Jasper is a classically trained musician and composer. The youngest of seven siblings, he started studying classical music at the age of 7 at the suggestion of his mother, Elizabeth. After graduating from high school in Cincinnati, he moved to New York to study music composition at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. He continued his studies at C.W. Post, Long Island University, New York, where he studied with jazz pianist and composer Billy Taylor and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in music composition. He subsequently earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Concord University School of Law.
The Jasper and Isley families lived in the same apartment complex in Cincinnati. While still living in Cincinnati, Jasper's older sister, Elaine, married Rudolph Isley. His vocal trio formed by the three older brothers, Rudolph, Ronald and O'Kelly, subsequently relocated to Teaneck, New Jersey. While living temporarily in Teaneck with his sister as a young teenager and attending Teaneck High School, Jasper and the two younger Isleys, Marvin and Ernie, formed a band, "The Jazzman Trio" with Jasper on keyboards, Ernie on drums, and Marvin on bass. The band played local gigs in the New Jersey area. Along with Jasper, Marvin and Ernie also attended C.W. Post College in New York. While still in college, Jasper, Ernie, and Marvin toured with the older Isley Brothers and played on the earlier recordings, including "It's Your Thing". Jasper's first of many songs written for the Isley Brothers was "Love Put Me on a Corner" released on the Isleys' Brother, Brother, Brother album in 1972.
In 1973, Jasper, Marvin, and Ernie brought the songwriting and musical component to the older Isley Brothers' vocal trio, transitioning the Isley Brothers into a self-produced, self-contained six-member R&B/Funk band. Their debut release during this time was the 3+3 album. Although all six members of the Isley Brothers are credited as songwriters of the music from the 3+3 era, this was a business arrangement and does not reflect the creative reality.Jasper was the primary songwriter, producer, and arranger of The Isley Brothers music from 1973 (3+3) through 1983 (Between the Sheets), with contributions by younger members Ernie and Marvin Isley. Between The Sheets was their final album as a six-member group. Jasper's arrangements, instrumentation, and unique chord structures as a classically trained musician have been credited as the foundation of the legendary "Isley Brothers sound", which Jasper has continued in his own solo recordings.
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