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CD Review: Bar Wars


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Bar Wars
by Willis Jackson (Nonesuch)

By Douglas Payne

Juke-joint tenor honker Willis Jackson (1932-1987) recorded frequently after scoring the hit "Gator Tail" in 1948. The tune even earned him his nickname. But Bar Wars turned out to be one of his all-time best. Made toward the end of his career -- shortly after recording two disco albums for Atlantic -- Bar Wars catches Jackson with an unbeatable quintet -- machine-gun great Charles Earland on organ, clean swinger Pat Martino on guitar, rhythmic kingpin Idris Muhammad on drums and the reliable Buddy Caldwell on congas.

This December 1977 recording is one of Jackson's best programs too. Included are two excellent Jackson cookers ("Bar Wars" and "The Goose Is Loose"). Both tunes, ignited by some of Earland and Martino's best work on record, were probably made up on the spot. But they have that fiery blues groove Gator fans love. "The Goose is Loose," like his 1971 groover "Gatorade," is perhaps one of Jackson's all-time best performances. Even more notably, Jackson takes the covers ("Later," Basie's "Blue & Sentimental," two takes of Lecuona's "The Breeze and I" and two takes of Cole Porter's "It's All Right With Me") and juices them up to mid-tempo strolls. Ballads, standards and cover tunes usually weigh down Jackson's other records. It's not that he can't handle them. On record, they just distract you from hearing Gator the way he is meant to be heard -- fingers flying, horn a-honking, deep into the groove. Here, he recognizes his strengths and muscles up the backbeat with a vigor of someone a fraction of his age -- without ever betraying the intention of the original melodies.

Listen, for example, how he just glides over "The Breeze And I" while Earland walks the basses, Muhammad strolls out his figures and Martino cuts some lines that spur the Gator on. Other players would tap the sap out of this warhorse and milk it to death. Not here -- not these guys.

First released on Muse Records in 1978, then on CD with two bonus tracks in the early 90s, this recently-released edition of Bar Wars appears on Joel Dorn's mid-priced 32 Jazz label (Dorn owns the Muse catalog now). This edition of Bar Wars features the same eight tracks that appeared on the first CD issue and it's a great place but features a lower price -- and more attractive packaging. Bar Wars is a great place for acid-jazzers and tenor lovers to start exploring the magic of Gator. Recommended.

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