Michael Lee Jackson and Friends

Wednesday November 23 @ 9:30

Michael Lee Jackson & Friends

$15 adv. $20 dos

http://buffalo.com/2016/08/05/news/music/buffalo-expat-michael-lee-jackson-looks-eastward/

Michael Lee Jackson is a guitar player, singer and songwriter from Buffalo, New York who has been living in southern California since 2009. While in Buffalo, Jackson played in many bands over the years, from the Employeez, Urban Sturgeon to Animal Planet. Animal Planet’s runaway train marathon performances were legendary with some of Buffalo’s best musicians adding to its soup of rhythm & blues and rock and roll. Animal Planet released three CD’s, WAG!, Dawn and Toast.  In 1999, Jackson filled in on guitar for 10,000 Maniacs for year, before resuming with Animal Planet and performing all over the world for USO & Armed Forces Entertainment for a few years.

Jackson’s predominately blues based rock and roll sensibilities led to working with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple for several records, one of which, Gillan’s Inn, was substantially recorded at the old Trackmaster Studios in the winter of 2005 without heat or running water before revamped and turned into GCR Studios. In 2006, Jackson toured as music director and band leader with Gillan on a north American tour for Gillan’s Inn. In 2008, Jackson played guitar Gillan’s One Eye to Morocco with a great band comprised of Buffalo’s Rodney Appleby, Howard Wilson, and Toronto’s Jesse O’Brien among others. One Eye to Morocco contained three Jackson compositions, remakes of Texas State of Mind and Ultimate Groove and a new song called “Better Days.”

In 2006, Jackson released his first CD under his own name called “In a Heartbeat” which was produced and recorded by Nick Blagona, as were “Gillan’s Inn” and “One Eye to Morocco.” In 2014, Jackson teamed up again with Nick Blagona to record the “Death by Sunshine,” Jackson’s first new record since 2006. “Death by Sunshine” will be released in November 2016.

On November 23, 2016 Jackson returns to Buffalo to play his first area show in ten years at the fabulous Sportsmen’s Tavern. Jackson’s band that night will feature Stoneflower’s core of Geno McManus, Jeff Schaller and Brian Burd, with Animal Planet’s incredible Nikki Hicks on background vocals and Animal Planet’s horn section, Jim Runfola and Jim Bohm. There will no doubt a few other special guests over the course of the night.