Guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. keeps an intense, breakneck schedule. In addition to the demands of being a Grammy nominated solo artist, Jackson is a highly in-demand sideman and session player. In the two years since he released The Power of the String, his last Blue Note recording, the popular guitarist performed in the television special Diva Las Vegas (behind Cher, Shakira, Mary J. Blige and Whitney Houston, with whom he toured throughout the Nineties), participated in the Billboard Awards tribute to Jam Master Jay, composed music for the film Undercover Brother with Stanley Clarke, and contributed to the TV hit Cedric the Entertainer. In the midst of all that activity, the deeply spiritual Jackson continues to seek quiet time in which to listen to the “still small voice” of God. Those moments played a key role in the creation of his sixth solo album, so it was only “super” natural that he titled the extraordinary project, Still Small Voice.
A great benefit of being on the short list of top-flight versatile session and live performance musicians is forging relationships with the best producers and performers in his chosen genres. His 1996 classic Never Alone/Duets featured high profile collaborations with legendary pals Kirk Whalum, Joe Sample, Jeff Lorber, Earl Klugh, Ray Parker Jr. and Gerald Albright, while The Power of the String included guest spots by Boney James, Mervyn Warren and Patrice Rushen. Some of the contributing “voices” to the new project are Lorber (who also co-produced “Sportsman Park” with Jackson), Albright, bassist and fellow Houston tour member Ricky Minor, electric piano/keyboard greats Rushen, Billy Preston, Ricky Peterson and Brian Culbertson, the Earth, Wind & Fire horn section (Ray Brown, Gary Bias and Reggie Young) with the addition of Patches Stewart and Andy Wiener, and percussionist Sheila E. Jackson produced six tracks on his own, and tandem on others with Alan Abrahams, Brian Culbertson and James Reese (a songwriter and friend from Jackson’s childhood growing up in South Central L.A.).
