Before retiring in 2015, Bruce Jackson built a multifaceted career as a college teacher of music and humanities, a college administrator, a church service musician, and a performing musician. He holds a Doctor of Arts in music theory and composition from Ball State University and completed all but the dissertation for a Doctor of Music Ministry from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned a Master of Music in composition from the University of Arkansas, a Bachelor of Music in jazz studies and bass guitar from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Throughout his teaching career, Bruce instructed college-level courses in music theory, ear training, composition, improvisation, jazz ensembles, double bass, bass guitar, class guitar, music appreciation, and interdisciplinary humanities. His expertise extended beyond the classroom to a wide variety of performance settings including venues ranging from jazz, classical, orchestral, blues, rock & roll, country, pop, and music theater. He has performed in academic halls, festivals, clubs and lounges, and churches.
Bruce has a record of publication. His doctoral dissertation studied the g-d-G-C Scordatura Tuning of the Double Bass. He co-authored Practical Beginning Theory, 8th edition, with Bruce Benward and Barbara Garvey Jackson, published by McGraw-Hill, College Division. In 2022 he published a novel - Thom Jons: A Novel of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of One Who Rejected Life and Demanded Death. In addition, he has self-published volumes of poetry, essays, articles, worship services, and ruminations. From June 2025 until October 2025 a trilogy of poetry was published:
A Lonesome Long Sit
Tales & Tails on Lifelong Trails
Driving on Empty
Mortal Observations on Eternal Living are spiritual ruminations. All the poetic renderings are directly the result of real-life experiences and the culmination of over 50 years of living and serving with Christian churches including American Baptist, Southern Baptist, Missionary Baptist, Anglican, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, and Unity.
As a composer, Bruce has created over 250 musical works and has recorded over 20 jazz CDs since retiring. His discography, spanning both studio recordings and live performances, date back to 1983.
A working musician since 1969, Bruce has performed with amateur and professional artists. When his three sons were young, they had a family band - Exis Jaxn. His recent recording projects include collaborations with his keyboardist son and bands Jazz Toaster, the Altschul & Exis Jaxn Trio, the Alt Jackson & Smith Keyboard Quartet, and the Violoncellulites. In 2012, his jazz musical based on Thom Jons, was presented in a reading performance with a small freshman ensemble at community college. While the novel and musical share a similar storyline, the underlying theme is distinctly different. He currently serves as church bass guitarist using the g-d-G-C scordatura tuning in an African-American full gospel congregation.
Bruce has been married for nearly 40 years. He has three grown sons and eight grandchildren. His favorite dog is a beagle named Diva Daisy Doodoledoo who records on projects as lead dog vocalist. He currently resides in a racially and culturally mixed neighborhood surrounded by a major interstate, large apartment complexes, and a colony of halfway houses for transitioning parolees.
Exis Jaxn has been Bruce's stage name since he was 14 in junior high school. The logo was discovered during his Masters degree in composition.
