ronald shannon jackson

you can never tell who's gonna turn up with all the 20somethings on myspace. to wit: master drummer and composer / harmolodic pioneer / "punk-funk" innovator / shadowy, elusive living legend ronald shannon jackson, who's touring europe this summer with an all-star aggro dubbed the punk-funk all-stars that includes outer space delta bluesman james "blood" ulmer, ex-defunkt trombonist joseph bowie, and melvin gibbs, who played bass in jackson's stellar '80s band the decoding society. shannon's own website is active again, too, making it possible once again to obtain his magical but hideously rare recordings (samples from which are audible on the myspace thingy). an authentic original, his music deserves to be heard more widely. so sayeth me.