Clarence Williams noted "He was great because he was original in all his improvisations . . . We all copied him." More than Jackson's music was copied: he was always well dressed. Jackson dressed himself with a pearl gray derby, checkered vest, ascot tie with a diamond stickpin, with sleeve garters on his arms to hold up his cuffs as he played. This became a standard outfit for ragtime and barrelhouse pianists; as one commented "If you can't play like Tony Jackson, at least you can look like him".