David Nicholas George Jackson (born 15 April 1947), nicknamed Jaxon, is an English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, 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 Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...

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 Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

Osanna Osanna are an Italian progressive rock band. Origin The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti (voice), Danilo Rustici (guitar), Massimo Guarino (drums), Lello Brandi (bass), from the first line ...

Judge Smith Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kn ...

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...

and others.

Van der Graaf Generator

Jackson was a member of the English progressive rock band

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 signa ...

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 Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year ...

(whose style and technique influenced Jackson). He also plays flutes and whistles. In the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

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

. He played with

at the Reading Festival in 1979. Jackson works often with Italian rock musicians, most particularly Alex Carpani Band from Bologna and

from Naples. Jackson attended the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, 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 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

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 An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians,

Caribbean music Caribbean music genres are very diverse. They are each synthesis of African, European, Arab, Asian, and Indigenous influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves (see Afro-Caribbean music), along with contributions from other commun ...

, 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 Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. His daughter is singer

Dorie Jackson Dorie may refer to: * Pierre-Henri Dorie (1839–1866), French missionary and martyr in Korea *Dorie Greenspan, American author of cookbooks * Dorie Murrey (born 1943), American retired National Basketball Association player *Doris Miller Doris ...

, who works with

Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written l ...

Francis Dunnery Francis Dunnery (born 25 December 1962) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. Dunnery was the lead singer and guitarist for British prog-pop band It Bites between 1982 and 1990. Since 1990 he has ...

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 ''The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other'' is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in February 1970 on Charisma Records. It was the group's first album to be released in the UK and the only ...

'' (1970) * ''

H to He, Who Am the Only One ''H to He, Who Am the Only One'' is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970 on Charisma Records. The band recorded the album in several stages throughout mid-1970 in Trident Studio ...

'' (1970) * ''

Pawn Hearts ''Pawn Hearts'' is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971 on Charisma Records. The original album features just three tracks, including the side-long suite "A Plague of Lighthouse Ke ...

'' (1971) * ''

Godbluff ''Godbluff'' is the fifth album released by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was the first album after the band reformed in 1975 and was recorded after a European tour. As the first self-produced album by the band, it f ...

'' (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 A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

'' (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 tha ...

'' (1977) * '' Vital'' (1978) * ''

Time Vaults ''Time Vaults'' is an album by Van der Graaf Generator. It was originally released in 1982 on cassette only, almost four years after the break-up of Van der Graaf Generator in 1978. Later it was released as a vinyl LP, and in 1992 it was release ...

'' (1982) * ''

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...

'' (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'' (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 In chess, the fool's mate is the checkmate delivered after the fewest possible moves from the game's starting position. It arises from the following moves, or similar: :1. f3 e6 :2. g4 Qh4# The fool's mate can be achieved only by Black, givin ...

'' (1971) *''

Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night ''Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night'' is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It followed in the aftermath of the breakup of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator, and (as with many of Hammill's solo albums f ...

'' (1973) *''

The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage ''The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage'' is the third album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It was released on Charisma Records in 1974, during a hiatus in the activities of Hammill's progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. ...

'' (1974) *''

Nadir's Big Chance ''Nadir's Big Chance'' is the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975. It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator (of which Hammill was the singer and principal songwrit ...

'' (1975) *''

The Future Now ''The Future Now'' is the seventh studio album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1978. It was the first solo album Hammill released following the 1978 breakup of his band Van der Graaf Generator, although he had released numerous ...

'' (1978) *'' pH7'' (1979) *'' A Black Box'' (1980) *'' Sitting Targets'' (1981) *'' Enter k'' (1982) *''

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

'' (1983) *''

Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

'' (1986) *'' Out of Water'' (1990) *''

Fireships A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

'' (1992) *''

The Noise ''the Noise'' was a monthly newspaper serving the cities of Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome, Clarkdale, and Winslow in northern Arizona. Founded in 1993 by four high school seniors whose rural hometown's budget cuts lead t ...

'' (1993) *''

Roaring Forties The Roaring Forties are strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40°S and 50°S. The strong west-to-east air currents are caused by the combination of air being displaced from the Equator ...

'' (1994) *'' X My Heart'' (1996) *''

This This may refer to: * ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun Places * This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt * This, Ardennes, a commune in France People with the surname * Hervé This, French culinary chemist Arts, e ...

'' (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

*'' The Long Hello'' (

Hugh Banton Hugh Robert Banton (born April 1949) is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator. Career Banton was born in April 1949 in Yeovil, Somerset, into a ...

Guy Evans Guy Randolph Evans (born 17 June 1947) is an English drummer and a member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Career Whilst at the University of Warwick (1965–68), Evans played in the university band which was called The ...

, David Jackson; 1973) *'' The Long Hello Volume Two'' (

Nic Potter NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice an ...

, 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 Orfeas ( el, Ορφέας), named after the mythical musician Orpheus, is a former municipality in the Evros regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Soufli, of whic ...

'' (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, 1973) *''Dinner at the Ritz'' (with City Boy, 1976) *"The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" / "Something Tells Me" (single with

Jakko Jakszyk Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk (born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist and has been the lead singer for King Crims ...

, 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, 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'' (with

The Tangent 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 ...

, 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

, 2007) *''Distress Signal Code'' (with Lüüp, 2008) *''Prog family'' (with

, 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, 2012) *''Playing the History'' (with Marco Lo Muscio, John Hackett and Carlo Matteucci, 2013) *''In Hoc Signo'' (with Ingranaggi Della Valle, 2013) *''Live!'' (with ReaGente 6, 2014) *

and David Jackson: '' Another Day'' (2018) *''Ellesmere II - From Sea and Beyond'' (with Ellesmere, 2018) *

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

: ''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