Jazz Articles about Milt Jackson

Milt Jackson/Wes Montgomery: Bags Meets Wes

by David Rickert
March 1, 2002

It’s unfair to blame Wes Montgomery for the soulless work of those who claim him as an influence; his trademark octave runs became a cash cow for the smooth jazz associated with the piped-in music of doctor’s offices and grocery stores. In reality, Montgomery was a much sought-after player by many; even Coltrane played with him for a time. Montgomery gives the impression that playing the guitar requires no less concentration than tying your shoes, fashioning a style admired (and ...

Milt Jackson: Soul Route

by C. Michael Bailey
January 1, 2002

Two late great bluesmen.

Soul Route is a funky little confederation that brings together perhaps the two most sensitive blues sensibilities in jazz on a single recording— the late Milt Jackson and the late Gene Harris. Recorded during the former's productive ten-year association with Norman Granz and Pablo Records, Soul Route may be credited with sparking the reemergence of Idaho pianist Harris, who had spent a number of years in retirement following his long and successful leadership of The Three ...

Milt Jackson: Wizard of the Vibes

by AAJ Staff
October 1, 2001

The pairing of the Modern Jazz Quartet and Blue Note Records seems somehow incongruent. Blue Note was the home of hard bop--blues- and gospel-influenced, down to earth and funky. The MJQ navigated the Third Stream--sophisticated, refined, classically oriented and formal. They even performed in tuxedoes.

But there was a hefty dose of blues to the MJQ's Bach, most of it courtesy of vibraphonist Milt Jackson. Jackson's masterful blues-oriented improvisations are on fine display here on his only Blue Note outing. ...

The Modern Jazz Quartet: European Concert

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 2001

Ironically, The Modern Jazz Quartet's European Concert album finally is released on CD for the first time just before the passing of the third member of the legendary group, reducing the survivors to one: Percy Heath, who also is a member of one of the leading family triumvirates in jazz. Listed as one of the favorite MJQ albums by many of its fans, European Concert initially was released as a double-album package documenting the group's performances throughout Scandinavia in 1960. ...

Milt Jackson: Sunflower

by Douglas Payne
November 1, 1999

After years on the road with the Modern Jazz Quartet and a series of sterling solo and all-star jazz performances, vibraphonist Milt Jackson decided it was time to see some green. Watching kids half his age, possessing half his talent, earn millions playing rock, he insisted he could earn more without the restraints of the MJQ. He sought out Creed Taylor in 1972 and Sunflower became his first (and best) of three CTI albums. The album is significant ...

Milt Jackson: In A New Setting

by Douglas Payne
November 1, 1999

For someone like Milt Jackson to declare this a new setting is really saying something. After all, the ageless vibraphonist has recorded in countless small groups capable of any style as well as in big bands, with strings, as a vocalist and as a guitarist too. What's new in this recently reissued 1964 quintet session is the surprising - and surprisingly complimentary - addition of pianist McCoy Tyner (who recorded A Love Supreme the same month).The rest of the group ...

Milt Jackson meets the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra: Explosive!

by Jim Santella
May 1, 1999

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson, 76, formed the roots of the Modern Jazz Quartet almost fifty years ago. That same lyrical quality that drives the MJQ stands before the fourteen-year-old Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, sharing, blending, and coaxing the melodies out of his vibraphone’s metal bars. The microphones are set up so that the listener has the same opportunity as one who is seated front and center, about seven rows back; piano and drums are on the left, while most of the horns ...