After nearly eight years as a Motown solo act, his career was punctuated by false starts and major, sporadic hits. Jermaine Jackson, his first for Arista is his first album since 1982's Let Me Tickle Your Fancy, and has him doing a slicky produced variant of the R&B/pop his brother was making sound effortless. The biggest hit here, the jaunty "Dynamite," mixes smooth R&B with a hint with a new wave-ish rhythm and synth patterns that has his ingratiating tenor sounding strong and confident. The percolating and infectious "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" is a duet with brother Michael Jackson. The song attains a well-produced L.A. pop/R&B sound, and has the nervous energy, if not paranoia, of other like-minded Jackson family performances. In the reunion vein, "Escape From the Planet of the Ant Men" features the Jacksons. With its mind-boggling premise and over-production, it all but obscures the fact that it's one of Jackson's strongest vocal performances here. As a devout fan of Marvin Gaye, the artist also has a few romantic moments here, too. The sultry "Do What You Do" boasts a strong arrangement and Jackson's persuasive vocals. "Take Good Care of My Heart," a duet with Whitney Houston, has the two having good chemistry. The last track, "Oh Mother," is an emotional and spare ode that has Jackson's voice at times resembling Art Garfunkel. While Jermaine Jackson's not a perfect album, despite the ground covered, it is a strong one. ~ Jason Elias, All Music Guide
Jackson was undrafted in 1999 following a college career at the University of Detroit Mercy and began his professional career with the Detroit Pistons (1999-00), going on to play for the Toronto Raptors (2002-03), Atlanta Hawks (2003) and New York Knicks (2005), averaging 2.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in his career. The Knicks included Jackson in a trade along with Mike Sweetney and Tim Thomas in exchange for Antonio Davis and Eddy Curry of the Chicago Bulls. He was cut by the Bulls on October 18, 2005, and was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks on December 15, 2005. He played for the Bucks in the 2005-06 season, with the team renouncing their NBA rights to him on July 19, 2007. Jackson signed with the Seattle SuperSonics on October 1,[1] and was waived during that month.
He has also played professionally in the CBA, as well as in Europe for a number of teams, winning the 2004 Italian Cup with Benetton Treviso.
Jackson cites Toronto as his favorite NBA city.[2]
1980: C. Garrett | 1981: D. Clemons & R. Jackson | 1982: W. Sappleton | 1983: M. Acres & A. Hughes | 1984: A. Hughes | 1985: A. Hughes | 1986: B. Larkin | 1987: A. Moore | 1988: B. Larkin | 1989: S. Haffner | 1990: T. Hill | 1991: D. Archbold | 1992: P. Casebier | 1993: B. Grant | 1994: B. Grant | 1995: S. Ford | 1996: J. Nordgaard | 1997: J. Neuhouser | 1998: M. Miller | 1999: J. Jackson | 2000: R. Phillips | 2001: R. Phillips | 2002: R. Hainje | 2003: W. Green | 2004: D. Page | 2005: E. McCants | 2006: B. Polk | 2007: D. Wood | 2008: M. Green | 2009: M. Howard
