Magazine: FOSTER FACTOR - January 2012

Colchester-based Jackson Sloan has built up a reputation as an exceptionally talented and gifted frontman. Jackson’s love of jump blues evolved from his parents’ record collection which led to Jackson attending live gigs both in his own home town of Southend-on-Sea, all over Essex, London and Europe. In 1982 Jackson formed Rent Party, a jump jive rhythm and blues band playing the sounds of Louis Jordan, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Liggins and Wynonie Harris. Along with the Chevalier Brothers they helped spread the jump blues sound both in the UK and in Europe. Jackson’s been telling Foz about those days and bringing him right up to date with his musical activities.

FOZ : Jackson let me take you back to the days when you lived down in Leigh-on-Sea and I hear you were good friends with Lee Brilleaux who was a near neighbour of yours.

JACKSON : Yeah, I used to rent a flat in Leigh-on-Sea and lived down the road from him and our paths often used to cross as we were getting into our converted ambulance or Transit van and Lee would be coming up the road and getting into his van with Chris (Fenwick) and the guys. We became really, really friendly. We supported them a couple of times at the Queen’s Hotel which we have to thank Lee for. He gave us great exposure for Rent Party. He was moving into a direction that I’d been moving in for a long time which was the jump blues vocalists like Big Joe Turner, Wynonie Harris, Nappy Brown, Roy Brown and all those sorts of people who used to shout the blues. It was great to hear that he liked all that and wanted to go in that direction. I have no doubt that had he still been with us he would have gone into that style as it would have suited him. It wouldn’t have been that far away from the sort of stuff he did early on with Wilko Johnson. I think you could still have had some blues shouters in there as well as their back catalogue.

FOZ : Take us back to the early days of your career. When did you start singing?

JACKSON: 1982. I had a little residency at the Railway Hotel, a place that’s still putting on live music which is great to know. Then it was the Queen’s Hotel which was the iconic venue which used to put on all the big bands from the 1970s onwards. It’s a great sadness it’s no longer there. We got noticed by a London agent and then got signed up and went on several British and European tours as well as going to America and parts of Scandinavia. Rent Party released four singles and two albums. One was live at the Dublin Castle in Camden called Honk That Saxophone, the other was for RCA Victor in Japan. We worked with Mike Vernon the legendary blues producer. We recorded on his old Fostex 16 track in a little church hall in Leigh-on-Sea. That was the Aint Misbehavin’ 12 inch which featured three original songs and a cover.

FOZ : Let’s fast forward to more recent times and your work with singer and sax player Ray Gelato. How did that come about?

JACKSON : I used to go and see Ray’s Dynamite band down at the Queen’s Hotel in Westcliffe. I then formed Rent Party and little did I know he’d formed the Chevalier Brothers playing similar music – jump jive stuff by Louis Jordan. We met up at a gig in Kent. It was a double bill and we’ve been friends ever since. Ray phoned me up and said I’d like to do an album with you. I said yes let’s do it. I had some songs and then he agreed to bring along his pianist Gunter Kurmayr who works with the Giants Of Jive. We met down in London and did a couple of rehearsals. I then contacted Mike Thorne from Rimshot Studios. Mike was drumming at that time with Paul Lamb and the King Snakes and I’d seen him a few times with other bands. I’d always liked the stuff that came out of his studio. It was really well produced with a nice, earthy sound and he said he’d love to do the album. We went down to Kent but didn’t have a guitarist so we drafted in Richard Studholme. The last piece of the jigsaw was bassist Pete Pritchard and that’s the line-up on the album.

You can catch Jackson Sloan on Friday, February 17 at Clacton’s Comfort Hotel on Marine Parade West. The evening will feature the DJ Rob de Bop and two sets from Jackson and his band. Tickets are £8.

Meanwhile, Jackson has very kindly given Grapevine five copies of his most recent album Saturday Clothes to give away in a write-in competition. All we need you to tell us which music legend sang about a Saturday Night Fish Fry? Was it A) Louis Armstrong B) Louis Jordan or C) Louis Walsh? Send your entry to Grapevine’s Jackson Sloan CD giveaway, Grapevine, 20 Wharfedale Road, Ipswich IP1 4JP or email info@grapevinelive.co.uk by 17th January.