Willis Jackson - The Good Life (1963) [re-rip]

A sweet soul jazz burner from Willis Jackson - one that features his combo with Pat Martino on guitar and Carl Wilson on organ, as well as some great trumpet lines form Frank Robinson - shimmering nicely over the top of the tunes! The style here is a bit more laidback and late nite than some of Jackson's other cookers from the time - but there's still a really strong tenor/organ approach on the whole set, one that transforms familiar tunes wonderfully! Titles include "As Long As She Needs Me", "Troubled Times", "Fly Me To The Moon", and "Days Of Wine & Roses". © Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Cut at the same May 1963 session as Jackson's LP Grease 'n' Gravy, this too features an 18-year-old Pat Martino on guitar and Carl Wilson (not the Beach Boys guitarist) on organ. It's pleasing, if unsurprising, early-'60s organ soul-jazz with a good balance between brass, organ, and guitar, perhaps more useful as club groove music than home listening. They verge on cooking when the rhythm gets choked on "Troubled Times," the sole original, and the version of "Fly Me to the Moon" has some lively exuberance (and a Latin rhythm) not matched by the other tracks. Indeed, "Days of Wine and Roses" and "Walk Right In" are kinda hokey choices for the organ soul-jazz repertoire. If you have to choose between Grease 'n' Gravy and The Good Life, The Good Life is at a disadvantage, due to its greater reliance on covers of pop standards. ~ by Richie Unterberger, AMG.

I don’t necessarily agree that this is ordinary. Young Pat Martino’s solos are wonderful and both organ and trumpet blend beautifully. Overall a mixture of great Soul Jazz tunes. Enjoy!

Prestige Records, PRST 7296, 1963

Recorded 23rd (#A1-B1) & 24th (#B2,B3) May, 1963
at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Willis Jackson - Tenor Saxophone

Frank Robinson - Trumpet

Carl Wilson - Organ

Pat Martino - Guitar

Leonard Gaskin - Bass (#B2,B3)

Joe Hadrick - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. The Good Life {Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon} (5:03)

A2. Days Of Wine And Roses {Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer} (4:03)

A3. As Long As She Needs Me {Lionel Bart} (3:42)

A4. Fly Me To The Moon {Bart Howard} (2:55)

B1. Angel Eyes {Earl Brent, Matt Dennis} (4:13)

B2. Troubled Times {Willis Jackson, Wade Marcus, William "Mickey" Stevenson} (4:51)

B3. Walk Right In {Gus Cannon, Hosea Woods} (6:06)

Credits:

Producer - Ozzie Cadena

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Design - Don Schlitten

Cover Photo - Lawrence N. Shustak

Liner Notes - H. G. MacGill