Guitarist Ron Jackson plays with the sterling technique and measured swing of a Tal Farlow or Bucky Pizzarelli, but it would be a mistake to think of him as a strict jazz traditionalist. His new album, Standards and Other Songs, his ninth as a leader for his own Roni Music label, contains plenty of unexpected twists and outré moments, despite the title’s anodyne first impression.
First off, he recorded the album on a seven-string guitar, an instrument that contains all six of your usual jazz guitar strings plus a second A string, an addition that enriches the instrument’s harmonic texture. “Very few guitar players in jazz play [a seven-string guitar],” he says. (Pizzarelli, Jackson’s former teacher, is one of the few.)
The eclectic mix of tracks is almost as much “other” as it is “standards,” with jazz covers of several R&B hits, including Brian McKnight’s “Anytime”; Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day”; Barry Eastmond’s “You Are My Lady”; and, most notably, Drake’s “Passionfruit.” Jackson approaches these familiar radio singles in the same spirit as a songbook favorite, with brisk fret work, hard-to-resist feels, and the occasional unorthodox re-harmonization (as on Van Morrison’s “Moon Dance”). With drummer Darrell Green and bassist Nathan Brown, Jackson holds these tunes in a tight swing format, without sacrificing their original essence as pop tunes; reworked and refreshed, their consistent appeal comes as something of a revelation.
For traditionalists, however, the standards on the recording will not disappoint. Jackson’s arrangements are erudite and smoothly executed: listen to Brown’s deeply connected solo on the gently swinging ballad “Blame It on My Youth,” or Green’s bright Latin clip on Clare Fischer’s bossa classic, “Pensativa,” or Jackson’s racing solo on the group’s double-time version of “From This Moment On.” In Jackson’s hands, these tunes remind us that yesterday’s pop song is today’s standard.—Suzanne Lorge
Tracks: Moon Dance; The Best Thing For You Is Me; Anytime; Lovely Day; Hard Times; Blame It On My Youth; You Are My Lady; From This Moment On; Passion Fruit; Pensitiva; More Than You Know; Somewhere In The Night. (1:02)
Personnel: Ron Jackson, 7-string guitar; Nathan Brown, acoustic bass; Darrell Green, drums.
(Reprinted from the June 2019 issue of Downbeat magazine.)