Collection: Milt Jackson
Born Milton Jackson on 1 January 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. He took up the vibraphone at 16 after seeing Lionel Hampton play the instrument in Benny Goodman's band at the Michigan State Fair in 1940. He earned the nickname "Bags" from the pouches under his eyes. He was drafted in 1942 and served two years in the army. After returning to Detroit in 1944 he formed a quartet called The Four Sharps. Dizzy Gillespie heard him in a Detroit club and, suitably impressed, encouraged him to move to New York in 1945 with the offer of a place in his band. Jackson joined Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1945, then his larger ensembles, quickly acquiring experience working with the most important figures in jazz of the era, including Woody Herman, Howard McGhee, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker. He recorded with Thelonious Monk's band from 1947 to 1952, performed with the Woody Herman big band from 1949 to 1950, and rejoined Gillespie from 1951 to 1952.
In Dizzy Gillespie's big band, Jackson formed the rhythm section with pianist John Lewis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Kenny Clarke. When they decided to become a working group in their own right around 1950, the foursome was known at first as the Milt Jackson Quartet, becoming the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) in 1952. By that time Percy Heath had replaced Ray Brown on bass. In 1954 or 1955 Connie Kay replaced Kenny Clarke on drums, the last personnel change the group ever had. The MJQ had a long career until disbanding in 1974 when Jackson left. The group reformed in 1981 and continued until 1993. Jackson differentiated himself from other vibraphonists through his attention to variations on harmonics and rhythm, setting his vibraphone's oscillator to a slow 3.3 revolutions per second for a subtle tremolo. He composed jazz standards including "Bags' Groove" and "Bluesology". He won Esquire magazine's New Star Award in 1947, was inducted into the Down Beat Hall of Fame in 1980, and was named an NEA Jazz Master. He died on 9 October 1999 in New York City.
