D. D. Jackson facts for kids

Robert Cleanth Kai-Nen "D. D." Jackson (born January 25, 1967) is a talented Canadian-American jazz pianist and composer. He has released many music albums and won a special award called the Juno Award for his solo piano album ...So Far. D. D. Jackson has also written music for operas and won two Emmy Awards for his work on TV shows, especially for children's programs.

Early Life and Learning

D. D. Jackson was born in Ottawa, Canada, on January 25, 1967. His family called him "D. D." which means "little brother" in Mandarin Chinese. He is a citizen of both Canada and the United States. He started playing the piano when he was just six years old.

After studying classical music at Indiana University, D. D. moved to New York in 1989. There, he earned a master's degree in jazz from the Manhattan School of Music. A famous pianist named Don Pullen was his mentor, helping him learn and grow. He also took private lessons with Jaki Byard.

Music and TV Career

D. D. Jackson began playing with jazz musician David Murray in the early 1990s. In 1999, he was the music director for a Broadway show called Mytholojazz, where he also performed on stage.

He released several albums with Justin Time Records. Later, he recorded two albums for RCA Records in 1999. One of these, ...So Far, won him the "Best Contemporary (Instrumental) Jazz Album" Juno Award in 2000. He also recorded a famous piece called Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin in 2002.

D. D. Jackson has also composed operas. His first opera, Quebecité, came out in 2003. Three years later, he created Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path. He also wrote a musical comedy called Depressed, Depressed.

He has written music for popular children's TV shows. He was one of the composers for Wonder Pets! and scored all 26 episodes of The Ocean Room. For many years, D. D. Jackson has been one of the main composers for the children's TV show Peg + Cat. His work on this show earned him a Daytime Emmy Award in 2016 for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition. He won a second Emmy in 2019 for an original song called "A World Made By Friends." In total, he has received five Emmy nominations for his work on Peg + Cat.

For five years, D. D. Jackson wrote a regular column for DownBeat magazine, sharing his thoughts on jazz. He also teaches music. He started teaching at Hunter College in 2009 and at the Harlem School of the Arts in 2011. Since 2018, he has been a professor at Brooklyn College's Conservatory of Music. There, he teaches Jazz and Media Scoring and directs the Big Band.

How He Plays

D. D. Jackson is known for his energetic and daring piano playing. He often pushes his limits, using different rhythms in each hand. Sometimes, he even uses his palms or arms to play many notes at once. He might even stand up to play loud chords with both hands at the same time!

Albums (As Leader)

D. D. Jackson has released many albums as a leader or co-leader. Here are a few of them:

• 1994 – Peace-Song (with David Murray)
• 1996 – Rhythm-Dance (a trio album)
• 1999 – ...So Far (a solo piano album that won a Juno Award)
• 1999 – Anthem (with a band including Jack DeJohnette)
• 2002 – Suite for New York