****THIS IS A SMOKY TENOR 101****Willis Jackson: The Prestige Collection

Before the electric guitar became the most popular instrument for rocking teens, the tenor sax was the instrument of choice, able to swing with the jazzers and wail with the R&Bers. One of the gents with the biggest, boomiest and bodacious of sounds was Willis Jackson, who burned like a Cubano cigar, as demonstrated by these 8 albums  he released in the 1950s-60s

His 1959 debut, after leaving Cootie Willams’ orchestra, sets the tone with an organ team of Jack McDuff/org, Bill Jennings/g, Tommy Potter/b and Alvin Johnson/dr. He swoons on standards like “Come Back To Sorrento” and digs in on “Cool Grits” . Next year with the addition of Buck Clark/cong, “Gator” smoulders n “Keep On A Blowin’” and “Blue Strollin’”, with another album of the same team bopping on “The Gator Jumps”. 1961 has him with Juan Amalbert/cong, Gus Johnson-Mickey Roker/dr and Wendell Marshall/b for a blues-fest on “A Twist of Blues” and “Careless Love”, with a couple minor changes on the subsequent release that features an emotively blue “ Where Are You” and lyrical “When I Fall In Love”.  Back with Bill Jennings/g, and Freddie Roach/org alongside Frank Shea/dr, Marshall/b and Ray Baretto/cong, Jackson caresses “Body and Soul” and swings through “Lady Be Good”. Finally, a 1964 release with Pat Azzara/g, Joe Hadrick/dr and George Tucker/b has the tenorist bear down on “Shoutin’” and “Boss St.  Louis Blues” .

This kind of soul jazz has been lost on today’s generation of ears, who desire either screaming cacophony, or mellow yellow ‘chill’ sounds as a background for text messaging. This is when the sax was smoulding like lava.

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