July 14, 2026
Eddie’s Attic
Decatur, Georgia – USA
Tyrone Jackson, piano and Yamaha electric keyboard; Lavahi, vocals; Patrick Arthur, guitar; Joel Powell, electric bass; Robert Boone, drums.
Mike Shaw | 16 JUL 2026
Atlanta is rich in jazz artists, and standing tall among the most accomplished is Tyrone Jackson. On Tuesday, July 14, Jackson brought a quintet of virtuosos to the event-eclectic Eddie’s Attic to play music from his most recent album, From the Mind Of Tyrone Jackson. The performance was an exercise in brilliance of the musicians collectively referred to as Jackson’s “electric band.”
Indeed, the quintet was electric in both format and performance. Jackson played the house Yamaha baby grand but, as the night evolved, spent most of his time on his Yamaha electric keyboard, accompanied by Patrick Arthur on guitar, a Gibson narrow-body acoustic/electric, Joel Powell on electric bass, Grammy Award-winning Robert Boone on drums. Vocalist Lavahi fronted the group.
Jackson’s music reflects his New Orleans roots; his command and technical skill are exhibited in majestic improvisation and complex harmonies and polyrhythms. All sits over a powerful funk groove soundly supported by Powell and Boone. Arthur’s work on that vintage Gibson is as innovative as it is energetic—and highly electric. Combined, the quintet delivered on its promise, the intelligence and innovation of traditional jazz delivered with the power and drive of electronics.
Lavahi (lavahi.me)
In front of all that brilliant instrumental work—by the way, no horns and when’s the last time you attended a jazz program that didn’t feature at least one saxophone and/or trumpet?—was an inspiring and technically masterful performance by vocalist Lavahi. Another Atlanta-based jazz super-talent, her mastery of the voice as instrument extended to long flights of improvisation with a range reminiscent of Minnie Riperton and scat that would make Ella Fitzgerald proud.
Lavahi is no stranger to the jazz world. Her appearances include a host of jazz festivals and clubs, including New York’s iconic Dizzy’s. Identified as a “neo-soul scholar-artist,” a composer as well as educator, her style and spontaneity have her described as a “distinctive voice” in Atlanta’s creative community as she simultaneously builds her reputation nationally. Throughout the evening, bookended by the title song of From the Mind Of Tyrone Jackson and the reprise of the same, as does the album, Lavahi and Jackson toyed with each other, trading riffs but also improvising extensive phrases in unison for some of the evening’s most stirring moments. As well, her collaborative phrases with guitarist Arthur were so piercing and precise, they could leave you wondering which was the guitar string and which was the voice.
Tyrone Jackson is best known for compelling solos, from softly highlighted ballads to frenetically paced original compositions. But like many of Atlanta’s most accomplished musicians, he is also a devoted educator. The now Dr. Tyrone Jackson, following the completion of a Ph.D. in Music Education from Georgia State University, is a Senior Lecturer of Jazz Piano at Kennesaw State University as well as a contributor to several other important jazz education programs, including Georgia State University’s Rialto Youth Jazz Orchestra for gifted students.
Soul, blues, gospel, and always funk, the evening was an explosion of joy among the band members which carried effortlessly to an adoring audience, a performance leaving us buzzing about the sound—and the fury—and grateful for having been there to experience it. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Eddie’s Attic: eddiesattic.com
- Tyrone Jackson: tyronejackson.com
- Lavahi (Lauren V. Highsmith): lavahi.me
Read more by Mike Shaw.
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