Fred Jackson

[Soul Stream]

Just has a conversation with George Braith. He told me he was at John Patton's house in '92 rehearsing for a recording session. George said Fred Jackson was over there just hanging out. Matter of fact, George said Fred lent him his tenor moutpiece for the rehearsal which George still has. Turns out Fred left and Braith never saw him again. Next thing George heard about him was that Fred had died.

Just a little info I thought people would dig.

[Guest ariceffron]

what the hell are you talking about. that is out of control. 1992? fucking if i saw Big John Patton featuring Georgie Braith and FRED JACKSON in 1992 i would have nutted all over myself. oh my god. did they record it.

[ghost of miles]

Ironic to see this thread--just pulled out the Jackson Blue Note earlier today in hopes of giving it a spin when I get home from work tonight. I'll try to practice ejaculatory control.

Edited October 1, 2003 by ghost of miles

[John L]

Thanks for that information, Soul Stream. I had always wondered what happened to Fred Jackson, and whether or not he was still alive.

Of course, "somebody told Braith" is not quite the same as an obituary. Who knows. Maybe he will still surface?

[Tom Storer]

I blush to admit I had no idea who Fred Jackson was. AMG has this to say:

Fred Jackson only released one album and played on a handful of sessions for Blue Note before disappearing from the jazz scene in the mid-'60s. He deserved a better fate. Although he wasn't a wildly original tenor saxophonist, he was a solid journeyman who found a successful common ground between hard bop and earthy soul-jazz on his jazz sessions. His R&B-inflected style worked well on uptempo ravers and slow blues alike, and he had a nice, robust tone. Despite his attributes, he quietly faded away from jazz in the mid-'60s, after his lone album Hootin' 'N Tootin' failed to sell. He returned to R&B and soul, which is where his career began.

In the list of records he appeared on they mention "Best of the Gap Band," Norman Connors' "Romantic Journey" from 1977, and albums by Terry Callier and Carole King--but it seems they might have been confusing him with a Fred Jackson, Jr., who is described in his entry as an R&B/soul tenor saxophonist, also appearing on "Romantic Journey" and working with King and Callier.

[Soul Stream]

Thanks for that information, Soul Stream. I had always wondered what happened to Fred Jackson, and whether or not he was still alive.

Of course, "somebody told Braith" is not quite the same as an obituary. Who knows. Maybe he will still surface?

I'll ask George again for more specifics about Jackson's death. Even in my conversations with Patton when he was still alive....he always said he never knew what happened to Fred Jackson ultimately. So, I'll ask George again.

I just thought it was amazing that Jackson was still alive as late as 1992. And yes, who knows...maybe Fred is still alive. But I'll try and dig deeper.

[Shrdlu]

Thanks for the post, Soul Stream. It's very interesting.

I recently dug out "Hootin' And Tootin'" and played it a lot - I then started a thread in appreciation, and found that I am not alone in liking that album.

As it happens, I'm also re-listening to the Braith 2 CD set that Michael Cuscuna put out a few years back. When it arrived, it got lost in a pile of other things and only got a brief hearing. I didn't like it much at first. I found that John Patton's "Blue John" was a key to appreciating George's work, and really like that album (in its TOCJ version). Now, I've had a chance to go over George's own BN albums several times, and I think they are excellent. That two-horn sound (on some tracks) is an acquired taste, and is a little sour at first. If anyone has not yet got into those three BN albums, give them a try. The 2 CD set ought to be around - I think True Blue still has a few left. Or, there are TOCJs and (new) JRVGs.

Please tell George that he has another admirer!

P.S. At the risk of sounding like an old marm, may I say that some of these posts are extremely vulgar; this is uncalled for, and spoils what ought to be a pleasant discussion. Grow up, kiddies!

[mikeweil]

Another talented player that dropped off the scene, or played in no-name soul bands. I did a little discographical search and couldn't find anything after 1964 (Patton's "The Way I Feel" session) that can be related to him. Any Fred Jackson after that clearly is the Californian who doubles on flute and other reeds, he did countless studio dates in Hollywood, mostly section work, but also played with Bobby Hutcherson in the 1970's. I like his playing on his own record "Hootin' & Tootin'" and especially the Baby Face Willette the best.

[bertrand]

Upping this today for two reasons:

1. I googled 'Fred Jackson jazz' and saw a posting on some web site by the R & B guy where he distinguishes himself from the Blue Note tenor. Both Fred Jacksons are listed in Cuscuna/Ruppli as two separate players; I'll bet $1 that Tom Lord lumped 'em together on his CD.

2. What recordings are there by the Blue Note Fred Jackson? I know of:

- Face To Face

- Hootin' And Tootin'

- Unissued session later part of the Hootin' Connoisseur

- 'Cowbell Boogie' (from Lost Sessions); 3 rejected tracks at this session

- John Patton Along Came John

- John Patton Way I Feel

Anything else by the Fred Jackson who appeared on the sessions above? I really enjoy his playing style, and would be curious to see if there's anything else on other labels. Problem is, will any of the discographers other than Cuscuna/Ruppli know to distinguish him from the other guy?

Bertrand.

[AllenLowe]

Fred is dead -

[John L]

Because that's what you said?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I would feel bad taking the $1 - but Lord CDROM 5.0 does have the two Fred Jacksons. First goes from 1949-1964, working with Paul Williams, Chuck Willis, Lloyd Price, Baby Face Willette, John Patton, Lionel Hampton. Second goes from 1971-1991, working with Bobby Hutcherson, Gene Harris, Alice Coltrane, Horace Silver, Leslie Drayton and more.

Now, the Lionel Hampton may be problematic, because Lord also shows "Fred Jackson, Jr." as being in Hamp's band in 1964, playing baritone. We know it's not the 1971+ FJ because he was too young. But it's the only time FJ is listed on anything except tenor.

Fred Jackson, Jr.'s other entry in Lord is with Norman Connors, which should certainly be 1971+ FJ.

Can anyone confirm that 1949+ FJ worked with Lionel Hampton in 1964?

So - maybe you should get $1 after all.

Mike

[clifford_thornton]

what the hell are you talking about.  that is out of control.  1992?  fucking if i saw Big John Patton featuring Georgie Braith and FRED JACKSON in 1992 i would have nutted all over myself.  oh my god.  did they record it.

←

PROBABLY THE ONLY TIME IN MY LIFE I WILL AGREE WITH ARIC!

[bertrand]

Mike,

I didn't notice your comment about the baritone before. In fact, Jackson plays baritone on the title track to John Patton's The Way I Feel. So he is most likely the guy who played baritone with Lionel Hampton, and Lord is incorrect to list him as junior (you can keep the dollar).

Are there then sessions with Paul Williams, Chuck Willis, Lloyd Price and Lionel Hampton which feature Fred Jackson? Are any of these likely to be out on CD? I'm not a huge Hamp fan, but if I knew there was a CD with solos by Fred Jackson, I might get it.

Bertrand.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I posted some info on the other Fred Jackson thread yesterday (it's confusing to have two - can they be amalgamated?). Just checking in AMG for which of the recordings are available on CD, I see there's a compilation of Little Richard available on CD, on the Rev-ola label and called "Get Rich Quick". This must at least have that track on it, but AMG don't give the track list. It only came out this year.

Apart from that, there's a Billy Wright compilation available on the French label Classics, which covers the period from 1949-1951, in which Wright had all his hits.

There are three Paul Williams compilations available in Europe on the Blue Moon llabel. The tracks on which Fred played are on the second, covering the period 1949-1952. I've got three of these cuts on 78. Really, you can't hear Fred - or can you? Lord notes that on one track, "Blues at daybreak", one of the two tenor players switches to alto. The alto part is quite prominent at the start; even more so at the end, where he does a little bit of preaching. However, it's not anything out of the ordinary and I hesitate to say positively that it was Fred playing alto, rather than Cranford Wright.

Apart from "Get rich quick", which has a great Fred Jackson solo, none of these recordings is worth getting specifically for Fred, and I say this as having spent forty odd years with Fred as one of my heroes. But they're all worth getting FOR THEIR OWN SAKE. In particular, I love Billy Wright's work. Unfortunately, the Clasics CD doesn't cover the whole of his work and misses out some of his most interesting material, in particular a privately recorded live performance in 1952 of "Do something for me", unissued until it appeared in 1980 on Billy's LP "Stacked Deck" on Route 66. There, Billy shows exactly why he was the most influential figure on the Atlanta R&B scene of the period. He influenced not only Little Richard but James Brown and "Do Something" lacks nothing of what JB eventually became.

Snuff for a while.

MG