The late great Mickey Roker once said to me at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus “Good drummers come out of Philly like cockroaches!”. He wasn’t lying! Philly drummers include Philly Joe Jones, Mr. Roker himself, Byron Landham, Edgar Bateman, Bruce Cox, Wayne Smith Jr., Chris Beck, Anwar Marshall, Justin Faulkner… the list can go on and on! Among the many great drummers hailing from the city of brotherly love is the legendary Gene Jackson. Having played with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Wayne Shorter, and many others he has a resume second to none. You wouldn’t know it from just talking with him, as he is one of the kindest and most humble human beings there is. I’ve had the privilege of playing with him on a few occasions and can honestly say he is one of the warmest spirits we have in the world of jazz today! I had a chance to catch up with him and we had a wonderful discussion on his career, the pandemic, living in Japan, and much more! Below is a small bit of what we talked about, but to get to the full story please check out the podcast after!
Hailing from Philly, who were some of your local influences as well as influences in the music in general?
My main influence when growing up in West Philadelphia was drummer Greg Mcdonald.
When did you make the move to NYC and how did the move shape your career?
I moved to NYC in 1987 after attending Berklee College Of Music. Many of my classmates had moved already to NYC and had become the musicians that everyone was talking about. The young Lions during that period had begun to shape the scene.
Do you feel New York is the necessary place to go to “make it” so to speak as a jazz musician?
NYC is definitely the center of Jazz music in the world and the experience of living there gives everyone a clear picture of how close the culture is tied to the music.
You have had an illustrious career thus far playing with Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, and many more? Can you share some of the recordings or gigs that you remember the most?
Of course, the year of music I was privileged to share the stage with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter were powerful inspirations to me however my work with Michelle Rosewoman, Robin Eubanks, Orrin Evans, Alex Sipiagin, and Charles Tolliver was equally inspirational and helped shaped my musical style.
You also are a founding member of the New York Standards Quartet. Can you tell us about some of the past projects that you all have done as well as any plans, post-Covid-19 of course?
The band NYSQ standing for the New York Standards Quartet group collective spearheaded by saxophonist Tim Armacost has consecutively toured every year mostly in Japan and six-CD releases. This year’s Pandemic has halted our momentum as it has done with many artists around the globe. We are all perplexed with no clear plan for the future at this point. I’m sure when things settle we will try and take off from where we left off.
When did you make the move to Japan and why?
I was going back and forth from Brooklyn to Japan from around 2004 and maybe from 2010, I began spending most of my time in Japan going to Brooklyn several months a year to sign my apartment lease which I kept up until this year. I basically moved to Japan because I met my life partner and now wife.
You’ve been there for quite some time now! In your opinion what are some of the differences between the music scene over there versus the states?
The music scene in Japan is very vibrant more so than many places in the world however since Jazz originated in America born from the Afro American experience there are cultural aspects of the music that really are taught and if someone is not from America they need to at least experience the cultural nuances which the music was spawned from. Japanese on the other hand has a rich culture that evolved adapting rules and structure such to live and to integrate foreign culture and concepts which in the case of Jazz lends itself to be partially adapted. However usually once the Japanese musician gets experience actually living in the American culture many become more adaptive to the cultural nuances of the Jazz experience.
Even though you spend a majority of your time over there you still enjoy a great career between the two countries. It’s a feat I myself aspire to hopefully achieve shortly! How have you gone about doing it and have there been many challenges in maintaining this career between the two countries?
I have been lucky and contribute most of my success of being able to somehow stay active in two countries to my association with Herbie Hancock for which I am grateful for this association. Also colleagues of mine with whom I’ve worked with, and we have high mutual respect, patiently wait and tailor schedules that coincide with my USA schedule.
Can you share any upcoming recording or performing projects you have lined up?
Right now most work is halted throughout the rest of the year and there are tentative recording projects people are considering. However nothing I can speak of at the moment. There are a few upcoming events in Tokyo with the local musicians that periodically will take place. I have a tentative tour in October with my long-time friend, guitarist Gene Ess who recently is frequent in Japan. This tour will be with the amazing pianist David Bryant who is also frequently in Japan and bassist Daiki Yasugakawa.
What advice would you give to musicians looking to move to Japan?
First off, unfortunately, musicians desiring to live in Japan can’t just move to Japan and look for gigs. In Japan, one is required to get a visa to be able to work and there is really no working around on getting the right visa to be able to legally work. It’s almost impossible unless one of the sponsors brings you over for a short tour which you will have to return to your origins after the sponsored tour. Personally, I had no idea I would eventually end up living in Japan but when I met my life partner it became clear where I wanted to be and as such, we got married. After marriage I was able to legally work in Japan thus unless you are married to a Japanese national it’s nearly impossible to move to Japan to live a life of playing music in Japan, unfortunately.
My sincere gratitude to brother Jackson for his time, the wonderful stories, and the life lessons enveloped in this discussion. Again, be sure to check out the full podcast interview and stay tuned for more!
For further information on Gene, please visit the following weblinks:
- http://www.genejacksonmusic.com
- http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Gene_Jackson.html
- http://pearldrum.com/artists/drumset-artists/gene-jackson
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/bygenejackson/sets/
- http://www.nysq.org
Photography by Mitsuhiro Sugawara
About Author
