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| Javon Jackson/Nikki Giovanni Collaboration Nominated for NAACP Image Award Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies, a collaboration between the groundbreaking poet and activist Nikki Giovanni and saxophonist/composer Javon Jackson, has been nominated for a 56th NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Jazz Album. Recognized as the nation's preeminent multicultural awards show from an African American point of view, the NAACP Image Awards celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances in the arts, as well as individuals and groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors. The 56th NAACP Image Award winners will be announced during a live TV special, airing Saturday, February 22nd, 2025 on BET and CBS. The NAACP will also recognize winners in non-televised Image Awards categories on February 21 at the Image Awards Creative Honors Ceremonies which will stream at www.NAACPImageAwards.net. "I am honored and humbled by the nomination of Javon and Nikki go to the Movies, and this collaboration with Nikki Giovanni will serve as a personal musical and career highlight, " says Jackson. Released August 23, 2024 via the saxophonist's Solid Jackson imprint in a collaboration with Palmetto Records, the album was a follow-up to the acclaimed 2023 project The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni, which was also nominated for a NAACP Image Award. Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies was the final project released by Giovanni before her passing on December 9, 2024. A book of her poetry is slated for a fall 2025 release. When Giovanni passed away the NAACP issued a statement that said the organization was mourning "the loss of the legendary poet, activist, and truth-teller, Nikki Giovanni. Her words shaped movements, her voice inspired generations, and her legacy will forever live in our hearts. As we celebrate her life, let us continue to honor her by uplifting stories of resilience, love, and liberation." Like The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni, Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies draws on some of Giovanni's favorite songs – in this case, standards from the Great American Songbook, many of them originally composed for Hollywood classics. But the repertoire this time out draws from a broader range of sources, including three Jackson originals and one from the pen of one of his heroes, Sonny Rollins. The title ends up referring at least as much to the friendship and mutual respect shared by Giovanni and Jackson as it does to the music they've chosen to create together. "When you go to see a film with someone, it's a real opportunity for intimate conversation and dialogue, " Jackson said at the time of the album's release. "Nikki and I have only known each other for four years now, but it seems like it's been a lot longer. As our relationship has continued to grow, our approach to collaboration has evolved. I find that it's important to both of us to share the thoughts that are important to us, and we always welcome each other's feedback or input. It's developed in a way that's really humbling to me." On Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies, Jackson is once again joined by the stellar group that he's worked with for more than a decade: pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams and drummer McClenty Hunter. That band first appeared on Jackson's 2018 album For You and its 2020 follow-up, Déjà Vu, then after The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni reconvened for a portion of Jackson's soundtrack to the documentary With Peter Bradley in 2023.Here they're also joined by Grammy-winning vocalist Nicole Zuraitis and, on three captivating cuts, by the poet herself. The other nominees in the Outstanding Jazz Album category are Samara Joy, Kirk Whalum, Matthew Whitaker and Etienne Charles. Javon Jackson Missouri-born tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson left his studies at Berklee College of Music in 1986 to join Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, where he remained a fixture until Blakey's passing in 1990. In 1991, Jackson made his recording debut with Me and Mr. Jones, featuring James Williams, Christian McBride, and master drummer Elvin Jones. He joined Jones' group in 1992, appearing on the great drummer's albums Youngblood and Going Home. Jackson's 1994 Blue Note debut, When the Time Is Right, was a straight-ahead affair produced by iconic jazz vocalist and bandleader Betty Carter. His subsequent four Blue Note recordings featured wildly eclectic programs ranging from Caetano Veloso, Frank Zappa and Santana to Muddy Waters, Al Green and Serge Gainsbourg. For the Palmetto label he explored a blend of funk, jazz and soul with such stellar sidemen as organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, guitarists Mark Whitfield and David Gilmore, trombonist Fred Wesley and drummer Lenny White. In 2012, he launched his own Solid Jackson Records with Celebrating John Coltrane. His latest releases for the label include The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni, a historic, gospel-tinged collaboration with the renowned African American poet, activist and educator, and the soundtrack to the 2023 documentary With Peter Bradley. Jackson serves as the Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz Studies at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |