First Things First

A young lion with the 'touch' - Joe Williams, 1995 A rising star on the jazz horizon - Javon Jackson, Blue Note Records, 2001 This exciting Los Angeles native has quickly developed into a premiere jazz artist, being the first to introduce the live American jazz vocal performance to the Russian far east where he appeared on television and concert venues in 1992. He has performed at the Mount Hood Festival of Jazz as well as the Bumpershoot Jazz Festival in Seattle, Washington, the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival as well as jam sessions at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He has been featured with such jazz giants as Leroy Vinnegar, Billy Higgins, Bennie Maupin, Richie Cole, Red Holloway, and Andrew Hill. First Things First is his first solo project in which he brings together Blue Note saxophonist Javon Jackson, former Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn bassist Frank de la Rosa, drummer Mel Brown, saxophonist extraordinaire Rob Scheps, trumpeter Thara Memory, pianist Jof Lee, guitarist Dan Balmer, and percussive contributions from Akbar DePriest and Ron Steen. This is hopefully the first of many... so sit back and enjoy.