School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Milt Jackson & John Coltrane

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Milt Jackson & John Coltrane is the collaboration of two great names from modern jazz. Milt Jackson, nicknamed Bags, played vibraphone and was known as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The saxophonist John Coltrane had already built up a considerable reputation by the late 1950s. He played in Miles Davis's quintet, worked briefly with Thelonious Monk in 1957 and took part in the recording of Kind of Blue in 1959. At Prestige he made his first albums as a leader, and in 1958 Blue Train was released on Blue Note.

In 1959 Coltrane signed with Atlantic Records. There he recorded, among others, Giant Steps and My Favorite Things. At almost all of those sessions he was the leader himself, with one exception: the album Bags & Trane, on which he can be heard together with Milt Jackson. The name of the record combines their nicknames. The album includes Be-Bop, a piece by Dizzy Gillespie from the early days of bebop. The music is fast and virtuosic: the warm, soft sound of the vibraphone is set against Coltrane's fierce, nimble saxophone. It is bebop as it had developed after the war: music to listen to, not to dance to. Shortly afterwards Coltrane struck out on a freer path of his own at Impulse!.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Be-Bop and compare the solos of Milt Jackson on vibraphone and John Coltrane on saxophone. Notice the fast tempo and how both musicians race through the chords at express-train speed.

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: ArtistsBebop