This music isn’t really mine. I learned it from those who came before me. It’s my job to pass on what I’ve learned. That’s the Tradition.
Brian Jackson
Half of the power duo Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson, Brian wrote, arranged and produced over 10 albums over an eight-year period. Time and time again that music has found its way onto hundreds of cuts from tracks like Common’s “The People” (from “We Almost Lost Detroit”) to Kendrick Lamar’s “Poe Mans Dreams” (from “Peace Go With You, Brother”) to Tupac’s “Ready for Whatever” (from “1980”) and many more.
Almost 50 years later, Brian is still building with artists as diverse as Adrian Younge (Black Dynamite) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (Tribe Called Quest) and has co-produced his latest BBE album release with producer Daniel Collás (Phenomenal Handclap Band, Joe Bataan)
Brian looks to both the present and the past for inspiration in order to honor the ancient tradition of the griot – the African troubadour of truth.
“Music is truly my sanctuary, a reason to live, and a bright moment”
J. Michael Harrison
J. Michael Harrison’s first radio show, WPEB’s, “Is That Jazz” launched in June of 1993. In 1994 he began volunteering with WRTI as a production assistant. In 1996 J. Michael debuted his own program, The Bridge, which continues to air on Friday nights to this day.
The Bridge was selected as Philadelphia Magazine’s “Best Radio Program” in 2002, and in 2007, the Philadelphia City Paper called it the “Best On-Air Reminder That Jazz Didn’t Die in 1965.” The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts made him a Stakeholder in 2016. He was presented the Above & Beyond award for Outstanding Contributions to Arts & Culture by the People’s Emergency Center in 2017, that same year the Jazz Journalist Association named him a “Jazz Hero.”
Since 2008 he has taught a master music journalism class at the University of the Arts and recently premiered a new class, Philadelphia’s Musical Sound as an undergraduate offering. He’s presented lectures to students in the Philadelphia school system, Temple University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He has written liner notes, has sat on and moderated panels, has curated series, produced events, and hosted concerts in Philadelphia, NJ, New York City, and New Orleans. He was executive producer on Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s 1999 CD BrotherZone. He’s worked closely with the Philadelphia Jazz Project, Jazz Philadelphia, Jazz Bridge, Jazz Near You, The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, and other organizations.
Recently he has contributed to NPR’s Station Breaks series, Slingshot Artist to Watch and Jazz Night in America series and serves as executive producer for WRTI’s jazz video content on NPR’s Live Sessions, Facebook and YouTube. Since 2018, he’s been dedicated to nurturing and cultivating a growing WRTI community engagement initiative in partnership with the Rainey Family of the POV documentary film Quest (dir. Jonathan Olshefski), and the Intellectual Heritage Program at Temple University.