Bertland
The musical universe of Bert Jackson

This past summer I had the opportunity to work with the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival and volunteered at many of the concerts, including the premier of “The Cape Cod Files” composed by Cuban jazz and classical master Paquito D’Rivera. After the concert the staff and musicians went out for a late dinner, including Paquito himself, who was on hand. It was one of those truly special evenings, with musicians sharing stories (including Paquito telling off-color jokes). I was buzzing when I finally got home and immediately picked up the guitar. An hour or so later most of this was done. It was refined over the next week or so, but 90% came that evening. So, thanks, Paquito, this one’s for you.

Title: Paquito
Composer: Bert Jackson
Guitar (Martin acoustic): Bert Jackson

All one track, no overdubs

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One of my fav Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes (but they are ALL favs). This is me on lead and rhythm guitars, with bass and drums provided by the ever reliable Band-in-a-Box.

Title: How Insensative
Composer: Antonio Carlos Jobim
Guitars (Ibanez GB-10 hollowbody): Bert Jackson
Bass, Drums: BIAB
Recorded: Nov 9, 2009

Two guitar tracks plus BIAB

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I’ve been playing around with the new live sample tracks in Band-in-a-Box and thought I try another recording of this classic jazz tune. “Softly…” was written in the 1920’s by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II for the musical “New Moon”. It has been recorded in a number of styles throughout the years, including bebop. My version is sort of bebopish. This is one of my all-time fav jazz tunes to play.

Title: Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
Composers: Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II
Guitar (Ibanez GB-10 hollowbody): Bert Jackson
Piano, Bass, Drums: BIAB
Recorded: Nov 8, 2009

One guitar track plus BIAB

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My latest tune is a fast jazz in 3/4 called “Warm Luke”, named after a friend’s dad who left this life this past week. This is a short draft, the guitar parts are just two takes each. Hope to have a more evolved version soon.

Title: Warm Luke
Composer: Bert Jackson
Guitars (Ibanez GB-10 hollowbody): Bert Jackson
Bass, Drums: BIAB
Recorded: Nov 7, 2009

Two guitar tracks plus BIAB

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Well this little trio has a name for now- Robertchez (Roe-Bert-Cheryl). This is a shot by Bob Tucker from our performance at the Cape Rep Theatre’s “Evening of Song and Dance”.

Roe Osborn, Cheryl Kain, Bert Jackson

This tune was written back in the early 80s and evolved through several iterations. This is the last recorded version, done around 1987/88. It’s all me, Roland drum machine, synth drone track, bass, acoustic and electric guitars and guitar synth for the flute sound.

I was working with sarod player Peter Boardman last night and we used the second part of the Anurhada theme as a basis for our sarod/guitar conversation. Thought it may be good to have this hanging around.

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Road trip! Took the weekend off and saw Jake Shimabukuro tonight at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. We saw Jake a couple of years ago with the Honolulu Symphony, but tonight was up close and personal in a relatively small club, just Jake alone with his beautiful ukulele. Jake is one of my favorite musicians, not only for his technique and style but for his presence. This is a guy who exudes a pure love for what he does and is truly a channel for universal spirit.

His playing gets better and better. He has even more technique (I see more of the Clapton-esque vibratos), his dynamics are more sophisticated, and his songwriting is maturing along with his capabilities. He has a story about every song and tells it like he were talking to a group of old friends, rather than a large crowd of strangers. He has a calm sense of comfortable joy that he shares in both his music, his on-stage banter, and in-person meeting with his fans. He is outrageously gracious, humble and appreciative of his success.

The audience at the Iron Horse was appreciative as well. Despite what appeared to be a sold-out crowd, there was absolute silence while Jake played. The only noise was the hustling of the wait staff as they made their rounds. No talking in the background, no chairs scraping on the floor or other movements. He held the audience in rapt attention through every number.

Yes, I brought my uku and Jake signed it for me. I said I wasn’t going to stoop to being a gawky fan, but I knew this would be a special night and I wanted something personal to remember it by. I had him sign it on the back, not the front. Not for others to see and wonder when I am playing it, but to help take me back to this special night and be inspired and feel the love all over again.

This is a little droney tune I wrote in 1984, on the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated (I didn’t know it at the time and named the piece when I found out). This is a “scratch” version I recorded last week in Garage Band to test how it would work with two guitars. The timing is off in places, but some people asked to hear it so here it is.

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Ran a quicky one take of Softly as in a Morning Sunrise (Romberg/Hammerstein) with yours truly playing the trusty Ibanez GB-10 with Band-in-a-Box accompaniment. Not the same as real players, of course, but a lot easier to schedule!

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Another tune that grew out of Jean Coyne’s Roland D-50 keyboard’s extended visit to my house. Started playing around with some stuff and this quasi-classical thing came out. Remember, this was 1987-88 and we had never heard sampled audio patches before. The horn sounds just blew me away. This is all me, all synth recorded on a few tracks.

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