Jolyon Jackson (3 September 1948 – 18 December 1985) was an Irish musician and composer.Irish Times, Obituary, 7 January 1986

Life

Jackson was born in Malaya where his father, Patrick Jackson, was Deputy Commissioner of the police and would receive the

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. His father was from

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

, of a Cork family; his mother was the singer Charmian Jenkinson. They lived at Poul-na-murrish,

Annamoe Annamoe () is a village located on the Avonmore river in County Wicklow, Ireland about south of Dublin. It is on the R755 road (at the junction with the R763) between Roundwood and Laragh on the road to Glendalough. The small stone humpbac ...

, County Wicklow. He was educated in Salisbury Cathedral School and

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. He studied at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in the late 1960s, where he graduated in Arts and Music. He integrated himself into the musical life of Dublin, first with the group 'Jazz Therapy', and later with 'Supply, Demand and Curve.' He played cello, recorder and keyboards–including organ, piano and synthesizer. He married Teresa Le Jeune from

Delgany Delgany () is a small rural village in County Wicklow in Ireland, located on the R762 road which connects to the N11 road at the Glen of the Downs. It is about south of Dublin city centre. While it is an older more rural settlement, it is cl ...

, County Wicklow and they had a son, Linus. Jackson died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

on 18 December 1985, aged 37.

Music

The band 'Supply, Demand & Curve' was formed in 1970 and initially consisted of Jackson, Brian Masterson—who had played with Jackson in 'Jazz Therapy' during 1968–69—and Paddy Finney. They had a weekly gig at the

Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a thr ...

and later played mainly in folk clubs in Dublin and beyond. With a line-up of Jackson, Masterson, Finney and Roger Doyle—who had also been in 'Jazz Therapy'—they undertook a tour of Canada in 1973. Rosemarie Taylor (keyboards and vocals) and other musicians joined them off and on over the years. They released their eponymous album in 1976 on the Mulligan label (LUN 009). It contained eleven tracks, ten of which were composed by Jackson. It had taken several years of snatched studio time to complete, and included contributions from some musicians who were no longer in the band by the time the LP was released. Other recordings on which Jackson featured include ''

Camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

'' by Sonny Condell, and ''Taylormaid'' by Rosemarie Taylor—both released on Mulligan in 1977. He subsequently appeared as a guest musician on albums by

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

, Midnight Well,

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

Terry Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albrit ...

and

Gay Woods Gay Woods (18 September 1948) is an Irish singer. She was one of the original members of Steeleye Span. Early years Gabriel Corcoran was born in Dublin, a neighbour of her future husband Terry Woods. Her elder brothers shared Woods' love of ...

, and also reunited with Doyle who, by then, had created the music-theatre company
Operating Theatre
' with Irish actress

Olwen Fouéré Olwen Fouéré (born March 2, 1954) is an Irish actress and writer/director in theatre, film and visual arts. She was born in Galway, Ireland to Breton parents Yann Fouéré and Marie-Magdeleine Mauger. In 2020, she was listed at number 22 on ...

. Jackson was an early adopter of home-recording, buying an eight-track recorder and setting up a studio at his home in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

, where he recorded the seminal album ''Hidden Ground'' (Tara 1980) with fiddle player

Paddy Glackin Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players. Biography Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...

, on which he arranged the music and also played all the instruments surrounding the fiddle. Compositions for television include the RTÉ series ''Hands'', ''Visions of Transport'' and ''To the Waters and the Wild''. Jackson also involved himself in music for the theatre, most notably in the music for the

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

trilogy based on the Saga of

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god L ...

, performed in the

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

style and directed by

Hideo Kanze was a Japanese actor and director, who specialized in the Noh form of musical drama. He was the second son of Kanze Tetsunojō VII, a descendant of Kan'ami and Zeami, who founded the Noh movement in the 14th century. Trained alongside his brothe ...

at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

. Later on, he also composed music to accompany the exercises of the

Gurdjieff movements The Gurdjieff movements are a series of sacred dances that were collected or authored by G. I. Gurdjieff and taught to his students as part of the work of ''self observation'' and ''self study''. Significance Gurdjieff taught that the movement ...

Discography

; With Roger Doyle *''Oizzo No'' (1975) ; With Supply, Demand & Curve *''Supply, Demand & Curve'' (1976) ; With Sonny Condell *''

'' (1977) ; With Jimmy Crowley *''The Boys of Fair Hill'' (1977) ; With Midnight Well *''Midnight Well'' (1977) ; With Christy Moore *'' The Iron Behind the Velvet'' (1978) ; With Gay & Terry Woods *''Tender Hooks'' (1978) ; With The Chieftains *'' The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early'' (1979) *''The Best of The Chieftains'' (2002) ; With Paddy Glackin *''Hidden Ground'' (1980)
by Paddy Glackin and Jolyon Jackson, Tara 2009 ; With Scullion *''

Balance and Control ''Balance and Control'' is the second studio album by Irish band Scullion. It was released in 1980 by WEA. The album was produced by John Martyn. Track listing Personnel * Philip King - vocals * Sonny Condell - vocals, guitar * Greg Boland ...

'' (1980) ; Compilation albums *'' High Kings of Tara'' (1980)
by Planxty & Various artists from the Tara label ; With Operating Theatre *''Miss Mauger'' (1983) *''The Early Years'' (2007)

References

External links