Eldredge Jackson

The title of Eldredge Jackson’s highly anticipated debut album on JEA Records says it all about the fresh and explosive energy he’s bringing to the contemporary urban jazz landscape. The multi-talented saxophonist is doing it all for our Listening Pleasure, getting the rest of us hip to the deep musical love, sensual melodies and fiery grooves that have made him a vital musical force as the new jazz sensation these past seven years throughout the Midwest region including his adopted home state of Oklahoma.

A dynamic blend of the jazz, R&B and gospel influences that have inspired and defined the saxman’s life and career, Listening Pleasure marks Jackson’s long awaited emergence onto the national scene. Among the collection’s 13 powerhouse tracks are soulful, passionate covers of two iconic R&B songs, Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” which are produced by Brian Jones and famed R&B/urban jazz producer Preston Glass; Glass’ superstar resume includes Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Kirk Whalum, George Benson and Earth, Wind & Fire. Beyond these crowd pleasers, the core of Listening Pleasure is the full-on collaboration between Jackson and his fellow Tulsan, superstar bassist Wayman Tisdale, on ten cuts that brings their personal and professional association full circle.

Jackson and Tisdale, who co-produced the album and co-wrote many of its tracks at the bassist’s home studio The Bassmint, have been acquainted since middle school. One summer when Tisdale was between seasons in the NBA, he sat in with Jackson’s band at the local Greenwood Jazz Festival. The two also share a common spiritual bond, as their fathers were both pastors of major congregations that ran in the same local church circles. They are also both members of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame; Tisdale was awarded in 2002, Jackson in 2005.

“Wayman was “The Choice”, to work with when I finally decided to write and record ‘Listening Pleasure,’ Jackson says, “. Our well established personal relationship and his immense talent and experience in the industry made him the best fit for me to introduce myself to jazz and R&B fans around the world. He knew my writing and playing style very well and we vibed perfectly together because of our mutual respect for one another and the freedom we gave each other creatively. He’d often give me raw tracks and ask me to live with them and see what kind of melody or hook I could come up with. Or I would bring a few tracks in and he would flesh them out. Then we’d fine tune the songs and start recording. The best part was his ability to bring out the best in me while getting me to express myself and emerge as an artist with new and inspiring musical ideas. It was a very comfortable and exciting creative experience.”

Gearing up for the release of the disc’s coolly funky, instantly infectious Tisdale penned first single “I Like That”—that’s always the response it gets from the first few notes—Jackson was recently on the Soul Food Festival tour, bringing his trademark spirit and spontaneity to audiences as the sole instrumentalist on a bill with R&B legends Peabo Bryson and The Whispers.

These kinds of high profile gigs are par for the course for the New Orleans native, whose church upbringing in Tulsa—his dad was a pastor of a non denominational congregation--infuses a rich gospel influence into a soul-jazz horn style that is as much indebted to David Sanborn and Grover Washington, Jr. as Dexter Gordon. These past few years, he’s opened for or shared festival stages with a wild cross-section of urban jazz and R&B greats: David Sanborn, Najee, Kirk Whalum, Marcus Miller, Ohio Players, Lakeside, Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Osborne, Angela Winbush, Stanley Jordan, Dru Hill, Shirley Murdock, SOS Band, Tom Braxton and fellow Tulsans Charlie Wilson and The GAP Band.

“I really think the magic of making music is all about reaching out and having an impact on people’s lives,” Jackson says “The more people I am able to reach, the more fun it is. It’s been a great blessing to touch so many fans on a regional basis, and I’m really excited now to take things further and share my music with the rest of the country and world. It’s a unique opportunity when I can take a song I’ve written almost in secret, just sitting in a room by myself, and bring it to an audience of hundreds or thousands. I might imagine they’ll respond a certain way, but when they actually do, it’s a transcendent feeling and there’s nothing in the world like it. I enjoy engaging them, getting them involved, lifting their spirits and then realizing we’re sharing so much joy with each other.”