American bassist Paul Jackson, one of the founders of the jazz-funk band The Headhunters, together with the great pianist Herbie Hancock, died at the age of 73. Jackson died on March 18 in his hometown of Oakland, California.
It was the legendary Herbie Hancock, on social media, who announced the death of his friend and former musical partner: “We lost an incredible musician. Paul Jackson played the electric bass like no other. evening. Nobody else could! It came from his jazz influences. It was part of his genius. Have a good trip to your next life, Paul. “
Paul Jackson began playing bass at the age of 9. Considered a musical prodigy by his teachers, he performed with the Oakland Symphony as early as 14 years old. Known as the ‘Musician of Musicians’ and ‘King of the Bass’, in 1973 he was one of the founding members of the Headhunters under the leadership of Herbie Hancock. The solid union between Hancock and Jackson has been particularly evident in the many international tours they have done together and the many albums that have come out of their inspired minds.
In 1979 Paul Jackson embarked on a solo career with the release of his first album under his own name “Black Octopus” by Toshiba Emi Records. Jackson’s compositions had already garnered several Grammy Award nominations in 1974, 1975 and 1976, for the songs “Chameleon”, “Hang Up Your Hang-up” and “Spider” respectively. In 1985 Jackson moved to Japan for a decade and continued to be active in many aspects of the Japanese music scene performing live concerts with the likes of Char, Tsutomu Yamashita and Sadao Watanabe.
He also composed and arranged music for Japanese television films. In 1998 the long-awaited reunion of the Headunters materialized with the release of the album “The Return of the Headhunters” which will be followed by a tour with Herbie Hancock himself. In 2003 another album “Evolution Revolution” and a very successful tour with the Headhunters.
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