onurblues: Portrait : Big George Jackson (1949-2021)

Nothing Like the Rest (1994), Beggin' Ain't For Me (1998), Big Shot (2001), Southern In My Soul (2003)

Nothing but the groove

George Albert Jackson, dubbed “Big George” when he reached 6,5 feet, certainly was the best kept secret of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St Paul) where he was born in 1949. The release of his first opus Nothing Like the Rest in 1994 on the small local label Cold Wind Records rightly caught the attention of the Dutch label Black and Tan that published his next three albums (Beggin’ Ain’t For Me in 1998, Big Shot in 2001, and Southern In My Soul in 2003) and opened him the doors of concert halls and festivals on the Old Continent from 1999.

From the very first track of his first opus, Jackson's groove sounds like none other. The European blues public, known to be particularly demanding, didn't get mistaken and immediately recognized Big George Jackson and his band as a top act.
On his three Black and Tan albums, Big George on vocals and harmonica is backed by a group of solid groove knitters : Jeremy Johnson and Phil Schmid on guitar, John Schroder on bass, and Dwight Dario on drums.
From his first opus Jackson's blues sounds like the man's impressive stature : powerful and rather up-tempo lead by his deep soulful voice, carried by an excellent guitarist (later, two), a muscular rhythmic bass, and strong and solid drums. The five-man combo's master philosophy stands in a single word : groove.

On the excellent Nothing Like the Rest (1994), where the line-up (1) is different from the next three Black and Tan albums, this groove is often generously spiced with a funky beat enhanced by the presence of a keyboard and horns. Difficult to stand still on most of the eleven tracks, specially the gripping “Special Love” featuring a great guitar riff and solo, the stirring Bo Diddleysque “Amtrak”, “Tramp Without A Home”, “You Slicked Me”...

Jackson's skillful harmonica always comes in at the right time, never overwhelming. Tommy Harzevoort's guitar looks more than once towards rock but this is definitely not a blues-rock album. And Jackson's deep singing is one of a true bluesman.  His low vocal texture has been put down by several critics. A big mistake in my opinion because this singularity gives Jackson's work its true original identity.
And last but not least, he writes 80% of his material, most of the time about little moments of ordinary life. The album features only two covers : Elmore James' “T.V. Mama” and “Like Wolf” from Sonny Boy Williamson II (Aleck Miller).

Beggin' Ain't For Me (1998 ) starts with two energetic titles that concentrate Jackson's style and sound : “Beggin' Ain't For Me” and the rocking “Rubbish Truck”. Both confirm the “nasty” swinging and jumping groove of the previous 1994 opus : deep sound of John Schroder's bass, exciting combination of the rhythm and lead guitars, heavy drumming of Dwight Dario, topped by Jackson's greasy harmonica and cavernous voice.

Phil Schmid (left) & Jeremy Johnson

There's a boogie beat behind most of the tracks. Jackson's cover of Elmore James' “Shake Your Moneymaker” fits perfectly among the eight pieces he wrote himself, the only other cover being Hound Dog Taylor's “Kitchen Sink Boogie”.
But the highlight of the album is undoubtedly the seven-and-a-half-minute “Fee Fi Fo Fam”, a compelling hypnotic boogie a la John Lee Hooker.

Big Shot (2001), recorded with the same musicians, is carved in the same fast groove wood but a bit closer to the Chicago blues style. The opening rocker “St Paul Woman” is even delivered in a slower more classic version at the end as a bonus. Again most of the titles are signed by Jackson, except two covers : Jimmy Reed's “I Found True Love” and Walter Horton's “Tell Me”.
Not a single ballad or slow tempo title. Jackson is definitely in the jump and boogie mood on this highly exciting album.

Jackson last album, Southern In My Soul (2003 ), perfectly deserves its title. Launched by the eponymous swamp rock (featuring Billy Flynn on bass and guitar), followed by Otis "Smokey" Smothers' “I've Done More For You Baby”, the only non-Jackson title of the album, and the outstanding “Blue Sky”, this opus sounds as a kind of tribute to the southern blues styles, especially from Mississippi, the native state of his father, and Memphis, her mother's hometown.

John Schroder

More diverse in styles, the album offers three country blues with “Go For A Ride”, “Biscuits 'n' Molasses” and “Argue, Fuss 'n' Fight” on which Jackson delivers his soulful tremolo voice and harp.
There's slower songs like “Love So Strong” or “I'm Sorry”. And his song “Amtrak”, a self-cover from the first album, has been totally revisited in a different style around the same lyrics.

Dwight Dario

Less rock and boogie, more soul, but still highly exciting all the same !

A lot of “second class” blues musicians ― those who weren't lucky enough to reach the fame (and the sales) of the stars of the genre ― are deserving much more than just a simple listen because they're almost as good. Big George Jackson, who unfortunately left us in 2021, was one of them. ■

(1) Big George Jackson : vocals, harmonica. Tommy Harzevoort : guitar. Tom Peterson : bass. Paul Stueber : drums. Rick O'Dell : horns. John Beach : keyboards. Cleveland Gordon : percussion.

The Four Albums (Audio)
→ Nothing Like the Rest, 1994 : https://youtu.be/vheAu4jIuNg
→ Beggin' Ain't For Me, 1998 : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kz10Oc8NyifKEUPeQllDJZAhKK2EfTlkQ
→ Big Shot, 2001 : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lF-XL47E0F1cZrhg6FSN6YZ_rM5j32mYg
→ Southern In My Soul, 2003 : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nwmoOk7PDal4RieXcDQYW8NcadM4mJRP0

Live Videos

► Blues on the Chippewa Festival, Durand, WI,1999 : https://youtu.be/KdksMqIVu8I
► "Mean Old Blues" and "St. Paul Woman", TV show, 2000 : https://youtu.be/21CQNIgPsiA
► TV show, Minneapolis, 2003 : https://youtu.be/2CApHMz-QI8?t=357
► “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”, Haarlemse Blues Club, Netherlands, 2005 : https://youtu.be/keLxoqmMOFY
► Menen, Belgium, 2006 : https://youtu.be/lbzbpxvL22A

► The Schooner Tavern, Minneapolis, MN, 2009 : https://youtu.be/eahIMqoauv4
► The Santiago Shakedown, Santiago, MN, 2012 :
→ “C'mon Baby Let's Boogie” : https://youtu.be/e9_JerK6kGA
→ “Mean Old Blues” : https://youtu.be/3JkXitiOtxE
→ “Big Boss Man” : https://youtu.be/9QrcncYOs48
► Smokin' in Steele BBQ & Blues Fest, Owatonna, MN, 2017 :
→ https://youtu.be/xSw5AXxj17Q
→ “Spoonful” : https://youtu.be/O1KFBpaBQIg
→ https://youtu.be/Mi9dugYQveI

► Roots, Rock & Deep Blues Festival, Minneapolis, MN, 2018 :
→ “Friday Evening” : https://youtu.be/tOWiSnVuvuM
→ “Got More For You” : https://youtu.be/Av5TGgiz290
→ “Hound Dog” : https://youtu.be/ICvule9uvaY
→ “Mean Old Blues” : https://youtu.be/HZ5Gu9WVfZs
→ "The Jig is Up!" : https://youtu.be/riHJnsTSzy4
→ "Hard Hearted Woman” : https://youtu.be/Wm8v6UD2a6M
→ "Feel Like Jumpin'” : https://youtu.be/gmkNBE-7O2U

► Black Dog Cafe, St. Paul, MN, 2019 :
→ https://youtu.be/I-sr3aMfmEQ
→ https://youtu.be/BZqIaGyKYHA

► St Paul, 2020 :
→ https://youtu.be/fSnw28DKNBg
→ https://youtu.be/T0yy2cmhSZI
→ https://youtu.be/nY6KP99v2xA
→ https://youtu.be/K9zOamKMoZI
► Live stream, Minneapolis, 2020 : https://youtu.be/l79PDtAYu0g?t=301

The Other George Jackson

George Henry Jackson

1) George Henry Jackson (1945-2013), prolific rhythm'n'blues songwriter and singer from Mississippi.
► https://en.wikipeia.org/wiki/George_Jackson_(songwriter)