Vibraphonist Milt Jackson's earliest recordings were accompanying Dinah Washington on her first releases on Apollo Records in Los Angeles in 1945. He also was among the first to perform bop with Dizzy Gillespie's Rebop Six in December '45 (Groovin' High) and with Gillespie's big band of 1946.
Through the years, he recorded with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and many other important artists in the early 1950s. And he pioneered chamber jazz as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, starting in 1952. Jackson, in effect, was among the first modernist, post-war vibists—a list that includes Terry Gibbs, Marjorie Hyams and Charlie Calzaretta.
Here's an hour and a half of Milt Jackson in concert in Tokyo with bassist Ray Brown, pianist Cedar Walter and drummer Mickey Roker in April 1984. The quartet played Bags' Groove, Straight No Chaser, Blue Monk, 'Round Midnight, In Walked Bud, Used to Be Jackson, Someone I Love, Nature Boy and Our Delight...
A special thanks to Mark Rabin in Maryland.
Through the years, he recorded with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and many other important artists in the early 1950s. And he pioneered chamber jazz as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, starting in 1952. Jackson, in effect, was among the first modernist, post-war vibists—a list that includes Terry Gibbs, Marjorie Hyams and Charlie Calzaretta.
Here's an hour and a half of Milt Jackson in concert in Tokyo with bassist Ray Brown, pianist Cedar Walter and drummer Mickey Roker in April 1984. The quartet played Bags' Groove, Straight No Chaser, Blue Monk, 'Round Midnight, In Walked Bud, Used to Be Jackson, Someone I Love, Nature Boy and Our Delight...
A special thanks to Mark Rabin in Maryland.
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This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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