(b. 1954, Memphis, Tennessee)
As a young man, Russell Jackson went to Chicago to pursue a musical career as a bass player. He developed his craft in a very competitive Chicago blues scene, and was finally rewarded when he was hired by one of Chicago’s great blues artists, vocalist Otis Clay. While playing in one of Chicago’s clubs, he was then spotted by none other than Mr. B.B. King and as a result of this encounter; Russell was invited to join the B.B.King Orchestra as the fulltime bass player. This opportunity lead to a very fruitful and productive seven-year relationship, and the opportunity to travel around the world with the Ambassador of the Blues as B.B. King was known. During this time, Russell consciously studied the manner in which B.B. King conducted himself as a band leader, which Russell would later apply to great effect in his own distinguished career.
Russell improvised on a number of approaches to playing bass—most notable was his use of his thumb on the bass strings. This technique is commonly used by present day funk bands but Russell was the first to employ the technique in a blues context. While Russell became extremely proficient with the electric bass, he is known more notably for his talents on the stand-up bass. Russell is a disciple of the legendary Willie Dixon and continues to champion the tradition of the stand-up bass.
After his time with B.B. King, Russell went to Los Angeles to study at the prestigious Dick Grove School of Music. In the late 1980s, Russell relocated to Austin, Texas where he worked as a recording session and band member behind Katie Webster, Lucky Peterson, Kenny Neal, Matt Guitar Murphy and Luther Tucker. It is at this point that this gifted nucleus of first-call session players would form the Silent Partners which over a short time-frame included Russell, along with Mel Brown (Bobby Blue Bland Band), and Tony Coleman (B.B. King Band). They recorded an album in 1989 titled If It’s All Night, It’s All Right on the famed Antone’s record label. The band was later joined by Andrew Jr. Boy Jones (Freddy King Band). This configuration of players became the principal backup band and the top studio musicians in Austin, Texas. The band also had a strong tie to harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite as Russell performed with him in Edmonton at the Ambassador Hotel in the mid-1980s and then Jr. Boy Jones backed Musselwhite into the early 1990s.
Russell moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1990 and he put together a well-groomed band made up of young artists that started traveling across Western Canada with numerous stops in Edmonton. The tie to Edmonton is firmly cemented with theCommercial Hotel Blues on Whyte when all of their managers over the last twenty-five years have booked Russell on a practically yearly basis.
Russell’s professionalism in how he conducts himself on and off stage has been an inspiration to the younger blues artist in this city. In 1991, Russell invited Edmonton’s young up-and-coming keyboard maven Graham Guest to play on his album The Alley Man. Russell has recorded a number of albums over the last couple of years most notably Becoming Blue in 1999 and Have Mercy in 2007. Russell has had the honour of being invited into the recording studio to play on many distinguished artists’ albums: Donald Ray Johnson’s Pure Pleasure, Kenny Blues Boss Wayne’s Juno winning album Let It Loose and most recently in 2013 on Edmonton’s Marshall Lawrence’s album House Calls.
In 2014, Russell moved back to Austin, Texas and with his dual citizenship he has been able to travel around the world as part of the Kenny Wayne Band (featured at the Edmonton Blues Festival in 2004), and now as the bass player with Shawn Holt (son of the late Magic Slim) and the Teardrops (showcased at the 2015 Edmonton Blues Festival).
The Edmonton Blues Hall of Fame Foundation is honoured to welcome Russell Jackson into the Edmonton Blues Hall of Fame in the Legends category for 2016.