Jackson Plays Dylan
Out March 27, 2026 via Solid Jackson Records/Palmetto Records, the album explores three decades of songs from the Bob Dylan songbook with guest vocalists Lisa Fischer and Nicole Zuraitis
“Saxophonist Javon Jackson, he of the sonorous tenor tone and the inquisitive musical mind... [is known as] one of the dauntless players of his era.” – R.J. DeLuke, All About Jazz
On the heels of his acclaimed two-album collaboration with the late poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson embarks on a new project paying tribute to one of America’s most revered songwriters, whose own work has been hailed for its intricate poetry and outspoken politics. With Jackson Plays Dylan, scheduled for release on March 27, 2026 via his own Solid Jackson Records imprint in a collaboration with Palmetto Records, the saxophonist explores the music of the iconic singer-songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Dylan.
Jackson Plays Dylan finds the saxophonist delving into songs spanning more than three decades of the legendary songwriter’s career, from still-poignant folk anthems to incisive and timeless love songs. Jackson is joined on the album by pianist and keyboardist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Isaac Levine, drummer Ryan Sands, and Grammy-winning guest vocalists Lisa Fischer and Nicole Zuraitis. “I have a deep respect for Bob Dylan’s musicianship and his commitment to the craft,” Jackson says. “I’m a fan.”
Jackson’s fandom is not a lifelong one, however. The jazz-focused saxophonist had grown up with almost no awareness of rock music, unfamiliar with even a cultural icon on the level of Bob Dylan. That didn’t change until he was in his 20s and joined the ranks of the final incarnation of the Jazz Messengers. “Art Blakey's attorney was a big, big fan of Dylan,” Jackson recalls. “So he shared a lot of his music with me. Then I became even more aware of him when the film The Hurricane came out.”
That 1999 drama starred Denzel Washington as Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a black middleweight boxer who spent more than 18 years in prison for a murder that he didn’t commit. The film brought renewed attention to Dylan’s 1976 song “Hurricane,” which strongly denounces the criminal justice system and its use of racial profiling to falsely convict Carter. The song provided Jackson with a renewed insight into the bold strain of social justice that has illuminated so much of Dylan’s work.
“I became more aware of him as a person that has no problem speaking up for the underserved and underrepresented, and what he feels are the ills of society,” Jackson says.
In that sense, Dylan’s work parallels that of Nikki Giovanni, with whom Jackson formed a strong bond over the course of their two critically acclaimed collaborations: The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni (2022) and Javon and Nikki Go to the Movies (2024). Though the idea of a Dylan tribute had been in the back of Jackson’s mind since he discovered “Hurricane,” the present project was conceived with Giovanni’s participation in mind, and she was planning to write new poetry in dialogue with Dylan’s songs. Those plans came to an unfortunate end on December 9, 2024, when Giovanni passed away from complications of lung cancer. Jackson Plays Dylan thus became a dual tribute – a celebration of Bob Dylan’s music and a posthumous continuation of the work that Jackson and Giovanni had embarked upon together.
The album opens with Jackson’s groove-fueled tribute to his subject, “One for Bob Dylan.” It leads directly into one of Dylan’s most iconic works, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which is taken at a resolute pace while Manasia emphasizes its litany of unanswered questions through the use of discordant harmonies. Another timeless early classic, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” gathers strength as the song proceeds, progressing from lament to resistance. “Those words speak to today's times as much as as they spoke to the times when Dylan wrote it,” Jackson says.”
The band’s bristling take on “Hurricane” follows, leading into a vigorous “Gotta Serve Somebody” that features the window-rattling vocal power of Lisa Fischer. Though she won a Grammy for her 1991 hit “How Can I Ease the Pain,” Fischer has spent most of her career as an in-demand back-up singer, touring with The Rolling Stones for 25 years and being featured in the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom.
Protest isn’t the only aspect of Dylan’s work that the saxophonist admires, and among the highlights of Jackson Plays Dylan are several indelible love songs. “I am attracted to the humanism aspect of his work,” Jackson explains. “He has an ability to speak truth to power and speak for those who may not have a voice, but there's always a vulnerability in Dylan’s music, especially in his love songs, and he's unapologetic about that.”
“Lay, Lady, Lay” is given a sultry treatment, with Levine trading the melody with Jackson as Manasia sets the mood on Rhodes. The album concludes with its most recent inclusion, 1997’s “Make You Feel My Love,” showcasing Jackson’s exquisite ballad playing over the rhythm section’s tender backing.
Vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, who has performed and recorded with Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride and former President Jimmy Carter, among many others, lends a wistful yearning to “Forever Young,” an oft-reprised favorite from 1974’s Planet Waves. Zuraitis, who recently received her fifth Grammy nomination, was also a featured guest on Javon and Nikki Go to the Movies.
“Tombstone Blues” and “Like a Rolling Stone” are both taken from 1965’s landmark Highway 61 Revisited; the former is given a Coltranesque modal revision, while the later is transformed with a rollicking gospel feel. Jackson’s uptempo, swinging “Mr. Tambourine Man” reflects his interpretation of the tune as a “mentorship song, where he wants to sit down with somebody and learn. It’s in service of trying to come through anencounter with humility and be better because of it.”
If that description echoes Jackson’s own experience under Art Blakey’s tutelage and his work with Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter and other elders, that’s no accident. The saxophonist ultimately found vivid parallels between Dylan’s work and that of some of his greatest heroes. “Bob Dylan reminds me of Miles Davis and Duke Ellington in a way,” Jackson says. “Like them, he’s always trying to find another, better version of what came before, with one foot in the past and one foot in the future.”