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Wikipedia / Paul Jackson Jr.

Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American former child actor, fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist.

His first acting role was a guest starring role as Tank, a member of the Junior Warlords gang in Chicago on an episode of Good Times Season 4 Episode 4 entitled "Michael the Warlord." In addition to being a recording artist in his own right, Jackson is also a session player, with a career spanning multiple decades. He has supported artists ranging from Michael Jackson (no relation) (on the albums Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix) to the Temptations, Whitney Houston, Alexander O'Neal, Five Star (on the album Silk and Steel), Howard Hewett, Thomas Anders, Patti LaBelle and Luis Miguel, to rockers such as Chicago and Elton John, to jazz-oriented players such as George Duke, George Benson, Dave Koz, Al Jarreau, David Benoit, Marcus Miller and Kirk Whalum, and to Christian artists such as Leon Patillo and Don Moen.

He contributed to several tracks on the album Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and UK based singer songwriter Birdy's second album Fire Within. He also played guitar on Lisa Stansfield's 2014 album, Seven.

Jackson played guitar in a wide variety of styles on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and American Idol.

Discography

As leader

  • I Came to Play (1988, Atlantic)

  • Out of the Shadows (1990, Atlantic)

  • A River in the Desert (1993, Atlantic)

  • Never Alone: Duets (1996, Blue Note)

  • The Power of the String (2001, Blue Note)

  • Still Small Voice (2003, Blue Note)

  • Lay It Back (2008, Branch)

  • Stories from Stompin' Willie (2016, Branch)

With 'Jazz Funk Soul' (Jeff LorberJeff Lorber/Everette HarpEverette Harp/Paul Jackson Jr.)

  • Life and Times (2019, Shanachie)

  • Forecast (2022, Shanachie)

Session musician credits

With Oleta Adams

With Alessi Brothers

  • Driftin (A&M Records, 1979)

With Deborah Allen

  • Telepathy (RCA Victor, 1987)

With America

With Anastacia

With Jon Anderson

With Bob James & David Sanborn

With Paul Anka

  • Somebody Loves You (Polydor, 1989)

With India Arie

With Patti Austin

With Joan Baez

With Philip Bailey

With Anita Baker

With George Benson

With Stephen Bishop

  • Sleeping with Girls (Big Pink, 1985)

With Michael Bolton

With Laura Branigan

With Randy Brown

  • Intimately (Parachute, 1979)

With Peabo Bryson

With Solomon Burke

  • The Definition Of Soul (Virgin, 1997)

With Donald Byrd

With Irene Cara

With Jean Carn

With Belinda Carlisle

With Felix Cavaliere

  • Dreams in Motion (MCA Records, 1994)

With Ray Charles

With Chicago

With The Stanley Clarke Band

  • Up (Mack Avenue, 2014)

With Leonard Cohen

With Natalie Cole

With Commodores

With Randy Crawford

With Clark Datchler

With DeBarge

With The 5th Dimension

  • In the House (Columbia, 1995)

With Céline Dion

With Will Downing

  • Invitation Only (Mercury, 1997)

With George Duke

With Sheena Easton

With José Feliciano

  • José Feliciano (Motown, 1981)

  • Ya Soy Tuyo (RCA, 1985)

  • Te Amaré (RCA, 1986)

With Roberta Flack

With Four Tops

With Aretha Franklin

With Michael Franks

With Glenn Frey

With Richie Furay

  • Seasons of Change (Myrrh Records, 1982)

With Gloria Gaynor

With Amy Grant

With Tramaine Hawkins

With High Inergy

With Thelma Houston

With Whitney Houston

With Phyllis Hyman

With Imagination

  • Closer (RCA Records, 1987)

With James Ingram

With Paul Jabara

With Jermaine Jackson

With La Toya Jackson

With Michael Jackson

With Al Jarreau

With Jewel

With Dr. John

With Elton John

With Chaka Khan

With Bobby King

  • Bobby King (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)

With B. B. King

With Carole King

With Gladys Knight & the Pips

  • Life (Columbia, 1985)

With Gladys Knight

With Patti LaBelle

With Queen Latifah

With Kenny Loggins

With Jon Lucien

  • Listen Love (Mercury, 1991)

  • Mother Nature's Son (Mercury, 1993)

With Cheryl Lynn

With Madonna

With Melissa Manchester

With Barry Manilow

With Teena Marie

With Amanda Marshall

With Johnny Mathis

With Letta Mbulu

  • Sounds Of a Rainbow (Munjale, 1980)

With The McCrarys

  • On the Other Side (Portrait, 1979)

With Michael McDonald

With Bobby McFerrin

With Glenn Medeiros

With Bill Medley

  • Right Here and Now (Planet Records, 1982)

With Sérgio Mendes

  • Arara (A&M Records, 1989)

  • Brasileiro (Elektra Records, 1992)

  • Oceano (Verve Records, 1996)

  • Encanto (Concord Records, 2008)

  • In the Key of the Joy (Concord Records, 2020)

With Idina Menzel

With Bette Midler

  • Bette (Warner Bros., 2000)

With Stephanie Mills

With Melba Moore

With Keb' Mo'

With Aaron Neville

  • The Grand Tour (A&M, 1993)

  • Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas (A&M, 1993)

With The O'Jays

With The Originals

  • Come Away With Me (Fantasy, 1979)

With Jeffrey Osborne

With Pages

  • Pages (Capitol Records, 1981)

With Ray Parker Jr.

With Freda Payne

  • Hot (Capitol, 1979)

With Teddy Pendergrass

With Greg Phillinganes

  • Significant Gains (Planet, 1981)

With June Pointer

With Billy Preston

With Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright

With Corinne Bailey Rae

With Helen Reddy

With Cliff Richard

With Lionel Richie

With Minnie Riperton

With Bruce Roberts

  • Intimacy (Atlantic Records, 1995)

With Smokey Robinson

With Kenny Rogers

With Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

With Patrice Rushen

With Jennifer Rush

With Brenda Russell

With Carole Bayer Sager

With David Sanborn

  • Close Up (Reprise, 1988)

With Boz Scaggs

With Lalo Schifrin

With Scritti Politti

With Dan Seals

  • Stones (Atlantic Records, 1980)

With Jon Secada

  • Secada (Virgin, 1997)

With Jessica Simpson

With Lisa Stansfield

With The Staple Singers

  • The Staple Singers (Private Records, 1985)

With Brenda K. Starr

With Steely Dan

With Rod Stewart

With Barbra Streisand

With Donna Summer

With Russ Taff

With Tavares

With The Temptations

With The Manhattan Transfer

With Frankie Valli

  • Heaven Above Me (MCA, 1980)

With Dionne Warwick

With The Weeknd

With The Whispers

With Deniece Williams

With Lenny Williams

  • Sparks of Love (ABC, 1978)

  • Love Current (MCA, 1979)

  • Let's Do It Today (MCA, 1980)

  • Taking Chances (MCA, 1981)

With Michelle Williams

With Vanessa Williams

With Bill Withers

With Bobby Womack

With Stevie Wonder

With Stevie Woods

With Syreeta Wright

With Paul Young

References