The Artistry of… Jackie Richardson
In mere moments in the presence of Jackie Richardson, you both will walk away as friends. You will gain the friendship of easily some of the most generous, uncompromised artistry in jazz, and she will gain the forever-and-a-day friendship of fandom you cannot help but have for a genuine, selfless, creative soul.
Jackie sings with everything she has, and what she has is treasure. It tells you a story that weaves through the richness of the lower tones of her range and takes you on adventures, within and at all of the stops along the way of her precious, emotionally coloured registers. A ready laugh and time-of-day moments are in her every hello and greeting.
Hers is a respect for the music that is so natural that it is enviable, as she presents her artistry with a humility that is at once familiar, familial, comforting and brilliantly inspiring.
She is a respected actor, and I think there is so much of her person that is in her eyes, too. There are the warmest gazes that say everything is alright, eyes and expressions that look deep inside and may ask if you are okay, and then, as a salve, get to work. She cares, and it is all over her personality and her music.
Listen, and you will feel the “it’s alright”-ness of the soundscapes she paints. Jackie is the purest part of the friendship of an artistry that reaches out, touches and welcomes.
