Studio Science: Brian Jackson on Songwriting and Composing

Brian Jackson spent a decade writing, recording and performing with Gil Scott-Heron, an iconic figure in American soul and jazz music. Fresh from university and infatuated with these two quintessential American styles, Jackson wrote and composed with and for Gil Scott-Heron, including many of their best-known songs like “Pieces of a Man,” “Speed Kills” and “The Bottle.” In 1980, Jackson went on to work by himself, taking his unique ear for arrangements to artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder and Roy Ayers, and into the foundations of today’s modern popular music. Some of his influence continues to be felt in the way rappers from Kanye West to Kendrick Lamar sample his work.

In this episode of Studio Science, filmed at the Funkhaus as part of RBMA Berlin 2018, Jackson sat next to two of his favorite keyboards – the Minimoog and the Fender Rhodes – to discuss his approach to songwriting and composition, the lessons he learned from Gil Scott-Heron and years in the business and why it’s all about the groove.