Appleton Post-Crescent
David F. Wagner : 11/23/1969

If the Davis LP (In a Silent Way) will appeal to musicians, so will Melvin Jackson‘s Funky Skull. The difference is that Jackson’s gritty material is more lively listening, although in the end much of it is nothing but a hodgepodge (outstanding example being Dance of the Dervish).

Jackson experiments with the string bass, which has been electrified, amplified and, I’m afraid, defile.

He makes the august instrument sound like a baby Moog synthesizer, and too often his noble attempts at avant-gardism are nothing but novelty. Except for the occasionally inspiring (sort of) funky moments, the album contributes little of note.

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HiFi Stereo Review
Don Heckman : January, 1970

Performance : Zingy electrified bass
Recording : Very good
Stereo Quality: Very good

I liked this disc better than I thought I would. What, after all, can one expect from a recording that focuses, to a large extent, on string bass solos? Surely even the most avid bass freak experiences a wandering psyche after thirty minutes or so of thumping, low-frequency string notes.

But Jackson is no dummy. He realizes his instrument’s limitation and has expanded both its pitch and timbre potential by the use of a guitar preamplifier, a reverb amplifier, and – on some tracks – a device called an Echoplex, in which a tape-loop device produces controlled repetitions of whatever is fed in. None of this is particularly new. Don Ellis and eclectic composer-saxophonist Terry Riley have been using similar devices for years. But this is the first time I’ve heard such electronic manipulation applied to an acoustical string bass – and it works.

Jackson’s material is similar to the blues-rock played by the Eddie Harris Quartet (his professional home for the last seven years). To fill things out he has added several crisp ensembles that include fine, grooving blues instrumentalists. I’m not saying, of course, that this is the pop album of the year, or that it produces a new rock-jazz synthesis. I doubt that Jackson would want it to. But it is something more than just a novelty record, and one that deserves better exposure than some more pretentious outings that come to mind. Very good sound and stereo quality.

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Long Beach Press Telegram
Henry L. Roth : 10/12/1969

Jackson is an inventive cat who uses the electric bull fiddle as a lead instrument, backed by a swinging, medium-sized group. His sounds are marvelously uninhibited, but not incoherent. Nine tunes include a witty, all-too-short Ma, He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me, Bold and Black, Dance of the Dervish and Silver Cycles, which recalls the wraith-like dronings of Indian music, but cleverly avoids rank imitation.

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Miami News
Terry Johnson King : 09/24/1969

Melvin Jackson‘s Funky Skull is out of it. The title tune (Parts 1 and 2) and Cold Duck Time (Parts 1 and 2) are on beat – no quarrel there. None of this Schoenberg 12-tone progression; it’s all solid beat. And therein lies its problems, for this is funk for the elderly and we’re willing to bet it’s a limited market.

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Rock Island Argus
Charles H. Sanders : 10/18/1969

Bassman Melvin Jackson plays the bass like it might be a lead instrument, and he’s almost right in a new Limelight album, Funky Skull. Jackson hooks up his instrument to a guitar amplifier rig, takes bow in hand and scrapes out an intriguing Everybody Loves My Baby against a Latin rhythm. Backed by some swinging sidemen, Jackson has a field day in Dance of the Dervish and Cold Duck Time, composed by Eddie Harris whose quartet Jackson is a regular member. All the tracks are good, solid jazz.

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Liner Notes by Robin McBride

Melvin Jackson is talented, inventive, humorous, hard working and sly. His music will fill the well known “three bags full” to overflowing. This album is his statement, and I’m sure glad that I was there when it happened.

This album is a beginning and a summation. At various times, it plunges into some very funky roots and soars into stratospheric abstraction with some hilarious musical jokes thrown in for good measure. It is a beginning because this is the first time Melvin has had an opportunity to do his own “things,” and it is also a summation of all the gigs and recording dates for lo, these many years including seven years with the Eddie Harris Quartet of which he is still a member.

Melvin constantly explores new sounds, and as a result, has electronically transformed his string bass into one of the wildest fresh sounding lead instruments to hit the music world in years. If this is indeed the “Age of Aquarius,” then this is Melvin Jackson’s age… it’s good to have him home.