Willis Jackson - Soul Night Live!

Size: 166,2 MB
Time: 71:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1964/2002
Styles: Jazz: Soul Jazz
Art: Full

01. The Man I Love (5:45)
02. Perdido (7:58)
03. Thunderbird (5:17)
04. Polka Dots And Moonbeams (5:59)
05. All Soul (4:59)
06. Flamingo (5:47)
07. I Can't Stop Loving You (6:33)
08. One Mint Julep (4:00)
09. Up A Lazy River (3:06)
10. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid (4:19)
11. Tangerine (2:44)
12. Ebb Tide (4:13)
13. Blue Gator (6:21)
14. Secret Love (4:14)

The term "soul" was tossed around quite a bit in the '60s and '70s. It usually had an African-American connotation -- as in soul brother, soul sister, soul food, soul music (a specific style of R&B), or James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. But the term isn't always used in reference to black culture; soulful means expressive, and in that sense, country greats Ernest Tubb and Patsy Cline were seriously soulful. However you define the word soul, Willis "Gator" Jackson was the epitome of it. The tenor titan played with a tremendous amount of feeling, and in the '60s, Prestige wasn't shy about using the word soul in connection with his work. Recorded at a New York club called the Allegro on March 21, 1964, Soul Night Live! isn't soul music in the James Brown/Rufus Thomas/Sam & Dave/Marvin Gaye sense; however, Jackson's quintet (which also includes trumpeter Frank Robinson, guitarist Pat Martino, organist Carl Wilson, and drummer Joe Hadrick) offers instrumental soul-jazz/hard bop that has just as much humanity and blues feeling. Jackson doesn't play any vocal-oriented R&B -- which is what the term "soul music" usually referred to in the '60s and '70s -- but he does bring a wealth of emotion to the table on tunes that range from the standard "Flamingo" to the funky boogaloo "Thunderbird." Jackson throws listeners a major curve ball on George & Ira Gershwin's "The Man I Love," which starts out at its usual ballad tempo before suddenly turning into a 100-mile-an-hour bop workout. "The Man I Love" has been recorded hundreds of times over the years, but rarely at a fast tempo. Soul Night Live! is an accurate title for this LP, which does, in fact, focus on a night of soulfulness. [The 2002 CD reissue on Fantasy adds the entirety of the album Tell It..., also recorded on March 21, 1964 at The Allegro in New York.] ~by Alex Henderson

Soul Night Live! 

---

Willis Jackson - Legends Of Acid Jazz

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:47
Size: 176,0 MB
Art: Front

( 9:16) 1. Blue Gator
( 6:01) 2. Try a Little Tenderness
( 3:43) 3. Gator's Tail
( 4:33) 4. This Nearly Was Mine
(10:04) 5. East Breeze
( 5:14) 6. She's Funny That Way
( 9:04) 7. Mellow Blues
( 4:51) 8. Sportin'
( 4:05) 9. When I Fall in Love
( 8:19) 10. Cookin' Sherry
( 5:45) 11. Where Are You?
( 5:47) 12. Contrasts

Willis "Gator" Jackson's initial reputation was made as a honking and screaming tenor saxophonist with Cootie Williams' late-'40s orchestra and on his own R&B-ish recordings. By 1959, Jackson had de-emphasized some of his more extroverted sounds (although they occasionally popped up) and had reemerged as a solid swinger influenced by Gene Ammons and (on ballads) Ben Webster. This CD reissue from 1998 brings back in full two of Jackson's 1959-60 LPs: Blue Gator and Cookin' Sherry. Some of the music (which often falls into the soul-jazz genre) is reminiscent of the funky groove music that would become popular in the late '60s. Jackson sounds fine and is joined throughout by guitarist Bill Jennings, organist Jack McDuff, one of three bassists, one of two drummers, and sometimes Buck Clarke on conga. The accessible music alternates between warm ballads and jump tunes.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/legends-of-acid-jazz-mw0000037065

Personnel: Willis "Gator" Jackson - tenor saxophone; Bill Jennings - guitar; Jack McDuff - organ; Alvin Johnson, Bill Elliot - drums; Buck Clarke - congas

Legends Of Acid Jazz

---

Willis Jackson With Jack McDuff - Together Again

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:54
Size: 156,4 MB
Art: Front

( 4:05) 1. Gil's Pills
( 4:40) 2. Angel Eyes
( 5:00) 3. Three Little Words
( 4:10) 4. Glad 'a See Ya'
( 7:35) 5. Medley - September Song, Easy Living, Deep Purple
( 5:25) 6. Dancing on the Ceiling
( 6:54) 7. It Might as Well Be Spring
(10:12) 8. This'll Get to Ya
( 7:06) 9. Tu'gether
( 4:50) 10. Jambalaya
( 2:05) 11. Backtrack (Twistin' Train)
( 3:08) 12. Without a Song
( 2:40) 13. Snake Crawl

Organ jazz from the late fifties and early sixties had a tendency to be predictable, yet it still provided a template for churning out catchy tunes, many of which became hit singles. Once again Fantasy has mined its seemingly inexhaustible supply of the stuff for this record, which once again pairs a couple of previous releases together on one CD. Like most of the other discs in this format (many by McDuff himself), there’s some filler, but enough greasy soul on this 1960 reissue to keep one satisfied. Jack McDuff and Willis Jackson were two musicians who mined the soul jazz craze for all it’s worth, and despite a few curveballs, they knew not to tinker with a formula that works. These two had played together before and had a deep understanding of each other’s styles. McDuff is one of the best organists to emerge after Jimmy Smith and is more than capable of sustaining a groove by pumping out chords (although he prefers to leave the bottom end to a bassist instead of using the pedals). Jackson, although not a great tenor player, is capable of stringing together a series of licks into an acceptable solo.

However, the real treat here is Bill Jennings, a guitarist whose country-inflected licks bring to mind a mix of Charlie Christian and Chet Atkins. Jennings is the real reason to check out the record, and his nimble solos on “Angel Eyes” and “Gil’s Pills” easily make up for the shortcomings of a group who sometimes seem to be on autopilot, constructing tunes on what has proved workable in the past. Unfortunately, the last six tracks feature Jackson almost exclusively, and Jennings and McDuff seem to be watching the clock, content to vamp and do little else. Other than the hit single “This’ll Get To Ya,” which is a suitably shallow groove for airplay, the rest of the tunes fail to generate any real heat.

Jackson shows a strong Ben Webster influence, but he lacks the inventiveness necessary to sustain the spotlight on even the shortest of tunes. “Backtrack” and “Snake Crawl” are fine enough but seem like deliberate efforts to climb the charts. Despite its shortcomings, though, Together Again! is a satisfactory release for those who like their organ jazz cut and dry.~David Rickert https://www.allaboutjazz.com/together-again-fantasy-jazz-review-by-david-rickert

Personnel: Jack McDuff-organ; Willis Jackson-tenor sax; Bill Jennings-guitar; Tommy Potter, Wendell Marshall, Milt Hinton, Jimmy Lewis-bass; Al Johnson, Buck Clarke, Bill Elliott,Frank Shea-drums.

Together Again

---

Willis Jackson & Von Freeman - Lockin' Horns

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 47:28
Size: 108.7 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Soul jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[10:08] 1. Pow!
[ 7:10] 2. The Man I Love
[ 6:33] 3. Troubled Times
[ 6:24] 4. Summertime
[ 8:26] 5. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[ 8:45] 6. Willis And Von

This album has a somewhat unlikely matchup. While Willis "Gator" Jackson's roots are in honking and screaming R&B, and he later became a top-notch soul-jazz player, Von Freeman's unusual tone and exploratory style resulted in him being associated with the avant-garde and post-bop. However, this encounter works well. With organist Carl Wilson, guitarist Joe "Boogaloo" Jones and drummer Yusef Ali giving strong support, the two tenors challenge each other, romp on "Pow!" and "Willis and Von," and show off their highly original sounds on individual features. ~Scott Yanow

Lockin' Horns

---

Willis Jackson - Keep on a Blowin'

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:29
Size: 178,9 MB
Art: Front

(10:22) 1. Keep on a Blowin'
( 4:02) 2. How Deep Is the Ocean
( 3:28) 3. On the Sunny Side of the Street
( 7:44) 4. Blue Strollin'
( 7:11) 5. The Man I Love
( 5:23) 6. A Smooth One
( 5:04) 7. Thunderbird
( 5:26) 8. Oh Lady, Be Good
( 9:14) 9. Back and Forth
( 3:51) 10. California Sun
( 7:54) 11. Body and Soul
( 7:44) 12. A Penny Serenade

In 1999, Fantasy reissued two of Willis Jackson's old Prestige LPs, Keep on a Blowin' (1959-60) and Thunderbird (1962), on this 78-minute CD for its Legends of Acid Jazz series. Spanning 1959-62, this reissue looks back on what was a very exciting period for the big-toned, breathy tenor man, who had moved away from the honking and screaming he had done in the late 1940s and early 1950s and had reinvented himself as a more mature provider of organ-combo soul-jazz. While Keep on a Blowin' (which features a young Jack McDuff on organ) is a straight-ahead collection of blues, ballads (including "How Deep Is the Ocean"), and standards, parts of Thunderbird (which employs Freddie Roach on the Hammond B-3) are more commercial and rock & roll-minded. But even on a remake of the surf rock ditty "California Sun," Jackson doesn't lose his jazzman's sense of improvisation. "The Man I Love" from Keep on a Blowin' is a real surprise Jackson begins the Gershwin standard as a lush ballad before unexpectedly switching to a fast tempo and approaching it as 200 mile-an-hour bop. This consistently rewarding CD is highly recommended.~Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/keep-on-a-blowin-mw0000244072

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone – Willis Jackson; Bass – Milt Hinton (tracks: 1), Tommy Potter (tracks: 2, 5-6, 7-12), Wendell Marshall (tracks: 3-4); Congas – Buck Clarke (tracks: 1), Ray Barretto (tracks: 7-12); Drums – Alvin Johnson (tracks: 1-6), Frank Shea (tracks: 7-12); Guitar – Bill Jennings; Organ – Jack McDuff (tracks: 1-6), Freddie Roach (tracks: 7-12)

Keep on a Blowin'

---

Willis Jackson - Plays With Feeling

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:48
Size: 83,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:12)  1. Recubah
(4:51)  2. Feelings
(4:31)  3. Singing Bass
(3:23)  4. The Young Man with a Horn
(4:26)  5. Do Your Super Thing
(3:52)  6. Bouquet
(5:45)  7. Do It to It
(4:44)  8. Something Good

Born in Miami, Florida,  Jackson joined Duke Ellington alumnus Cootie Williams's band in 1949 as a teenager, after being discovered by Eddie Vinson. During the 1950s Jackson participated in R&B and jazz recordings, primarily as a session musician. He also toured as leader of the backing band of singer Ruth Brown whom he married. In the biography of Ruth Brown however is no mentioning of Willes Jackson. There it is mentioned that she was marries to trumpeter Jimmy Brown. Jackson joined Prestige Records in 1959, making a string of jazz albums that proved to an influence on the burgeoning soul jazz movement. 

During this era, Jack McDuff and Pat Martino became famous through association with Jackson. Jackson's main influences were Lester Young and Illinois Jacquet. Jamaican ska innovator Prince Buster has cited Jackson's song "Later for the Gator" as one of the first ska songs. Jackson died in New York City one week after heart surgery, in October 1987, at the age of 55. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Willis_Jackson_(saxophonist)

Plays With Feeling

---

Willis Jackson - Bar Wars

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:34
Size: 104,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. Later
(3:04)  2. Blue and Sentimental
(7:03)  3. Bar Wars
(4:55)  4. The Breeze and I
(5:05)  5. The Goose Is Loose
(7:13)  6. It's All Right With Me
(5:14)  7. The Breeze and I
(7:02)  8. It's All Right With Me

The late great Gator is back in this reissue by Joel Dorn's 32 Jazz of Willis "Gator" Jackson's 1978 Muse release, Bar Wars. The title is apt: W. A. Brower states it straightforwardly in his liner notes: "His music is my idea of popular music (not to be confused with pop musics which are a wholly different species), because wherever you go from Boston to Chicago and of course in Gator's favorite, Atlantic City there is a Club Harlem, a Baby Grand or a Showcase or an Ebony Inn where the music on this record is the music." Standrard R&B-flavored organ-tenor bar jazz it may be, but the late Mr. Jackson was one of its foremost exponents, and Bar Wars one of his most consistently pleasing products. His tone is gruff and grainy, in the tradition of all the booting R&B tenors in bars far and wide across this great land. He is joined here not only by the nimble Charlie Earland on organ, but by none other than Pat Martino, whose guitar is exuberant and strongly deployed. Then there’s Idris Muhammad on drums, so there's no doubt that the proceedings move along briskly from start to finish. Muhammad is propulsive without being flashy, yet on tracks like "The Breeze and I," he shows how much a jazz drummer differs from an ordinary R&B or rock and roll timekeeper (not that his timing isn't rock solid). Buddy Caldwell provides some congas for color.

Jackson adds two originals, the title track and "The Goose is Loose" to an otherwise fairly standard good-time music program. Brower observes, "He makes no pretenses and no matter the raised eyebrows of the highbrows there is nothing wrong with old favorites. With Gator what it is...is...what it is..." "What it is" is a fine lather worked up by Martino and Earland on "The Goose is Loose" before Gator steps up with his electric "a little bit louder now" routine. It's a breathy Willis (is he playing his long, straight Gator sax?) lovin you, baby, on "Blue and Sentimental." It's a sharper, brighter-toned Gator charging through Cole Porter's "It's All Right With Me" in a solo bound to remind the avants that ‘Trane himself played an awful lot of this kind of music, and never really lost the feel for it. After the organ solo he returns with just the sort of keening entrance ‘Trane used to such great effect in such different surroundings on Kind of Blue. These two had some common sources. Bar Wars is rounded out with alternate takes of "The Breeze and I" and "It's All Right with Me." It isn't as if Willis brings any radically different concept to these, but they are just as pleasant and straightforward as the masters. All in all, Bar Wars is very fine organ-tenor jazz / R&B. It's much more energetic and sincere than most of today's "smooth jazz" synthesized funk workouts. Willis Jackson is a first-rate "tennaman," surrounded here by first-rate sidemen commendation should not escape Martino, but check out Earland on "It's All Right with Me." New (old) meaning to the word electric.~Robert Spencer http://www.allaboutjazz.com/bar-wars-32-records-review-by-robert-spencer.php

Personnel:  Willis Jackson - tenor saxophone;  Charles Earland – organ;  Pat Martino – guitar;  Idris Muhammad – drums;  Buddy Caldwell – congas, percussion

Bar Wars

---

Willis Jackson, Richard 'Groove' Holmes - Live On Stage

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 67:45

Size: 155.1 MB

Styles: Jump blues, Bop, Saxophone jazz

Year: 2003/2008

Art: Front

[ 7:43] 1. Ya Understand Me

[ 6:34] 2. Body And Soul

[ 9:10] 3. More

[12:08] 4. Satin Doll

[ 6:25] 5. My One And Only Love

[ 8:58] 6. The Head Tune

[ 8:09] 7. The Man I Love

[ 8:33] 8. Bar Wars

Willis Gator”Jackson (ts), Richard Groove Holmes (org), Steve Giordano (g), Roger Lee Humphrey (d). Recorded Live on January 26, 1980 in Château Neuf du Pape, France.

As the sixties drew to a close, Jean-Marie Monestier and Jean-Pierre Tahmazian discovered the whereabouts of the last living classical jazz musicians. They decided to bring them to France, out of the anonymity into which forgetfulness had plunged them. With the applause of the concert audience still ringing in their ears, these musicians then recorded some of their most beautiful music for Black & Blue. Jean-Michel Proust and Jean-Marc Fritz who were aware of their historical value, listened to these treasures. The result was “The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Live On Stage”.

Live On Stage  

---

Willis 'Gator' Jackson - After Hours

Styles: Soul, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 79:39
Size: 145,9 MB
Art: Front

( 5:00)  1. Secret Love
( 6:56)  2. When My Dreamboat Comes In
( 5:53)  3. She's My Love
(10:29)  4. After Hours
( 5:36)  5. What Will I Tell My Heart
( 2:40)  6. The Song Of Ossanha
( 6:38)  7. Sunny
( 5:29)  8. Girl Talk
( 2:57)  9. Ode To Billie Joe
( 5:14) 10. Sometimes I'm Happy
( 2:00) 11. Soul Grabber
( 3:35) 12. Rhode Island Red
( 8:25) 13. Alfie
( 2:51) 14. I Dig Rock And Roll Music
( 5:48) 15. These Blues Are Made For Walki

Like Arnett Cobb, Willis "Gator" Jackson was a hard-blowing tenor saxophonist who had no problem making the transition from the honker school of the '40s and early '50s to the soul-jazz and organ combos of the late '50s and '60s. The '60s, in fact, were an extremely productive time for Jackson, who recorded for Prestige throughout that decade and got into the studio often. A 79-minute CD that Fantasy assembled in 2004, After Hours offers two of Jackson's '60s LPs back to back: 1963's Loose and 1967's Soul Grabber (both of which employ Carl Wilson on organ and underscore Jackson's fondness for the Hammond B-3). While Soul Grabber is heard in its entirety, one of the songs from Loose ("Y'all") was omitted due to space limitations. During the '60s, Jackson wasn't afraid to look in a variety of places for material  his repertoire ranged from original compositions to Tin Pan Alley to Burt Bacharach/Hal David, Bobby Vinton and Motown. 

Jackson seemed to realize that worthwhile popular music was worthwhile music regardless of the source, and on After Hours, Gator finds the jazz potential in everything from "Secret Love" and "Sometimes I'm Happy" to Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobby Hebb's "Sunny" and Peter, Paul & Mary's "I Dig Rock and Roll Music." Jackson's tenor dominates the album, but on Bacharach/David's "Alfie," the saxman plays a custom-made instrument he named the "gator horn" (which he described as "somewhere between an alto sax, a soprano sax and a French horn"). Parts of this CD were obviously designed to reach soul and rock fans, but thankfully, Gator knew how to make some commercial moves without sacrificing his skills as an improviser. While After Hours falls short of essential, this is a solid, pleasing disc that Jackson's hardcore fans will enjoy. ~ Alex Henderson  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/after-hours-mw0000265899

Personnel: Willis "Gator" Jackson (tenor saxophone, horns); Willis "Gator" Jackson; Bill Jones (guitar); Lawrence Wright (drums); Wally Richardson, Lloyd Davis (guitar); Haywood Henry (baritone saxophone); Dud Bascomb, Frank Robinson, Sammy Lowe (trumpet); Joe Hadrick (drums); Lawrence Wright, Bob Bushnell, Bill Jones , Carl Wilson .

After Hours

---

Willis Jackson - At Large

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:29
Size: 178,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:27)  1. Shuckin'
(3:47)  2. Cachita
(3:21)  3. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
(5:09)  4. What Kind Of Fool Am I?
(4:54)  5. Mama Inez
(6:06)  6. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
(7:10)  7. Florence Of Arabia
(5:43)  8. Arrivederci Roma
(7:00)  9. Neapolitan Nights
(4:13) 10. Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
(3:44) 11. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
(5:40) 12. A Twist Of Blues
(6:51) 13. Sweet Peter Charleston
(4:25) 14. Cat Meal
(3:52) 15. He Said, She Said, I Said

The 1960s were a very productive time for Willis "Gator" Jackson, whose Prestige output of 1959-1971 was impressively consistent. At the label the big-toned tenor saxman didn't try to be something he wasn't  Gator liked his soul-jazz/hard bop accessible, hard-swinging, and straight-forward, and he excelled by being honest with himself and his audience. Spanning 1962-1968, At Large paints an attractive picture of Jackson's Prestige years. The CD, which Fantasy assembled in 2000, draws on five of Gator's Prestige albums (Shuckin', Swivel Hips, Neapolitan Nights, In My Solitude and Really Groovin') and finds him turning his attention to a variety of material. On this album, one hears Jackson successfully interpreting everything from Italian songs ("Arrivederci Roma") to spirituals ("Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen") to funky boogaloos ("Florence of Arabia"). The saxman also puts his spin on pop ballads that include "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (the tune that became Tony Bennett's signature song) and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (which was a major hit for both country-pop singer Glen Campbell and soul innovator Isaac Hayes). At Large isn't the last word on Jackson's Prestige period, although it's easily recommended to anyone who is interested in 1960s soul-jazz. ~ Alex Hendersen  http://www.allmusic.com/album/at-large-mw0000104853

Personnel: Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson (tenor saxophone); Tommy Flanagan, Gildo Mahones, Richard Wyands, Jimmy Neeley (piano); Jack Ivory (organ); Kenny Burrell, Bill Jennings, Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar); Ben Tucker (acoustic & electric basses); Eddie Calhoun, George Tucker, Peck Morrison, Wendell Marshall (bass); Roy Haynes (drums, cabasa); Jerry Potter, Bobby Donaldson, Mickey Roker, Gus Johnson (drums); Juan Amalbert (congas, timbales); Montego Joe, Ralph Dorsey (congas); Jose Paulo (percussion).

At Large

---

Willis Jackson with Pat Martino - S/T

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 50:21
Size: 115.3 MB
Styles: Cool jazz, Saxophone jazz, Guitar jazz
Year: 1998/2009
Art: Front

[8:10] 1. Bolita
[6:16] 2. Single Action
[8:07] 3. Blue Velvet
[6:18] 4. Miss Ann
[5:58] 5. Gator Whale
[5:35] 6. My One And Only Love
[4:52] 7. The Breeze And I
[5:01] 8. The Goose Is Loose

When Willis Jackson and Pat Martino got together in the 1960s and the 1970s, the improvisers usually had a very strong rapport. Released in 1998, this collection gathers some of their work for Muse in the 1970s and draws on three albums: Headed and Gutted (1974), Bar Wars (1977), and Single Action (1978). Painting a well-rounded picture of Jackson's work with Martino, With Pat Martino ranges from exhilarating, high-speed bop burners like "The Goose Is Loose" and "Single Action" to the slow blues of "Bolita" and "Miss Ann," to soulful ballad statements such as "My One and Only Love" and Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" (which hasn't received a lot of attention from the jazz world but works impressively well as a jazz ballad). Jackson had calmed down since his honker sessions of the late 1940s and early '50s, but he still had a very big, fat tone and a lot of energy -- no one's going to mistake With Pat Martino for cool jazz. The material on this CD isn't very ambitious, but it's certainly heartfelt and rewarding. ~ Alex Henderson

Recorded between May 16, 1974 and April 26, 1978. Includes liner notes by Joel Dorn. Recorded in March 1964.

Willis Jackson (tenor saxophone); Pat Martino (guitar); Mickey Tucker (acoustic & electric piano, organ); Charlie Earland, Carl Wilson (organ); Bob Cranshaw, Jimmy Lewis (bass); Freddie Waits, Idris Muhammad, Yusef Ali (drums); Ralph Dorsey, Sonny Morgan (percussion); Richard Landrum, Buddy Caldwell (congas).

Willis Jackson With Pat Martino

---