James Preston McDonald, better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Preston Jackson (January 3, 1902 – November 12, 1983) was an American

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 ...

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

Biography

New_Orleans_Jazz_Fest_1975_-_Jambalaya_-_Trad_Band

Jackson was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, United States, and moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in 1917, but did not pick up trombone until 1920; within nine months he began playing professionally. Among his teachers in the early 1920s were Roy Palmer and Honore Dutrey. He sometimes deputized for Dutrey in

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wr ...

's band. In the 1920s, he played with Tig Chambers, Al Simone, Eli Rice, and Art Sims, and recorded with Bernie Young and his Creole Jazz Band at the Marsh Laboratories (1923) and

Richard M. Jones Richard M. Jones, born Richard Marigny Jones (sometimes written Richard Mariney Jones), (June 13, 1892 – December 8, 1945) was an American jazz pianist, composer, band leader, and record producer. Numerous songs bear his name as author, includi ...

. He notably played for the reception of Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin Armstrong in Chicago. In the 1930s, he played with

Dave Peyton Dave Peyton (19 August 1889 – 30 April 1955) was an American songwriter, pianist, arranger, orchestra leader, and music critic columnist for the ''Chicago Defender''. Peyton first began as a pianist in the trio of Wilbur Sweatman, along wit ...

(1930),

Erskine Tate Erskine Tate (January 14, 1895, Memphis, Tennessee, – December 17, 1978, Chicago) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the Ven ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

(1931–32), Half Pint Jaxon (1933),

Carroll Dickerson Carroll Dickerson (November 1, 1895 – October 9, 1957) was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work tourin ...

Jimmie Noone Jimmie Noone (April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca. Classical ...

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...

, Walter Barnes, Johnny Long (1939), and Zilner Randolph's W.P.A. Band. He also played on Johnny Dodds's last recordings in 1940. In the 1940s, he began playing less often, but his career saw a resurgence late in the 1950s, playing with

Lil Armstrong Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in ...

. Moving back to his childhood home of New Orleans in the 1960s, he began playing at

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art dealer Larry Borenstein f ...

where he would continue to be featured for the rest of his life. He played with

Little Brother Montgomery Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communi ...

in 1969 and with Kid Thomas's New Orleans Joymakers in Europe in 1973-74. In addition to many recordings made as a side man, Jackson recorded as a leader in 1926 and 1946, then issued his own album in 1972 and a split album with

Benny Waters Benjamin Waters (January 23, 1902, Brighton, Baltimore, Maryland – August 11, 1998, Columbia, Maryland) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. known in part for the longevity of his career. He began on organ, then switched to cl ...

the following year. Jackson died in

Blytheville, Arkansas Blytheville is the county seat and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis. The population was 13,406 at the 2020 census, down from 15,620 in 2010. History Blytheville was found ...

, in November 1983.

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

Preston Jackson James Preston McDonald, better known by his stage name Preston Jackson (January 3, 1902 – November 12, 1983) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Jackson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, and moved to Chicago, Illin ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Preston 1902 births 1983 deaths American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Jazz musicians from New Orleans Vee-Jay Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trombonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians