KINGSTON, Jamaica—Shadow Minister of Culture, Creative Industries and Information, Nekeisha Burchell, has joined several others in paying tribute to legendary Jamaican bass guitarist Clifton “Jackie” Jackson, describing his six-decade career as an important part of the foundation on which Jamaica’s music achieved worldwide influence.

Jackson, 79, died on Wednesday at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay following a period of illness.

Burchell, in a press release, said that while Jackson’s musical journey began in Kingston, he also became deeply woven into the cultural life of western Jamaica, where he and his late wife, acclaimed Jamaican singer Karen Smith, made their home and left a significant musical and cultural footprint.

“Western Jamaica was very proud to call Jackie and Karen our own. Together, they were a formidable musical couple; two exceptionally gifted Jamaicans who gave generously of their talent and whose contribution extended well beyond the stage. With Karen’s passing in 2021 and now Jackie’s, Jamaica has lost a remarkable musical partnership,” she said.

Smith, a celebrated cabaret performer and former president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians and Affiliates Union, was particularly closely associated with Montego Bay and St James, where she contributed not only as an entertainer but also to the development and nurturing of other performers.

Jackson, meanwhile, played with Tommy McCook and the Supersonics before establishing an association of more than half a century with Toots and the Maytals.

His extensive recording career also included work with Bob Marley and the Wailers, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Desmond Dekker, The Melodians, Jimmy Cliff and international singer-songwriter Paul Simon.

“For generations of listeners, some of the most recognisable sounds in Jamaican music carried Jackie Jackson’s fingerprints, even when his name was not the one on the record sleeve. He was part of that extraordinary generation of musicians whose creativity, discipline and musicianship helped take Jamaica’s sound to the world,” said Burchell.

She said Jackson’s life also provided an opportunity to recognise the instrumentalists and session musicians whose contributions are sometimes less publicly celebrated than those of the singers whose names appeared on the records.
“The singer may be the name on the record sleeve, but behind so much of the music Jamaica gave the world were extraordinary musicians creating the rhythm, the feel and the sound. Jackie Jackson was one of those giants,” said Burchell.

In 2012, Jackson was awarded the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music.

Burchell said the legacy of Jackson and Smith also continues through the next generation of their family, most visibly through their daughter Courtni Jackson, who is establishing her own career as a singer.

“What is especially beautiful is that the music did not end with Jackie and Karen. They were able to pass on not only talent, but an appreciation for the discipline and responsibility that comes with the craft. Courtni is now making her own way in the industry, carrying something of both her parents with her while developing an identity and sound of her own. “So when we salute Jackie Jackson, we also recognise a family that has contributed across generations to Jamaican music. Jackie and Karen gave us so much individually and together, and through the generation that follows them, that musical legacy continues,” Burchell said.

She also reflected on the picture of Jackson shared by his daughters following his passing a quiet and devoted father who placed great value on independence and remained committed to his craft throughout his life.

“More than six decades into his career, he was still practising his bass and keeping himself ready for the next musical opportunity. That says something powerful about the respect he had for his craft,” Burchell added.

Jackson is survived by his four daughters, Marie, Courtni, Jheanell and Jhanine.

“I extend my deepest condolences to his daughters, his wider family, his colleagues in music and all those who knew and worked with him. Jamaica’s music has travelled farther than almost anything else we have produced, and it did so on the talent of people like Jackie Jackson. His contribution remains in the records, in the bass lines, in the musicians he influenced and in a family musical legacy that continues,” she noted.

READ: Jackie Jackson, legendary Jamaican bass guitarist, dies at 79