Jackson Garrett was formed in 2006 when Chris Gore began collaborating with Marty Steele, Walter Earl Brown and Pat Rizzo for recording sessions at Rizzo's home in Palm Springs, CA. The Jackson Garrett formula is simple: Chris Gore composes each song and Marty Steele "tweaks" it, adds to it, edits and arranges it for the full 10-piece ensemble, comprised of Jeff Stover(bass), Steve Neilen(drums), John Pagels(guitar), Pat Rizzo(sax), Steve Madaio(trumpet), and various session musicians and singers. The concept is reminiscent of Steely Dan, where Gore and Steele are the Becker/Fagen songwriting team, and a core of musicians, each of whom is a great talent in his own right, form the body of the band. The music is also slightly reminiscent of Steely Dan, with angular, jazzy progressions punctuated with numerous vocal phrases and hot solos.
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