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Jazz guitar player Ron Jackson began to play the guitar at the age of eleven. He taught himself how to play guitar from a book of guitar tabs. His father was in the US Army and Jackson lived in the Phillipines until he was five years old. He was attracted at first to pop, rock and rhythm and blues guitar music. His early influences included top rock guitarists Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Richie Blackmore.

By the time he was 15, he began listening to jazz guitar recordings. Pat Metheny and George Benson made a great impact on him and he was soon playing jazz guitar music in local jazz clubs in the Boston area. In 1982 Ron Jackson enrolled at the Berklee College of Music where he concentrated on studying composition and arranging. He studied jazz guitar privately with Rodney Jones, Melvin Sparks and Ted Dunbar using collection books of jazz guitar tabs.

In 1985 Ron Jackson moved to Paris, France for two years. There he played electric bass performing regularly with pianist Bobby Few, saxophonist Hal Singer and Leo Wright. He also started learning some blues guitar tabs from a book another guitarist gave him. They concertised throughout Europe and North Africa. Jackson returned to the USA in 1987 and once again changed back to playing the jazz guitar. Between 1982 and 1996 he won many awards and scholarships including first place in the ‘1996 Heritage International Jazz Guitar Competition’.

He toured with the Mingus Guitar Tribute Band which also included gui­tarists Larry Coryell, Jack Wilkins, Peter Leitch, David Gilmore and Russell Malone. Since 1987 Ron Jackson has lived in New York City from where he performs, records and tours with his own jazz group, freelances in studio sessions and Broadway shows, and also teach­es jazz guitar on a private basis.

Jazz guitar player Rodney Jones was born into a musical family. His uncle was an accomplished pianist and also conducted church choirs. He began to play the guitar at the age of ten and studied with various teachers for almost seven years. After leaving high school Jones went to City College in New York to study jazz guitar improvisation with John Lewis.

From 1974 Rodney Jones began to lead his own small groups in the New York area and also was a sideman with various other groups. He played not only jazz, but also played on many Latin and disco recordings. In 1974 Jones had the oppor­tunity to play with the Music Complex Orchestra led by Jackie Byard at the Five Spot club. He then joined drummer Chico Hamilon’s group for almost a year. In 1976 he gained fur­ther international recognition when he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet for almost three years.

In 1977 he won a Certificate of Merit from the City of New Orleans. The next few years saw Rodney Jones working with many prominent jazz musi­cians in the USA including Chico Hamilton and Maxine Brown. He also did a world tour with the Subtle Sounds jazz group. In 1983 Jones was hired as jazz guitarist, writer and arranger for Lena Horne. He worked with this famous singer for the next couple of years. Also in 1983 Rodney Jones was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts recording grant.