Lee Jackson (bassist)
Encyclopedia
Lee Jackson is a British
bass player
and singer, best known for his work in The Nice
.
group
, The Nice, with keyboardist
Keith Emerson
and drummer
Brian Davison
. He subsequently formed Jackson Heights
and then Refugee
, the latter with Davison and keyboardist Patrick Moraz
.
Jackson has a hoarse singing voice
(which has frequently drawn criticism, notably from Keith Emerson
) and an almost percussive bass playing style. A left-handed player, usually wearing distinctive "aviator" style tinted spectacles, he distinguished himself further by favouring the Vox V248 bass guitar with its unusual teardrop-shaped body, the same bass made famous by Bill Wyman
of the Rolling Stones
. For some pieces, Jackson would play the instrument using a bow, notably on "Hang On to a Dream", "My Back Pages" and in the introduction to "Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite".
Jackson subsequently retired from the music industry for a period. Returning to the UK
in the early 1990s, after living in Los Angeles
, California
, Jackson played in a blues
and boogie
, ten piece band called the Ginger Pig Band based in Northampton
. Jackson still plays and sings with this band today. He also had a smaller band called The Barking Spyders for about a year during this time. The Nice reunited for a period in the 2000s.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bass player
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and singer, best known for his work in The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
.
Biography
Jackson rose to prominence in the 1960s in the progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, The Nice, with keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Brian Davison
Brian Davison (drummer)
Brian Davison , nicknamed "Blinky", was a British drummer, best known for his work in The Nice. He was born in Leicester and died in Horns Cross, Devon....
. He subsequently formed Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights (band)
Jackson Heights were an English rock band, led by bassist and vocalist Lee Jackson, that ran from 1970 to 1973. Other players included Brian Chatton , Dave Watts playing keyboards and King Crimson's drummers Michael Giles and Ian Wallace.Their debut album King Progress included a reworking of...
and then Refugee
Refugee (band)
Refugee was a progressive rock group formed by former The Nice members, bassist Lee Jackson and drummer Brian Davison, with keyboardist Patrick Moraz....
, the latter with Davison and keyboardist Patrick Moraz
Patrick Moraz
Patrick Philippe Moraz is a progressive rock keyboard player. He is best known as the keyboardist for the progressive rock band Yes, from 1974 to 1976, and the Moody Blues from 1978 to 1991...
.
Jackson has a hoarse singing voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
(which has frequently drawn criticism, notably from Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
) and an almost percussive bass playing style. A left-handed player, usually wearing distinctive "aviator" style tinted spectacles, he distinguished himself further by favouring the Vox V248 bass guitar with its unusual teardrop-shaped body, the same bass made famous by Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
of the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. For some pieces, Jackson would play the instrument using a bow, notably on "Hang On to a Dream", "My Back Pages" and in the introduction to "Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite".
Jackson subsequently retired from the music industry for a period. Returning to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the early 1990s, after living in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Jackson played in a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and boogie
Boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
, ten piece band called the Ginger Pig Band based in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
. Jackson still plays and sings with this band today. He also had a smaller band called The Barking Spyders for about a year during this time. The Nice reunited for a period in the 2000s.