Chubby Jackson Biography by Scott Yanow…

A fine bassist, Chubby Jackson is best-known for his association with Woody Herman’s first two Herds of the mid- to late ’40s, where he functioned not only in the rhythm section but as a sort-of cheerleader whose vocal interjections really pushed the band.

Although he started on the clarinet when he was 16, Jackson soon switched to bass and was a professional by the time he was 19, playing with many big bands, including those led by Raymond Scott, Jan Savitt, and Henry Busse.

Jackson was introduced to jazz music thru a fellow jazz musician as he recalled in a January 22, 1989 interview, “At the time in high school in Freeport, Long Island. He was a good enough string bass with The Bunny Barringan Band and I would hang around with the band as a gofer. And I became aligned with their lingo and hang out with musicians and enjoying the their abilities on the bandstand. So, it was very natural that I would combine the inners of me, which came from show business to the love of playing music.”

Chubby developed his talent as a singer during his stint with The Jan Savit Band. As I got into the game of playing with bands. “I used to sing a lot. So that brought about the need to perform. I was in a band called Jan Savit where I actually had to sing rhythm songs. So to sing rhythm songs at a mike in a theater? You don’t just stand in front of the mike. I made facial moves and danced a little bit, that brought out the performer in me.”

After touring with Charlie Barnet from 1941 to 1943 (sometimes with Oscar Pettiford as the second bassist), Jackson joined Woody Herman’s transitional orchestra and was partly responsible for the group adding many young modernists to the personnel, resulting in the First Herd.

Jackson was with Herman during 1943-1946 (appearing on many recordings). After Herman broke up the band, Jackson played with Charlie Ventura’s septet (1947) and had his own small group that toured Scandinavia.

A second tour with Herman (1948) was followed by a period leading his own big band (1948-1949), more work with Ventura (1951), and a period co-leading a combo with Bill Harris.

Chubby Jackson spent the 1950s as a studio musician, freelancer, and a host of his own children’s television show. After periods living in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, he eventually settled in San Diego in semi-retirement, although Jackson occasionally emerged, including for a stint with Lionel Hampton (1978-1979) and with Herman reunion groups.

Even in retirement, Jackson seemed tireless, helping to organize cultural events for senior citizens and briefly hosting a cable TV jazz program. Jackson passed away in San Diego on October 1, 2003 after a protracted battle with cancer.

Chubby’s son, Duffy Jackson (born July 3, 1953), is a fine drummer who played with Count Basie in the 1970s and has led his own sessions. In addition to his work as a sideman,

CHILDREN’S TV

The son of vaudeville performers, Chubby had a natural gift for performing comedy. Inheriting his dad’s talent for physical comedy.

Chubby hosted a number of New York City local children’s TV shows:

• Chubby Jackson’s Little Rascals, weekday mornings on WABC TV Ch. 7 in New York from March 23, 1959, to July 14, 1961,
• The Chubby Jackson Show, Saturday afternoons also on WABC TV Ch.7, from July 22, 1961, to August 5, 1961,
• WOR TV Ch.9 in New York Space Station Nine, which was seen weekday evenings from January 1, 1962, to January 26, 1962,
• briefly served as the fourth and last emcee of WOR TV’s Looney Tunes Show/The Chubby Jackson Show weekday afternoons. The last series was aired from January 12, 1962, to June 14, 1962.