Brian Jackson
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*** NEW ALBUM ON BBE JUNE 2025 PRODUCED BY MASTERS AT WORK ***One-half of the legendary duo Gil Scott- Heron and Brian Jackson.
Brian Jackson
One-half of the legendary duo Gil Scott- Heron and Brian Jackson, Brian began his professional career at 18, having recorded nine albums by his 27th birthday. The young prodigies recorded their very first album with greats Ron Carter, Bernard Purdie and Hubert Laws.
Together, Scott-Heron and Jackson wrote songs that depicted the social and political context of their time, with a rich musicality that borrows from jazz, blues and soul. Their catalogue has travelled through time and generations and has been a source of sample material for decades. Artists such as Tupac, Common, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, among others, have found inspiration in their tracks.
Brian is considered an early progenitor of the musical genre called “conscious music” – music with a message, which prompted New Yorker Magazine to call him “a musical pioneer.”
Twenty years after his last opus, Brian’s comeback was highlighted by the release of two albums in 2021 and 2022:
His Jazz Is Dead release is a collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest).
His second album, titled This Is Brian Jackson (BBE Music), has met critical acclaim, earning spots in Mojo magazine’s “Highest Rated Albums of 2022“ list and the New York Times’ playlist.
During his musical career, Brian has worked with artists such as Roy Ayers, Gregory Porter, Christian McBride, Bootsy Collins, Eric Truffaz, Milton Nascimento, Pat Martino, Lonnie Liston Smith and Bobbi Humphrey.
BRIAN JACKSON “NOW MORE THAN EVER” TOUR 2025
Brian tours with a show that is a mix of his most recent work and the iconic, most requested tunes in the Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson catalogue – songs like Winter In America, We Almost Lost Detroit and The Bottle, with Brian generously sharing stories and anecdotes about life as creative brothers in an era eerily similar to today. Fans never cease to be captivated by the behind-the- scenes commentary on how their favorite tunes came together from the mouth of the artist himself.
True to his identity and musical signature, Jackson takes us on a tour through society’s struggles from the point of view of one who survived the government’s 1970s backlash against the activism of the seventies, to the present, where history dutifully repeats itself – and beyond – with some needed healing and guidance for those whose futures depend on getting the right information and the right inspiration.
In 2022, he introduced his opus, simply called This Is Brian Jackson.
In 2025, Brian Jackson brings us Now More than Ever, the definitive rework of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson compositions that somehow seem more relevant today than when they wrote them 50 years ago.
Produced by Masters at Work (aka Louie Vega and Kenny Dope), Brian slips seamlessly through the time continuum to bring the message that all listeners, both old and young, need to hear – now more than ever.
Lineup:
Brian Jackson: keyboards, lead vocals, flute
Lex Cameron: keyboards, backing vocals, flute, guitar (Omar, Leon Ware) Steve Walters: bass (George Michael, Amy Winehouse)
Paul Jones: drums (Alison Moyet, xPropaganda)