A technically ingenious and innovative guitarist, Michael Gregory Jackson leans in on his emotions in presenting his music, adding to the uniqueness of his approach. The recent events where both the ugliness of racism and an unchecked pandemic had left Jackson distraught about the world around him and pushed him to record his first-ever solo electric guitar album. Electric Git Box collects his originals both new and old with, holed up in a studio with just electric guitars using virtually no effects but a lot of gritty sonority to match the mood of the man behind the instrument.
Jackson unaccompanied is Jackson with all of his gifts on full display: his subtle manipulation of guitar tone, his grasp of melodic development and a fluid, unforced finesse matched with a rough edge that exposes a vulnerability. It’s a combination of qualities extremely rare from any musician, much less a guitarist.
Jackson leverages open chording bracketing nimble fills to paint a full sonic portrait for “Karen (Sweet Angel).” “Theme-X (for Geri Allen)” is a pretty melody made more poignant by Jackson’s deft mixture of lush chords and blues-imbued blues lines.
“Jcakjcak (for Ornette)” is completely transformed from what was essentially a bop tune on 2017’s Spirit Single Strata into Hendrix-ian blues-rock and works very effectively in this style. “Meditation In E (for Karen)” is ballad dipped in blues, while “Sweet Rain Blues” is soaked in it, played with the freewheeling cadence of modern jazz.
“Prelueoionti (V2)” goes all the way back to Jackson’s Clarity debut, and even then it was performed on solo guitar, albeit an acoustic one. This time, the distinction lies in the rough but warm timbre of his 1959 Gibson SG guitar. “Hymn For My People” stands out for its greater reliance of single note lines to sketch out the melody, giving Jackson’s note bending finesse more prominence.
The boggy tonality of the last three tracks signals a changeup of rigs, from the SG to a Stratocaster. What Jackson does with this grimy but shimmering resonance is to render “The Rainy Days,” “Wish” and “The Science of Beauty (for Arthur Livermore)” with a lot of soul and sincerity.
Over a recording career stretching back forty-six years, Electric Git Box may very well be the purest form of Michael Gregory Jackson’s unparalleled artistic expression. And the purer his artistry, the better.
Get Electric Git Box now from Bandcamp.
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