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Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson was a composer, arranger, and saxophonist. The Willis Jackson papers consist principally of holograph musical compositions, mainly instrumental parts, composed and arranged by Jackson and others.
Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson, composer, arranger, and saxophonist, was born in 1932, in Miami, Florida. He began studying the piano at age ten, then added the clarinet, and made his professional debut at age fourteen on the tenor saxophone with local bands. Jackson studied theory and harmony at Florida A and M University, and later worked and toured with Cootie Williams, Dinah Washington, and Jackie Wilson, among others. He formed various groups including the Willis Jackson Organ Quartet and the Willis Jackson Orchestra and utilized a rhythm and blues sound as well as jazz. His invention, the Jackson's Gator Horn, is a saxophone used for ballads; its sound is a cross "between soprano and alto [saxophone] and French horn and clarinet". Jackson died in 1987.
The Willis Jackson papers consist principally of holograph musical compositions, mainly instrumental parts, composed and arranged by Jackson and others. The compositions are arrangements of standard jazz classics, popular tunes, and bossa nova pieces. Also included are performance contracts; songwriters' agreements; a small amount of personal and professional correspondence; and lists of compositions, recordings, and group members.
Gift of James L. Watson, 1989.
Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2021 February 23)
Accessioned by Mary Yearwood, May 1989. Processed through the Schomburg NEH Automated Access to Special Collections Project.
Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division: audio materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.
Transferred to the Photograph and Prints Division: photographs.