Just want to take this opportunity to tell you a little about the show, American Idol. I have been blessed to be one of the musicians on this show for each year it has aired. It has been great providing music for Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Kelly Clarkson as well as the others, many of whom will also be future stars.

We have a lot of fun doing the show and it provides me the opportunity to play every style imaginable along with the musical director, Rickey Minor and one of the best bands anywhere. The band includes Teddy Campbell on drums, Dave Delomme and Herman Jackson on keyboards, Kevin Ricard on percussion, Kenya Hathaway, Sharlotte Gibson, and Sy Smith on background vocals. This band also has one of the best string and horn sections anywhere. Rickey, Teddy, and Herman were featured on my last CD "Still Small Voice." They will most assuredly be on my new CD currently in progress.

We all have a great time working with all of the Idol contestants. They are talented and enthusiastic. I know that we will be seeing some of their names on the charts in the future. We do not really have an opportunity to interact with the contestants, but we do have an opportunity to meet some of the families. Everyone gets along well and I have observed that the contestants are very supportive of one another. The biggest challenges are changing keys and arrangements quickly and playing different styles of music at the drop of a hat. We seem to pull it off every time.

As far as my predictions for the American Idol winner, my lips are sealed - just keep watching! The show will run until approximately to the end of May and I know I'll continue to enjoy every single minute of it.

As always- God bless you real good and stay funky,
Paul Jackson, Jr