concert pianist and musicologist, was born Eileen Jackson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Walter Jackson, a musician and chemistry teacher, and Lilla Gibson. She grew up in the Midwest, primarily Chicago, with her mother and two sisters. Her parents divorced when Jackson was eight, but she remained close to her father. Her interest in music was sustained in her mother's South Side home, which was a meeting place for African American musicians and entertainers, most notably Louis Armstrong. Despite her contact with popular and jazz musicians, Jackson's musical training and orientation remained rooted in the traditions of classical European music. A student of works by Bach, Beethoven, and Debussy she played her first piano recital at the age of twelve and performed at Orchestra Hall in Chicago at the age of eighteen She graduated from Lindblom High School in Chicago and at ...
