[SACD-R][OF] Fred Jackson - Hootin’ ‘N Tootin’ - 1962/2009 (Bop, Hard Bop)

In Hootin’ ‘N Tootin’, the listener is afforded the opportunity of hearing numbers of a famous orchestra noted for its smart arrangements along the rhythm & blues influence. The moods expressed are in the “down home” & “down to Earth” groove. Under the leadership of Fred Jackson, tenor sax, the listener is propelled into the world of the new truth.

Audaud review:
This is another in the series of original Blue Note sessions, mostly from the early 60s (so are in 2ch), which were remastered for SACD by Analogue Productions & now have ended up with distribution by Harmonia mundi. I’m not sure of the details on that, but it’s great to have them available. The sonics are superb in 2ch – I feel they’re superior to most of the Fantasy 2ch-only SACDs that were issued a few years ago. Rudy Van Gelder was of course the engineer, & by this time the very early hole-in-the-middle wide 2ch soundstage problems seem to have been corrected. Vandyke’s B-3 is dead centre – you would think your centre channel speaker is operating though it’s not. Jackson’s sax is at the left speaker & Jones’ guitar at the right speaker.
I must admit I never heard of Jackson before; that’s probably because he came out of the “chittlin’ circuit” of black blues clubs & paid most of his dues in the rhythm & blues area. The 1962 session was only his 2nd recording. This quartet is basically the B-3-based trio heard in many such clubs, with the addition of Jackson’s potent tenor sax. The 4 performers take the listener to the “land of blues & roots” – as expressed in the album’s notes. This is straight-forward, uncomplicated & fiercely swinging stuff. Not just the blues, but gospel (Preach Brother) & spiritual (Egypt Land) elements crop up here & there in the music. The B-3 sounds great; Vandyke brings off some impressive finger magic, but he’s not a showoff B-3 performer like some heard today. All 4 players seem to really dig being able to play in a more jazz-oriented style, & they’re more than capable of handling it with ease.
Most of such reissues from the LP era add a couple bonus tracks to the original material which was cut down to fit the more limited LP length, but this 1 hits the jackpot with a total of 7 bonus tracks
~ John Henry