Duffy Jackson
Sometimes people become such a vital, valuable force within a community it seems they were always part of it — no matter when they arrived, or where their previous stops might have been. That was clearly the case for the remarkable drummer, scat singer and bandleader Duffy Jackson, who became a cornerstone of Nashville’s jazz community from the day he arrived from Florida in the late 2000s until his death March 3 at age 67. Whether performing or teaching at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, playing residencies at Rudy’s Jazz Room and Acme Feed & Seed, or sharing his robust brand of rhythmic intensity and energy during dates with Western-swing heroes The Time Jumpers, Jackson brought vibrant and special qualities to every musical occasion and situation.
Saturday, the Nashville Jazz Workshop will remember Jackson with an online memorial tribute. Video clips from many wonderful concerts will be shown, highlighting among other things the all-star big band that Jackson led. An array of luminaries from Nashville and surrounding areas will also be featured, including Don Aliquo, Christina Watson, Dick Sisto, Andy Reiss, Roy Agee, the George Tidwell Sextet and The Lori Mechem Quartet.Â
Jackson was one of those rare talents who seemed to be destined for stardom from the beginning. His father Chubby Jackson was a bassist and bandleader, known for work with jazz legends like Woody Herman and later for hosting children’s television shows. The young Jackson got the opportunity to meet and play with many of his father’s friends and colleagues, and to showcase his budding talent on TV himself. At age 5, Duffy appeared in DownBeat with his father. The caption with the photo indicated that the youngster had nicknamed himself “Jazz” and his main goal in life was “to run away with Count Basie’s band.”
 He went on to do that and much more in his extensive, multifaceted career. Basie was just one of the greats whose bands Jackson’s playing fortified and enhanced. He also worked with Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Benny Carter, Sonny Stitt, Illinois Jacquet and Monty Alexander, to cite just a few. Yet when you talked with him during his Nashville gigs, he’d want the conversation focused on who and what he was doing that evening or weekend, rather than constantly venturing down Memory Lane. He loved all his Music City gigs and colleagues, relishing the chance to work in different settings, and with aspiring players as well as established stars.
“Playing with Duffy felt like a glove,” said pianist Lori Mechem, co-founder of the Nashville Jazz Workshop, speaking recently with WBGO’s Nate Chinen. “His groove was infectious, and his sense of swing was flawless. He truly lived to play and loved everyone to the fullest.”
Adam Charney of Rudy’s Jazz Room shares a similar sentiment with the Scene. He has high praise for Jackson’s touch as a player and as a vocalist, calling him “the most capable scat vocalist in town.” But the sense of community he was able to foster was what seemed to matter most to Jackson.
“Duffy was a special character, and knew how to work a crowd and connect with his audience and fans more because of his genuine enjoyment of sharing and talking with people than because of any business motive,” says Charney. “Never was there a Duffy show where he did not walk all the way around the room and talk to nearly every person he could, in such a humble and friendly way. Rudy’s was never more welcoming, joyful, energetic and at the highest level of jazz than when Duffy Jackson was onstage.”
