sign in sign up
<<
Home , Big Bags, Blues on Bach, Connie Kay, Dedicated to Connie, European Concert, Fontessa

Milt Jackson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Milton "Bags" Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999) was an American vibraphonist, usually thought of as a player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the and his penchant for collaborating with several and post­bop players.

A very expressive player, Jackson differentiated himself from other vibraphonists in his attention to variations on harmonics and rhythm. He was particularly fond of the Milt Jackson, Village Jazz Lounge with the Bubba twelve­bar blues at slow tempos. He preferred to set the Kolb Trio, late 1970s. 's oscillator to a low 3.3 revolutions per Background information second (as opposed to 's speed of 10 Birth name Milton Jackson revolutions per second) for a more subtle vibrato. On occasion, Jackson sang and played professionally. Born January 1, 1923 , Michigan Died October 9, 1999 (aged 76) Contents Manhattan, New York Genres Hard bop, Afro­Cuban jazz, modal 1 Biography jazz, , post­bop 2 Discography 2.1 With the Modern Jazz Quartet Occupation(s) Musician, soloist, composer, 2.2 As sideman bandleader 3 References Instruments Vibraphone, piano 4 External links Labels Impulse!, Atlantic, Prestige, Apple Associated acts , Charles, Miles Biography Davis, , The Modern Jazz Quartet, Thelonious Jackson was born on January 1, 1923 in Detroit, Monk, Michigan, the son of Manley Jackson and Lillie Beaty Jackson. Like many, he was surrounded by music from an early age, particularly that of religious meetings: "Everyone wants to know where I got that funky style. Well, it came from church. The music I heard was open, relaxed, impromptu soul music" (quoted in 's liner notes to Plenty, Plenty Soul). He started on guitar when he was seven, then on piano at 11. While attending Miller High School, he played drums in addition to timpani and violin and also sang in the choir. At 16, he sang professionally in a local touring gospel quartet called the Evangelist Singers. Jackson also took up the vibraphone at 16 after hearing Lionel Hampton play the instrument in 's band. Jackson was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie, who hired him for his sextet in 1945, then his larger ensembles. Jackson quickly acquired experience working with the most important figures in jazz of the era, including , Howard McGhee, , and . In the Gillespie , Jackson fell into a pattern that led to the founding of the Modern Jazz Quartet: Gillespie maintained a former swing tradition of a small group within a big band, and his included Jackson, pianist , bassist , and drummer (considered a pioneer of the timekeeping that became the signature for bop and most jazz to follow) while the brass and reeds took breaks. When they decided to become a working group in their own right, around 1950, the foursome was known at first as the , becoming the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) in 1952. By that time had replaced Ray Brown.

Known at first for featuring Jackson's blues­heavy improvisations almost exclusively, in time the group came to split the difference Milt Jackson at Bach Dancing & between these and Lewis's more ambitious musical ideas (Lewis had Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay become the group's musical director by 1955, the year Clarke CA 1980s. departed in favour of ), boiling the quartet down to a chamber jazz style that highlighted the lyrical tension between Lewis's mannered, but roomy, compositions and Jackson's unapologetic swing.

The MJQ had a long independent career of some twenty years until disbanding in 1974, when Jackson split with Lewis, partly in an attempt to make more money on his own and, more likely, because he sought the improvisational freedom he once enjoyed. The group reformed in 1981, however, and continued until 1993, after which Jackson toured alone, performing in various small combos, although agreeing to periodic MJQ reunions.

From the mid­1970s to the mid­1980s, Jackson recorded for 's , including Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company (1983), featuring Jackson with J. J. Johnson on , Ray Brown on bass, backed by on piano, guitarist John Collins, and drummer Roy McCurdy.

Jackson was a guest on recordings by many leading jazz, blues, and soul artists, such as B.B. King, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, and .

Jackson's composition "Bags' Groove" is a jazz standard ("Bags" was a nickname given to him by a bass player in Detroit. "Bags" referred to the bags under his eyes[1] from his habit of staying up all night.) He was featured on the NPR radio program Jazz Profiles. Some of his other signature compositions include "The Late, Late Blues" (for his with Coltrane, Bags & Trane), "Bluesology" (an MJQ staple), and "Bags & Trane".

Jackson was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.[2] He died of liver cancer on October 9, 1999, aged 76, and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, . Discography

1948: Howard McGhee and Milt Jackson (Savoy [1955]) with Howard McGhee 1948–52: Wizard of the Vibes (Blue Note) 1949–56: Roll 'Em Bags (Savoy) 1949–56: Meet Milt Jackson (Savoy) 1955: Milt Jackson Quartet (Prestige) 1956: (Savoy) 1957: Ballads & Blues (Atlantic) 1956: The Jazz Skyline (Savoy) 1956: Jackson's­ville (Savoy) 1957: Plenty, Plenty Soul (Atlantic) 1957: Bags & Flutes (Atlantic) 1958: – with Ray Charles (Atlantic) 1959: – with (Atlantic) 1959: Bags' Opus (United Artists) 1960: Bags & Trane – with John Coltrane (Atlantic) Milt Jackson (left) c. 1980 in Seattle, Washington 1960: The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson (Atlantic) 1961: – with Ray Charles (Atlantic) 1961: Vibrations (Atlantic) 1961: – with Trio (Verve) 1961: Statements (Impulse!) 1961: Bags Meets Wes! – with Wes Montgomery (Riverside) 1962: (Riverside) 1962: Invitation (Riverside) 1962: (Riverside) 1963: Milt Jackson Quintet Live at the (Riverside) 1964: with Ray Brown (Verve) 1964: Jazz 'n' Samba (Impulse!) 1964: (Limelight) 1965: Ray Brown / Milt Jackson with Ray Brown (Verve) 1965: Milt Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art (Limelight) 1966: Born Free (Limelight) 1968: Milt Jackson and the Hip String Quartet (Verve) 1969: That's the Way It Is featuring Ray Brown (Impulse!) 1969: Just the Way It Had to Be featuring Ray Brown (Impulse!) 1969: with the Ray Brown Big Band (Impulse!) 1971: " with Oscar Peterson 1972: Sunflower (CTI) 1972: Cherry (CTI) 1973: Goodbye with (CTI) 1974: Olinga (CTI) 1975: The Milt Jackson Big 4 (Pablo) 1975: The Big 3 with and Ray Brown (Pablo) 1976: Milt Jackson at the Kosei Nenkin (Pablo) 1976: Feelings (Pablo) 1977: Quadrant – with Joe Pass, Ray Brown, and 1977: Soul Fusion (Pablo) 1979: Milt Jackson (Quintessence Jazz Series) (Pickwick) 1979: (Palcoscenico Records) 1980: Night Mist (Pablo/OJC) 1981: Ain't But a Few of Us Left – with Oscar Peterson 1982: A London Bridge [live] (Pablo) 1982: Mostly Duke [live] (Pablo/OJC) 1982: Memories of Thelonious Sphere Monk (Pablo/OJC) 1983: Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company – with J. J. Johnson 1983: with Oscar Peterson 1983: Soul Route (Pablo) 1993: Reverence and Compassion (Warner Bros.) 1994: The Prophet Speaks (Qwest) 1995: Burnin' in the Woodhouse 1998: The Very Tall Band with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown (live from Blue Note) 1999: EXPLOSIVE! Milt Jackson Meets the Clayton­Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (Qwest Records/Warner Bros.) 2002: At the Kosei Nenkin vol.2: Centerpiece (Pablo; mostly unissued tracks from the 1976 Japanese live session)

With the Modern Jazz Quartet

Vendome (1952, Prestige 851) Modern Jazz Quartet, ii (1954–5, Prestige 170) incl. "" (1954) Concorde (1955, Prestige 7005) (1956, Atlantic 1231) included "Versailles" The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice (Atlantic, 1957) The Modern Jazz Quartet (Atlantic, 1957) Third Stream Music (1957, 1959–60, Atlantic. 1345) including "Sketch for Double String Quartet" (1959) The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio (Verve, 1957) The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn Volume 2 (Atlantic, 1958) Music from (United Artists, 1959) Pyramid (Atlantic, 1960) (Atlantic, 1960 [1962]) (Atlantic, 1960 [1995]) The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra (Atlantic, 1960) The Comedy (1962, Atlantic 1390) Lonely Woman (Atlantic, 1962) A Quartet is a Quartet is a Quartet (1963, Atlantic 1420) Collaboration (Atlantic, 1964) – with The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's (Atlantic, 1964–65) (Atlantic, 1965) with the All­Star Jazz Band Concert in Japan '66 (Atlantic [Japan], 1966) Blues at Carnegie Hall (Atlantic, 1966) Place Vendôme (Philips, 1966) – with Under the Jasmin Tree (Apple, 1968) Space (Apple, 1969) Plastic Dreams (Atlantic, 1971) The Legendary Profile (Atlantic, 1974) In Memoriam (Little David, 1973) (Atlantic, 1973) The Last Concert (Atlantic, 1974) Reunion at Budokan 1981 (Pablo, 1981) Together Again: Live at the '82 (Pablo, 1982) Echoes (Pablo, 1984) Topsy: This One's for Basie (Pablo, 1985) (Atlantic, 1987) (East West, 1988) MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (Atlantic, 1992–93)

As sideman

With

Things Are Getting Better (Riverside, 1958)

With

Bags' Groove (Prestige, 1954) Quintet / Sextet (Prestige, 1955)

With Dizzy Gillespie

The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Bluebird, 1937–1949, [1995]) Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions (Savoy, 1951–52 [1976]) The Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 (Pablo, 1975) Dizzy Gillespie Jam (Pablo, 1977) Musician, Composer, Raconteur (Pablo, 1981)

With

Hank Mobley and His All Stars (Blue Note, 1957)

With Oscar Peterson

Reunion Blues (MPS, 1971) The Oscar Peterson Big 6 at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 (Pablo, 1975)

With

Giant Box (CTI, 1973)

With

Cherry (CTI, 1972) References

1. Rosenthal, David, H. Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music 1955–1965. New York: . ISBN 0­19­505869­0. 2. Ratliff, Ben. "Milt Jackson, 76, Jazz Vibraphonist, Dies" (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00E 1DE1630F932A25753C1A96F958260), , October 11, 1999. Accessed November 4, 2007. "Milt Jackson, the jazz vibraphonist who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet for 40 years and was one of the premier improvisers in jazz with a special brilliance at playing blues, died on Saturday at St. Luke's­Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. He was 76 and lived in Teaneck, N.J." External links

Milt Jackson (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p6795) at AllMusic Milt Jackson at the Hard Bop Homepage (http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/milt.html) Milt Jackson at Find­A­Grave (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi­bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9903208) Milt Jackson: Round midnight (video) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=­5u7TZhL22U)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milt_Jackson&oldid=722102494"

Categories: African­American jazz musicians American jazz vibraphonists Bebop vibraphonists Big band vibraphonists Chamber jazz vibraphonists Hard bop vibraphonists Mainstream jazz vibraphonists Post­bop vibraphonists 1923 births 1999 deaths Jazz musicians from Michigan Jazz musicians from New York Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Third Stream vibraphonists Michigan State University alumni John Coltrane Inner City Records artists artists artists artists artists Impulse! Records artists Warner Bros. Records artists Pablo Records artists People from Teaneck, New Jersey 20th­century American musicians

This page was last modified on 26 May 2016, at 00:42. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution­ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non­profit organization.