Educator, musician, and clinician Adaron "Pops" Jackson serves as Assistant Teaching Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. At UMSL he conducts the University Jazz Orchestra and teaches Jazz Improvisation.
Originally from East St. Louis, IL, Adaron has performed and toured nationally as well as internationally with a diverse array of artists and ensembles including the Birch Creek Academy Band, Frank Morgan, Victor Mendoza, Steve Houghton, Clay Jenkins, Red Holloway, The Temptations, Wallace Roney, Ellis Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Greg Tardy, Slide Hampton, and many others. Performances include appearances at the Jazz at Lincoln Center: Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Chicago Jazz Festival, Capitol Jazz Festival, Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival. As a composer and arranger, Pops has written works for various ensembles ranging from small to large, most recently the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO).
Among other notable institutions, Adaron has previously served on faculty at Washington University St. Louis and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Currently, he serves as faculty at Birch Creek Music Center and Jazz St. Louis. As an educator, Jackson teaches master classes and remains an active clinician/adjudicator at numerous festivals across the country. Adaron received his BA and MM from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.