Gene Jackson

An international solo artist who is also credited with becoming the rhythmic lynchpin of a number of contemporary jazz classics from the late 1980s onward-particularly sharing desks with Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, and Wayne Shorter-drummer, composer, and arranger Gene Jackson needs no introduction to audiences around the world.

His collaborations also include the names of Art Farmer, Christian McBride, Dianne Reeves, Kevin Eubanks, Eddie Gomez and Hugh Masekela, and for more than a decade he has been imaginatively reinterpreting gems of our jazz heritage both on record and in concert with the popular New York Standards Quartet.

Jackson’s first love (in contrast to his multifaceted work in larger ensembles) remains the piano trio: “Playing all those years with Herbie and Dave, I simply fell in love with the environment.”

Thus his debut as leader-Power of Love by the NuYorx Trio (Whirlwind, 2018)-celebrates this format through his close New York friendship with pianist Gabriel Guerrero and double bassist Carlo de Rosa.

Although born in Philadelphia, the drummer now resides primarily in Japan, where he founded a second ensemble, the To-Kyo Trio, with bassist Pat Glynn and pianist Mayuko Katakura, further expanding his artistic horizons in the creative melting pot of this vibrant metropolis.