jackson was born in the philippines on july 27, 1964, where his father was serving with the us marines in vietnam. he began playing the guitar at the age of 11 and played his first professional performance at the age of 15. he enrolled in the berklee college of music in 1982, concentrating on composition and arranging. in 1985 he left his graduate studies and spent two years in paris where he began playing the electric bass. in 1987 he moved to new york city and resumed playing guitar. as a jazz guitarist he began touring north america and europe.