Gigging at the Speakeasy

Played the Speak Easy February 5th with Melanie Marrow (vocals), Sarah Sty (keybds), Jeff Jones (bass), Paul Renz (guitar), and Jesse Lesmeister (drums). Songs were "Blues In The Closet"; "Yardbird Suite"; "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"; "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"; "It Don't Mean A Thing"; "Since I Fell For You"; "Autumn Leaves" and "Twisted." I played my new Les Paul Elegant through a Fender 63 Reissue Vibroverb. Upcoming gigs at the Speak Easy are March 12 and April 16. The Speak Easy is located in the Lyn-Lake area of Minneapolis behind the 3 Muses restaurant at 2817 Lyndale Ave S.

Guitar acquisition syndrome and other ailments

I recently moved into a new house and collected all my musical instruments in one place for the first time. What a shock! I have a 31' x 26' basement studio, and it's now filled with 15 electric guitars, 5 acoustic guitars, 10 electric basses, 2 acoustic basses, 4 mandolins, a banjo, 4 Roland keyboards, a Vox organ, a Moog Rogue, a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, a Novation Bass Station, and a piano accordion. I feel like a glutton owning all these instruments, but I can't bear to part with any of them. Highlights of my collection are a Gibson Les Paul Elegant, a Custom Shop 335, a Martin D-35, and a Parker Fly bass. I have a bunch of amps also, pride of place going to two custom-built tone monsters from Savage Audio, a Macht 12 and a Rohr 15.

First gig of the year

Played University Club of Saint Paul on January 7th with Melanie Marrow (vocals), Ron Peterson (electric piano), Bruce Morrow (upright electric bass), Mike Hachey (drums), and self (electric guitar). Songs included "Why Don't You Do Right?" (a.k.a. The Jessica Rabbit Song); "Autumn Leaves"; "Smile" (a Charlie Chaplin song); "Since I Fell For You"; and "Summertime". I played lead on some instrumentals to round out the evening, including "Four" (nice Miles Davis tune); "Wave" (my favorite Jobim samba); and a few blues standards.

Introduction

My name's Peter Jackson and music has been my hobby since age 13. I've been playing guitar for 40 years, bass for 10 years, and keyboards for 2 years. I also take an interest in the local jazz and classical music scene in the Twin Cities.

Recent performance and recording activities:

Since moving to the United States from Scotland 15 years ago, I've played in a rock band (Memphis Underground, Saint Louis), a mandolin ensemble (Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra), and a couple of jazz line-ups in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. I also played bass guitar on the Hurricane album by Tom and Cathy Plantenberg, and was an executive producer on the second Dennis Spears album Why Try to Change Me Now? along with my wife, Sandra Browning. I currently play at the University Club of Saint Paul with the Mike Hachey Band, and at the Speakeasy with a Paul Renz ensemble class out of the West Bank School of Music.

Other musical activities:

I recently joined the Board of Directors of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. The SPCO is the nation’s only full-time professional chamber orchestra and is widely regarded as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world. I'm proud to be associated with this great group of musicians.

Feel free to visit my music home page.