David Nicholas George Jackson (born 15 April 1947), nicknamed Jaxon, is an English progressive rock saxophonist, flautist, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He is best known for his work with the band Van der Graaf Generator and his work in Music and Disability. He has also worked with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

, Keith Tippett, Osanna, Judge Smith, David Cross and others.

Van der Graaf Generator

Jackson was a member of the English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator for most of the 1970s and for their 2005 reunion tour. His speciality was then electric saxophones, using

octave device Octave effect boxes are a type of special effects unit which mix the input signal with a synthesised signal whose musical tone is an octave lower or higher than the original. The synthesised octave signal is derived from the original input sign ...

s, wah-wah and powerful amplification.

Style

His saxophone-playing is characterized by the frequent use of double horns, playing two saxophones at the same time, a style he copied from Rahsaan Roland Kirk (whose style and technique influenced Jackson). He also plays flutes and whistles. In the '' NME'', reviewer Jonathan Barnett called David Jackson "the Van Gogh of the saxophone – a renegade impressionist, dispensing distorted visions of the world outside from his private asylum window". David Jackson musician

Other work

In addition to his work in Van der Graaf Generator, Jackson has collaborated with other musicians, frequently with other members of Van der Graaf Generator, as on ''

The Long Hello ''The Long Hello'' is a studio instrumental album by David Jackson, Hugh Banton, Guy Evans and Nic Potter recorded in August 1973 and released in Italy in 1974 (and Britain and Europe in 1976). All had been members of Van der Graaf Generator, but ...

'' project. He collaborated on a number of projects with Van der Graaf Generator co-founder Judge Smith. He played with

at the Reading Festival in 1979. Jackson works often with Italian rock musicians, most particularly

Alex Carpani Band Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...

from Bologna and Osanna from Naples. Jackson attended the University of St Andrews, reading psychology,Christopulos, J., and Smart, P.: "Van der Graaf Generator – The Book", page 52. Phil and Jim publishers, 2005. and

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

, Roehampton, studying teaching. He has worked as a mathematics teacher for primary school children in the UK. He has also worked with physically and mentally disabled people, enabling them to make music through the use of a technology known as

Soundbeam Soundbeam is an interactive MIDI hardware and software system developed by The Soundbeam Project / EMS in which movement within a series of ultrasonic beams is used to control multimedia hardware and software. System Soundbeam uses a combinat ...

. He is also a Soundbeam trainer, system designer and builder. A documentary about his work with autistic children was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998. Tonewall is the name for his idea. Apart from Soundbeams this also features Echo-Mirrors and Jellybean Eye. Jackson works together with groups of people of all levels of ability and even profound disability to create music together on stage, accompanied by musicians from diverse styles, such as orchestral and jazz musicians, Caribbean music, and much more. In 2012 and 2013 he toured the European and American continents with the Italian Alex Carpani Band.

Personal life

David Jackson was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire. His daughter is singer Dorie Jackson, who works with Chris Difford, Francis Dunnery and William Topley among others. His son is recording engineer Jake Jackson.

Discography

Van der Graaf Generator

* '' The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other'' (1970) * '' H to He, Who Am the Only One'' (1970) * '' Pawn Hearts'' (1971) * '' Godbluff'' (1975) * ''

Still Life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

'' (1976) * '' World Record'' (1976) * ''

The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome ''The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome'' is the eighth album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Released in 1977, it was their last studio album before their 2005 reunion. The album features a more energetic, new wave sound t ...

'' (1977) * '' Vital'' (1978) * '' Time Vaults'' (1982) * '' Maida Vale'' (1994) * ''

Present The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perception, perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is ...

'' (2005) * ''

Real Time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

'' (2007)

Solo

*''Savages'' (cassette) (1990) *''Hazard Dream Sequence'' (EP) (1991) *''Tonewall Stands'' (1992) *''Fractal Bridge'' (1996)

DVD

*''Guastalla – Live Tonewall & Soundbeam'' (2003)

With Peter Hammill

*'' Fool's Mate'' (1971) *'' Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night'' (1973) *'' The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage'' (1974) *'' Nadir's Big Chance'' (1975) *'' The Future Now'' (1978) *'' pH7'' (1979) *''

A Black Box ''A Black Box'' is the ninth studio album by Peter Hammill, originally released on S-Type Records in August 1980. Hammill performed nearly all the instrumentation himself, including the drum parts, a task he had first undertaken on his previou ...

'' (1980) *''

Sitting Targets ''Sitting Targets'' is the tenth studio album by Peter Hammill, released on Virgin Records in June 1981. It contains several songs in the raw new wave music, new wave style typical of Hammill's work in the late 1970s and early 1980s, following t ...

'' (1981) *'' Enter k'' (1982) *'' Patience'' (1983) *'' Skin'' (1986) *''

Out of Water ''Out of Water'' is the 17th studio album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Enigma Records in 1990 and subsequently re-released on Hammill's own Fie! label. Hammill himself considers this album to be a turning point from his mid-eighties s ...

'' (1990) *'' Fireships'' (1992) *'' The Noise'' (1993) *'' Roaring Forties'' (1994) *'' X My Heart'' (1996) *'' This'' (1998) *'' What, Now?'' (2001) *''

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

'' (2002) *'' Incoherence'' (2004)

With The Long Hello

*''

'' ( Hugh Banton, Guy Evans, David Jackson; 1973) *''

The Long Hello Volume Two ''The Long Hello Volume Two'' is a studio instrumental album by Guy Evans and Nic Potter released 1981. It was recorded and mixed at Hidden Drive Studios. Track listing # "Surfing with Isabelle" (Nic Potter) – 4:12 # "Elsham Road" (Nic Potter) ...

'' ( Nic Potter, Guy Evans; 1981) *''The Long Hello Volume Three'' (David Jackson, Guy Evans; 1982) *''The Long Hello Volume Four'' (David Jackson, Guy Evans, Life of Riley; 1983)

With Judge Smith

*''DemocraZy'' (1991) *''The House That Cried'' (live choral work, premiere 28 October 1993) *''

Curly's Airships ''Curly's Airships'' is a double CD by Judge Smith, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". ''Curly's Airships'' tells about the R101 airship, crashing in France durin ...

'' (2000) *''Twinkle'' (stage musical, premiere 11 July 2007) *"The Light of the World/I Don't Know What I'm Doing" (single, as The Tribal Elders, 2007) *'' Orfeas'' (2011)

With Kaprekar's Constant

*''Fate Outsmarts Desire'' (2017) *''Depth of Field'' (2019) *''The Murder Wall'' (2022)

Other collaborations

*''Come un vecchio incensiere all'alba di un villaggio deserto'' (with

Alan Sorrenti Alan Sorrenti (born 9 December 1950) is an Italian singer and composer. Biography Sorrenti was born in Naples, but his mother was Welsh, and he spent much of his childhood in Aberystwyth, Wales. As a result, he is fluent in both Italian and ...

, 1973) *''Dinner at the Ritz'' (with City Boy, 1976) *"The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" / "Something Tells Me" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1982) *"Straining Our Eyes" / "Fall To Pieces" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1982) *"Grab What You Can" / "Tell Me" / "Would I Be The Same" / "I'd Never Have Known" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1982) *"Dangerous Dreams" / "Opening Doors" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1983;

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

BUY 183) *"I Can't Stand This Pressure" / "Living on the Edge" / "Cover Up" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1984) *"Who's Fooling Who" / "A Grown Man Immersed in Tin-Tin" (single with Jakko Jakszyk, 1984; Stiff Records SBUY 193) *''Gentlemen Prefer Blues'' (Hugh Banton, Guy Evans, David Jackson) (1985) *''Sarah Jane Morris'' (with Sarah Jane Morris, 1988) *''Eyes of the Angel'' (with

Magic Mushroom Band Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unre ...

, 1989) *''Spaced Out'' (with Magic Mushroom Band, 1991) *''The Single (Grand Opening Song / Minutes of Peace)'' (cassette single with the Wildridings Primary School Choir, 1991) *''Beams & Bells: Live at the QEH'' (live with Treloar School & Ballard School, 2001) *''A to Z Healthy Choices'' (with St. John's CE (Aided) Primary School, 2003) *''Batteries Included'' (live with René van Commenée, 2003) *''

The Music That Died Alone The Tangent is a progressive rock group formed in 2002. History Formation The band was formed in 2002 by Parallel or 90 Degrees keyboardists Andy Tillison and Sam Baine and multi-instrumentalist Guy Manning; The Flower Kings' guitarist Roin ...

'' (with The Tangent, 2003) *'' Re-Collage'' (with

Tony Pagliuca Le Orme (Italian: "The Footprints") is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a ''frazione'' of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s. They are one of few Italian r ...

and Massimo Donà Quintet, 2004) *''Lycanthrope'' (with

Mangala Vallis The Mangala Valles are a complex system of criss-crossing channels on Mars, located in the Tharsis region and in the Memnonia quadrangle. They originated in the Hesperian and Amazonian epochs. They are thought to be an outflow channel system, car ...

, 2005) *''The Courting Ground'' (with Dorie Jackson, 2007) *''Distress Signal Code'' (with Lüüp, 2008) *''Prog family'' (with Osanna, 2008) *''Live in Italy'' (with Nic Potter, 2008) *''Down in Shadows'' (with N.y.X, 2009) *''Meadow Rituals'' (with Lüüp, 2011) *''Jaxon Faces the Jury'' (with Le Jury, 2012) *''Gridlock'' (with

Mr Averell ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

, 2012) *''Playing the History'' (with

Marco Lo Muscio Marco Lo Muscio (born 1971) is an Italian organist, pianist and composer, who lives and works in Italy, Europe, Russian Federation and America. Biography Marco Lo Muscio was born in Rome, Italy. Marco Lo Muscio studied Piano at the Licinio ...

, John Hackett and Carlo Matteucci, 2013) *''In Hoc Signo'' (with Ingranaggi Della Valle, 2013) *''Live!'' (with ReaGente 6, 2014) * David Cross and David Jackson: ''

Another Day Another Day may refer to: Albums * ''Another Day'' (Steve Ashley album) * ''Another Day'' (The Hurt Process album) * ''Another Day'' (Lene Marlin album) * ''Another Day'' (Oscar Peterson album) * ''Another Day'' (Racoon album) * ''Another ...

'' (2018) *''Ellesmere II - From Sea and Beyond'' (with Ellesmere, 2018) * Fish: ''Weltschmerz'', 2020 *''Wyrd'' (with Ellesmere, 2020)

References

External links

*
Van der Graaf Generator fan site
* Live at the Mantova Nu Prog Fest II – Italy, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, David 1947 births Living people Alumni of the University of St Andrews People from Stamford, Lincolnshire Musicians from Lincolnshire English rock saxophonists British male saxophonists Van der Graaf Generator members English rock flautists The Tangent members 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century flautists