Ronald Shannon Jackson Dallas 7/7/12

[CraigP]

An appreciative crowd of around 90-100 saw Ronald Shannon Jackson fight through an atrocious sound mix to bring the noise Saturday night in Dallas. Appearing at the historic Kessler Theatre, Jackson unveiled a new version of his Decoding Society, with only Melvin Gibbs a holdover from previous incarnations.

The night opened with some intense verses from national poetry slam champion Janean Livingston, speaking truth to power to those who could embrace the storms she unleashed. To those suckas who couldn't, better go find your momma.

This new Society began their set with Wayne Shorter's Deluge, off the JuJu album. This was as straight-ahead as things got, as remaining compositions were by Jackson and his band, veering between atmospheric, almost meditative pieces and those with his brand of harmolodics. Jackson has always had a pronounced rock feel to his playing, and this was on full display. At 72, the man can still play the hell out of the drums. The standout among his band was trumpeter John Wier, who combined great articulation with the ability to generate forward momentum, even on tunes with relatively static backdrops.

The biggest disappointment for me was someone I thought would be the biggest asset, at least on paper, and that was Melvin Gibbs. His bass was way too high in the mix, which wasn't his fault, but he turned on a fuzz device for his solos which flattened everything in its path. I know he was playing notes, because I could see his fingers move, but only noise was produced. Still, the crowd seemed to dig what he was doing.

The band played Gibb's Howard Beach Memoirs, originally done by Power Tools with Bill Frisell on their Strange Meeting album, and finished with a bang with Jackson's Bloodlife. All said, it was a solid performance by the band, who with a little tightening could prove to be a worthy addition to the lineage of The Decoding Society.

P.S. As an added bonus I was finally able to meet Mr. Dennis Gonzalez, who was there with his sons.

[kh1958]

The sound mix was perfectly fine from where I was sitting (on the balcony to the right of the stage). I learned on a prior visit to the Kessler that with loud music (which this sure was) you definitely want to be in the balcony--the sound is much better up there than on the floor.

I thought the concert was thrilling and would love to have a recording of the group and music. The blind trumpeter was the best soloist, but the guitarist and violinist were also worthy.

[CraigP]

I was hoping to meet you somehow last night. My wife and I were on the stools right in front of the mixing board.

[kh1958]

I was hoping to meet you somehow last night. My wife and I were on the stools right in front of the mixing board.

There were a lot more people there than I expected.

I sat next to a friendly fellow who had been to quite a few of the same concerts as me (Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra at the Caravan of Dreams, Roy Hargrove at the Meyerson, etc.) over the last thirty years or so.

[CraigP]

I sat next to a friendly fellow who had been to quite a few of the same concerts as me (Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra at the Caravan of Dreams, Roy Hargrove at the Meyerson, etc.) over the last thirty years or so.

When Ornette opened the Caravan of Dreams, I was going through a relatively brief period where I only listened to punk/new wave, so I missed it. It kills me now to think about it, but at least I've acquired all the albums surrounding the event.

[kh1958]

Here's a photo I took; click on it and it increases size.

[CraigP]

Nice! The man...

[kh1958]

An interesting short article on RSJ:

http://www.dfw.com/2012/07/03/646793/ronald-shannon-jazz-fort-worth.html

"I basically retired," Jackson says. "My left arm went numb and ... they wanted to operate on it because all the nerves had scar tissue on 'em from playing the drums."

Jackson consulted with a neurologist, declined surgery and spent several years undergoing physical therapy to regain strength.

Last year, Jackson had a heart attack while en route to the Moers Jazz Festival in Germany, underwent an angioplasty and, incredibly, checked himself out of the hospital to play his set with guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Melvin Gibbs. (Jackson returned to the hospital after the performance.)

[kh1958]

A CD (CDr?) of a portion of this concert is now available from Ronald Shannon Jackson's website, complete with some mighty confusing ordering and pricing rules.

I've attempted to order this along with a 1994 Decoding Society concert recording; we'll see how this goes.

http://ronaldshannonjackson.com/cds.html

[PHILLYQ]

A CD (CDr?) of a portion of this concert is now available from Ronald Shannon Jackson's website, complete with some mighty confusing ordering and pricing rules.

I've attempted to order this along with a 1994 Decoding Society concert recording; we'll see how this goes.

http://ronaldshannonjackson.com/cds.html

Let us know how that goes- I might be interested in some Power Tools, especially with Pete Cosey.

[kh1958]

I almost ordered the Power Tools with Pete Cosey, but I thought, we'll see how this goes.

[kh1958]

So far, no reply at all to my request to order.

[CraigP]

So far, no reply at all to my request to order.

That's a shame. I'd love to hear the band from the concert last July again.

[kh1958]

I don't give up easily; I'll be sending another email in the next day or so.

[robertoart]

He seems to post directly in the comments section of his performances on youtube a lot.

[CJ Shearn]

Very cool, that he's back playing.

[7/4]

Last year, Jackson had a heart attack while en route to the Moers Jazz Festival in Germany, underwent an angioplasty and, incredibly, checked himself out of the hospital to play his set with guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Melvin Gibbs. (Jackson returned to the hospital after the performance.)

Trooper!

[CJ Shearn]

The Power Tools lineup and the band with Brotzmann look real interesting. Too bad the discs are so $$ though.

[kh1958]

All of the Last Exit CDs on his website have been available as commercial CDs.

Edited June 10, 2013 by kh1958

[kh1958]

Still no reply from Mr. Jackson and/or his minions.