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Artist
Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society
12+ albums
jazzguitarfree jazzinstrumentalProgressive
about
In 1979, Ronald Shannon Jackson founded his own group, The Decoding Society, playing what has been dubbed free funk: a blend of funk rhythm and free jazz improvisation. Its recordings include Eye on You, Mandance, Street Priest, Barbeque Dog, and When Colors Play. Vernon Reid (Living Colour), and Melvin Gibbs (Harriet Tubman, Rollins Band) both started their careers with Jackson. Both played and recorded extensively with Jackson. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
why this is interesting
This project merits attention for its genuine synthesis of opposing musical forces. Jackson's "free funk" genuinely reconciles funk's rhythmic precision with free jazz's improvisational freedom—not by compromising either approach, but by letting them coexist. The drumming itself becomes a conceptual statement: propulsive yet unpredictable, grounded yet exploratory. Historically significant, the group functioned as a laboratory where younger musicians like Vernon Reid and Melvin Gibbs developed their voices before wider recognition. Beyond individual talent, however, Jackson's work demonstrates how structured grooves and collective freedom need not contradict; they can amplify each other, creating something genuinely difficult to categorize or predict.
