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Anthony Jackson (musician)

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Anthony Jackson
Jackson in 2007
Jackson in 2007
Background information
Born
Anthony Claiborne Jackson

(1952-06-23)June 23, 1952
New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 19, 2025(2025-10-19) (aged 73)
Staten Island, New York City, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
Years active1970–2017

Anthony Claiborne Jackson (June 23, 1952 – October 19, 2025) was an American bassist. Described as "one of the masters of the instrument",[1] he performed as a session musician and live artist. He is also credited with the development of the modern six-string bass, which he referred to as an electric contrabass guitar.

Background

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Jackson playing in the Netherlands with Al Di Meola in 1978

Jackson was born in New York City on June 23, 1952.[2] He played piano before starting guitar in his teens.[1] When he turned to bass, he was inspired by James Jamerson and Jack Casady.[1][3] Jackson worked as a session musician, in the Billy Paul band, and with Philadelphia International Records.[1] Paul’s 1972 hit "Me and Mrs. Jones" was Jackson’s first No. 1 record. His performance on "For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays helped move the song to No. 9 on the pop chart and No. 3 on the R&B chart in 1974.[1]

Jackson was a student of Jerry Fisher, Lawrence Lucie, and Pat Martino. He performed live in more than 30 countries and recorded in more than 3000 sessions on more than 500 albums.[4] In 2016, Jackson missed some performances with Hiromi due to ill health.[5]

Six-string contrabass guitar

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Danelectro (1956), Fender (1961) and other manufacturers had produced six-string basses tuned one octave below a guitar (EADGBE), and Jackson had briefly played a Fender five-string bass tuned EADGC. Jackson first approached various luthiers in 1974 about the construction of his idea for a “contrabass guitar” tuned in fourths BEADGC, and Carl Thompson built the first six-string for Jackson in 1975.[6] He first performed on the Thompson-built bass in 1975, recording with Carlos Garnett and touring with Roberta Flack.[7] He later approached luthier Ken Smith to build him a six string bass before finally playing instruments made by New York-based bass makers Fodera.

Jackson said that the idea for adding more strings to the bass guitar came from his frustration with its limited range. When asked what he thought of criticism of the six-string bass, Jackson replied,

Why is four [strings] the standard and not six? As the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family, the instrument should have had six strings from the beginning. The only reason it had four was because Leo Fender was thinking in application terms of an upright bass, but he built it along guitar lines because that was his training. The logical conception for the bass guitar encompasses six strings.[8]

From 1982 onwards Jackson almost exclusively played a contrabass guitar. Prior to 1982 his main instruments included a 1973 Fender Precision Bass, a 1973 Fender Jazz bass fitted with a 1975 Precision neck, and a Gibson EB-2D bass. In 1984 Fodera introduced their first Anthony Jackson Signature Model contrabass, followed in 1989 by a single cutaway model, the “Anthony Jackson Presentation Contrabass Guitar”.[9]

Death

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Jackson died on October 19, 2025, on Staten Island, New York, at the age of 73.[10][2] He had Parkinson's disease at the time of his death.[11]

Discography

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As co-leader

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  • Interspirit with Yiorgos Fakanas (Abstract Logix, 2010)

Collaborations
With Michel Petrucciani and Steve Gadd – the same members from Petrucciani's Both Worlds (1997)

  • Trio in Tokyo (Dreyfus, 1999) – live rec. 1997

With Steve Khan and Dennis Chambers

  • The Suitcase - Live In Köln '94 (ESC, 2008)[2CD] – live rec. 1994 for WDR
  • Parting Shot (ESC, 2011) – rec. 2010

As a member

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Easy Pieces
With Steve Ferrone, Renee Geyer and Hamish Stuart

  • Easy Pieces (A&M, 1988)

As sideman

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With Patti Austin

With Alex Bugnon

  • This Time Around (Epic, 1993)
  • Tales from the Bright Side (RCA, 1995)
  • As Promised (Narada, 2000)

With Michel Camilo

With Jorge Dalto

  • Rendez-Vous (Eastworld, 1983)
  • New York Nightline (Eastworld, 1984)
  • Listen Up! (Gaia 1988)

With Mandoki Soulmates

  • People in Room No. 8 (PolyGram, 1997)
  • Soulmates (Paroli, 2002)
  • Out of Key...with the Time (Sony, 2002)
  • Legends of Rock (Paroli, 2005)
  • Aquarelle (NEO, 2009)
  • BudaBest (Sony, 2013)

With Al Di Meola

With Will Downing

With Roberta Flack

With Carlos Franzetti

  • New York Toccata (Verve, 1985)
  • Tropic of Capricorn (Square Discs 1993)
  • Grafitti (Sonorama, 2007)

With Jun Fukamachi

  • Spiral Steps (Kitty, 1976)
  • The Sea of Dirac (Kitty, 1977)
  • Evening Star (Kitty, 1978)
  • Live (Alfa, 1978)
  • On the Move (Alfa, 1978)

With Eric Gale

  • Ginseng Woman (Columbia, 1977)
  • Multiplication (Columbia, 1977)
  • Part of You (Columbia, 1979)

With Terumasa Hino

  • City Connection (Flying Disk, 1979)
  • Daydream (Flying Disk, 1980)
  • Double Rainbow (CBS/Sony, 1981)

With Garland Jeffreys

With Chaka Khan

With Steve Khan

  • Eyewitness (Antilles, 1981)
  • Modern Times (Trio, 1982)
  • Casa Loco (Antilles, 1984)
  • Helping Hand (Polydor, 1987)
  • Public Access (GRP, 1990)
  • Headline (Polydor, 1992)
  • Crossings (PolyGram, 1994)

With Tania Maria

  • Made in New York (Manhattan, 1985)
  • The Lady from Brazil (Manhattan, 1986)
  • Bela Vista (World Pacific, 1990)
  • Europe (Pee Wee Music, 1997)

With Harvey Mason

With Michel Petrucciani

  • Music (Blue Note, 1989)
  • Playground (Blue Note, 1991)
  • Both Worlds (Dreyfus, 1997)

With Buddy Rich

With Lee Ritenour

With Mike Stern

With Hiromi Uehara

With Grover Washington Jr.

With others

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Hogan, Ed. "Anthony Jackson". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b Traub, Alex (October 27, 2025). "Anthony Jackson, Master of the Electric Bass, Is Dead at 73". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  3. ^ Bass Player magazine, Spring 1990 issue, USA
  4. ^ The liner notes from album "INTERSPIRIT" 2010, Abstract Logix, LBLX020
  5. ^ "Anthony Jackson Forced to Sit Out Hiromi Trio Performances". Notreble.com. 28 July 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Partners: Anthony Jackson & Fodera Guitars". Bass Magazine. 23 July 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "Anthony Jackson – Contrabass Conception" (PDF). Melvinleedavis.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Jisi, Chris (2003). Brave New Bass. Backbeat Books. p. 19. ISBN 0-87930-763-3.
  9. ^ "Anthony Jackson Presentation | Custom Bass Guitars". Fodera Guitars. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  10. ^ "伝説的ベーシストのアンソニー・ジャクソンが73歳で死去、矢野顕子や上原ひろみとも共演" [Legendary bassist Anthony Jackson, who performed with Akiko Yano and Hiromi Uehara, dies at age 73] (in Japanese). Rolling Stone Japan. October 20, 2025.
  11. ^ "Legendary Musician Dead at 73: 'One of the Giants!'". Yahoo. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
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