(October 16, 2025) It would be an understatement to say that Habaka comes from a musical family. Her father, Melvin Jackson, played saxophone in BB King’s band for two plus decades. Habaka’s mother, Mary Ann Jackson, was an international dancer and jazz vocalist. Her grandfather, Jerry Jackson, was a pianist and promoter.
To hear Habaka sing is to realize how connected her vocal fruits are to their roots. Habaka sang in a gospel group, and singing gospel prepares a vocalist to sing any genre. If you’ve had the good fortune to hear her 2016 album Heritage Blue, you know that she can handle the blues and classic soul.
On her latest single, the romantic “Bossa Nova Tonite,” Habaka takes listeners on a journey to Brazil. She collaborates with the Kinsman Dazz Band (whose leader, Michael J. Calhoun,wrote and produced the number) to conjure images of romance on the beaches of Sao Paolo as a couple sways to the music of Jobim. Habaka’s phrasing shows that she can also handle jazz infused R&B. Check out Habaka and the Kinsman Dazz Band on the sensual ballad “Bossa Nova Tonite” here.
By Howard Dukes
