, Les Nubians and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others. Under his own name he released Gotta Play in 2000, Evolutionary Minded in 2013 with M1 & The New Midnight Band, and This Is Brian Jackson in 2022, while his collaboration with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge on Jazz Is Dead in 2021 repositioned his work within the dialogue between soul-jazz heritage and contemporary creations.