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The Australian Jackson 5.
For all of my musical professional jazz rock reggae starring drum career I’ve had it all, except the one the one thing I wanted the most. An article on ME!! A story on my jazz drumming the affable giant, the Leonard Feather of Australia, his benevolence, the IRREPRESSIBLE Adrian Jackson.
Adrian is now Grand Honcho at the Wangaratta jazz festival and he also pens his learned jazz-tomes with Australia's lliberated Music press in ‘Rhythms Magazine’ www.rhythms.com.AU, And yep … the one the one thing I wanted the most. It never appeared -- an article on Moi him or his stately sister Andra 'Croc Hunter' Jackson or his horn blowing brother Martin, Cos I’m SUCH a good drummer. “If ya can’t swing with Dezzy, ya can’t play’’ …Brian Brown
But here we are, forty years later and ‘not a hyphen’ did I get…
SO..
I’m gonna do an article on the Jacksons!! And here it is!
Ellington ST in West Bunbury in East Melbourne in 1975 was not the millionaires brick row that is now and the Jacksons came from down home black eyed peas and chitluns in a middle class weatherboard ghetto home and as I arrived at 7pm one Wednesday night to graciously drive Adrian to the Musician’s Union Wednesday night jam, I heard the unmistakable pounding of MINGUS shattering the suburban sway.
All The Jacksons are ‘six footers’ and Papa bear was no exception., the tallest of them allest.
With a genuine welcome he shook my hand, gave his big warm smile and asked me whether I preferred Elvin Jones to Art Blakey, … and could Blakey have cut it with Coltrane if Elvin ever fell off his horse?
Yer damn tootin!! Art Blakey could cut razor blades with paper! But ye can’t beat Elvin and if I was Trane I wooda had them both!
Mama Bear Missus Jackson was all heart and glow and she invited me into the overwhelming bouquet of warm pies and casseroles and I swooned. I’d never seen so many pies and cakes! An um-employed door dealing apprentice be-bopper was ALWAYS hungry.
But Take 5!! There’s more! There was a well stacked kitchen table behind a wall of vinyl including Sunny Murray, Albert Ayler, Ornette, Sassy, more Mingus and more Jazz and more!! Crikey! Bugger me, there was JOE PASS himself!! Having a cuppa with Mrs Jackson. He had liked Melbourne and the Jackson’s cooking so much he had stayed on for a week after his concerts!!
Ba Bear Martin Jackson in a great feat of ‘INSTRUMENTALITY’ took up the saxophone from scratch and blew free without a scale or a chord or a tune ever and became one of the great free form jazz musicians of all time. Ok, so free jazz is maybe ain’t your ‘thang’ but it is mine and Martin blows the Tenor out FLAT. Albert Ayler rules KO!!
Jacksonville -- hear I was to stay.-- Aint not a thang goes on in Australian jazz that one a dem don’t know about it. And dig this! None a dem droke or smink!!
Oh wait! Adrian did write me up in The Herald once. In 1985 when I was a HUGE TV star at a fundraiser for myself to help me buy a new drum set when my whole rigged was lifted bogue car thieves in safe Kew.
“……and featuring Kate The Great Ceberano, Vince Jones, and Wilbur Wild’s Blowout….to raise money for renown percussionist Dezzy McKenna’’
Renown Perscussionist!!
SO! These daze I write me damned self up.
Delicate Dezzy McKenna has drummed with Brian Batie (Al green) Nat Adderley, Wendy Saddington, Winton, Brian Brown, Bob Sedergreen, Jane Clifton, The Bushwhackers, Jo Jo Zep, The Skyhooks, Doc Bornstein, Willy Zygier, The Ken White Show, Circus Oz, Kate Ceberano, Taj Mahal, Houndog Taylor, Dr Jeff Pressing, John Scofield, Frank Traynor, Wilbur Wild, Toots Hibberd from The Maytalls, Joe Chindamo (Billy Cobham) O’Donel Levy (Jimmy Smith), Judy Jacques, Eldee Young (Ramsay Lewis) and Anne and Johnny Hawker with Paul Grabowsky, and whoever else had 10c to call him.