As luck would have it for Sherri Jackson
Sherri Jackson feels equally lucky and blessed.
Even after a spot on the Furthur Festival, along with Bruce Hornsby, the Black Crowes and the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, the Denver-based multitalented singer-songwriter is taking nothing for granted.
“Sometimes I question what made my life turn on this adventure,” she said recently. “Was it the right thing? Is it too late to go back and apply for graduate school? I never dreamed about being a singer; it would be different if I was saying all the time ‘I want to be a star.’ I never thought about it. I thought I was going to be a stockbroker or something.”
Instead, her 1995 independent CD, “Moments of Denial,” caught the attention of fledgling Hybrid Recordings. Favorable reviews of her self-titled Hybrid debut, produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin, led to the Furthur Festival and now a national tour opening for John Hiatt.
Among other things, the album displays Jackson’s varied musical tastes. She dabbles in pop, blues, funk and ska; vocally, she resembles a combination of Erykah Badu and Sheryl Crow, and she also plays guitar and violin.
“The violin was the instrument that was given to me when I was in elementary school,” Jackson said. “I wanted to play flute, but I didn’t get it. I ended up just keeping the violin. There was enough spark in the orchestra that I actually enjoyed it.”
Jackson feels most comfortable in front of an audience. That’s where she gets her reminder that she made the right choice.
“So many weird things have happened,” Jackson said of her good fortune, “so I guess I’m waiting for the bubble to pop. But it hasn’t happened yet, so I must be doing something right.”
BWF (before we forget): Visit Jackson on the Web @ www.sherrijackson.com.
About the Author
Gerry Galipault Gerry Galipault debuted Pause & Play online in October 1997. Since then, it has become the definitive place for CD-release dates — with a worldwide audience.
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