Willis “Gator” Jackson
tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophonist known as ‘Gator’ or ‘Gator Tail’; one of Barry’s first jobs out of Detroit was with him and the singer Ruth Brown.
- mentions
- 2
- recordings
- 2
- Barry speaking
- 2
What Barry says
Barry counts Willis ‘Gator’ Jackson, with Ruth Brown, among the first people he played with; he says he left town with them.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland7:16Interview: Detroit and after13:17Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶145
In the oral history he says that first gig with Jackson took them to Gary, Indiana.
Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶145Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶147
Asked whether that kind of work was beneath him, Barry says no: you had to play a bit of shuffle, that was how you made it, and you would be surprised, because you learn from that too.
Interview: Detroit and after13:17
In his own words
I left town with Ruth Brown and Gator Tail. You know, Willis Jackson and we played someplace.
You know, I went out – one of my first gigs was with Lewis Brown and Willis Gator Jackson.
You had to play that shuffle rhythm and stuff. That’s how you made it. Plus, you’d be surprised, you learned from that too, you know.
Every mention
2 moments in the recordings, 2 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland
- 7:16
He left town with Ruth Brown and Gator Tail, Willis Jackson, among his first jobs.
Interview: Detroit and after
- 13:17
One of his first gigs was with Ruth Brown and Willis Gator; the interviewer asks if it was beneath him.
In the interviews and notes
Barry tells Aaron Graves that one of his first gigs was with Willis ‘Gator’ Jackson and a singer transcribed as ‘Lewis Brown’, very likely Ruth Brown; asked where they went, he says Gary, Indiana.
Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶145Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶147
Method ideas nearby
Ideas of the method taught in the classes where they come up, with how many mentions fall in each.