Milt Jackson

Подробности

Milton (Milt) Jackson (January 1, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan – October 9, 1999) was an American jazz vibraphonist and one of the most important figures in the hard bop style, although he performed inMilt Jackson several subgenres of jazz. 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 12-bar blues at slow tempos. He preferred to set the vibraphone's oscillator to a low 3.3 revolutions per second (as opposed to Lionel Hampton's speed of 10 revolutions per second) for a more subtle vibrato. Jackson was also a capable pianist, and sometimes performed professionally on that instrument. He also sang on a few albums.Soul believer, e.g.

He was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie, who hired him for his sextet in 1946. He quickly acquired experience working with the most important figures in jazz of the era, including John Coltrane, Woody Herman, Howard McGhee, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker. In the Gillespie big band one of his jobs was to play in a quartet with John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke while the horn section took a break from the demanding high-register horn parts. This group, known around 1950 as the Milt Jackson Quartet, eventually became the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) by around 1952, and had a long independent career of some 20 years until disbanding in 1974 when Jackson split with Lewis in an attempt to make more money on his own (though it reformed in 1981 and last recorded in 1993). Jackson then toured alone, performing in various small combos.

From the mid-70s to the mid-80s, Jackson recorded for Norman Granz's Pablo Records, including the classic, Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company (1983), featuring Jackson with J. J. Johnson on trombone, Ray Brown on bass, backed by Tom Ranier on piano, guitarist John Collins, and drummer Roy McCurdy.

He also guested on recordings by many leading jazz, blues and soul artists, such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, etc.

His composition "Bags' Groove" ("Bags" was a nickname given to him by a bass player in Detroit. The 'bags' was his collapsing vibraphone that he often carried on his back in a 'bag' to his gigs[citation needed]. "Bags" also referred to his habit of staying up all night. Bag's Groove is a jazz standard. He has been featured on the NPR radio program Jazz Profiles.

He died on October 9, 1999, aged 76. Jackson was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.