Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson was born in 1954 in Burton upon Trent, England. Young, he learns to play violin and piano. At the age of sixteen, he performed in the city's bars, and won a scholarship to study at London's Royal Academy of Music, where he graduated. However, when released, he leans his musical orientation into Pop and Rock. He formed a band, with Gary Sanford, David Houghton on drums and Graham Maby on bass as guitarist. The group will be redrafted many times thereafter. It will indeed appeal to many musicians and singers from all walks of life, as evidenced by its very rich and varied discography in musical style. Joe and his band started their career by offering Pop-Rock mixed with some Reggae intonations. With the albums Look Sharp! , the first album that will make him known, notably thanks to the single Is She Really Going Out With Him? and the album I In this period, with Elvis Costello , Queen , Graham Parker and a few others, Joe Jackson was one of the artists who challenged the Punk scene in England at that time very fashionable, offering a more Pop and New Wave sound. A style that they introduced to the United States in the late 1970s. In 1980, he produced a more New Wave and Ska-oriented album, Beat Crazy. Then, in 1981, he rubbed himself in the world of Jazz by going out Jumpin, Jive. World recognition came in 1982, when his fifth album, Night And Day, was released in tribute to the American composer, Cole Porter, who ranked number 3 in England and number 4 in the United States, becoming a gold record. The single Steppin' Out ranks #6 in the charts in Britain and the American Billboard making it a world hit. He produced the soundtrack of the film Mikes Murder in 1983, and then the following year, he released the album Body And Soul , a record that surprises with its more Latin orientation, a fusion of Rock, Salsa and Jazz. The hit single You Can的t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) will again make a tobacco. In 1986, Joe was tired of the current Pop-Rock wave and decided to create an album that was less accessible to radio and MTV. He then released Big World, at the intonations of World Music, despite Pop-Rock sounds. On the other hand, in 1987, the first break with the genre was successful, since he tried a new genre, Classical Music. He released Will Power , an instrumental album, which will not make the critics unanimously, but which will prove that Joe is an outstanding musician. He again attacked a B.O., that of Francis Ford Coppola's film Tucker: The Man And His Dream in 1988. The same year released his first live album, Live 1980/86. 1989, he released Blaze Of Glory , and returned to a Rock sound, although many different musicians and instruments were used for the production of this opus, mainly brass and percussion, and in 1990 Joe Jackson left the A&M label for Virgin. A best of is born, Stepping Out: The Very Best Of Joe Jackson. Two years after Blaze Of Glory , Joe retaliated about him by releasing Laughter & Lust , a Rock album with some percussion influence. But in the second part of the decade, he again tired of Pop and Rock and radically changed his orientations, for the reach of Classical Music on his next three efforts. Night Music , released in 1994, is oriented traditional music and classical symphony, then, in 1997, the very surprising Heaven & Hell is inspired by the seven capital sins which will surprise by its consistency and by a very violent title for Joe's style (Right ). The album is actually credited Joe Jackson & Friends because a multitude of Joe's friends take part in it, including Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies), world-renowned soprano, Dawn Upshaw and singer Suzanne Vega. In 1999, Joe Jackson produced Symphony No.1 , which later won a Grammy Award. That same year, he released his autobiography, A Cure For Gravity. After Summer In The City: Live In New York recorded in 1999, a concert where only three musicians perform on stage (Joe playing the piano himself and singing, Graham Maby the bass and Gary Burk on drums), the 2000s are a return to the sources for Joe Jackson. He actively participated in anti-smoking campaigns in the United States and England, as he himself was a great smoker. He eventually left New York to relocate to England first, then to Berlin. Night And Day II, a logical follow-up to his 1982 album, was born in 2000 where he described life in New York through various characters, followed by live album Two Rainy Nights: Live In The Northwest - The Official Bootleg in 2002. In 2003, Joe Jackson and his original band produced a Pop-Rock album, Volume 4 which was followed by Afterlife , a live album recorded during the 2003 tour in the United States. Finally, in 2008, 53-year-old Joe and his band released their latest album, Rain , Pop-oriented opus, which will also lead to a live At The BBC in 2009. Between thirty years of career, Joe Jackson has touched on many musical styles, from the New Wave, to the Ska and Reggae intonations, from Jazz to Rock, he perfects and reinvents his music, almost every new effort. He is also an excellent instrumentalist since he excels in piano, synth, and also plays saxophone and accordion to name a few.