Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Milton Brent Buckner was born July 10, 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri to parents who encouraged him to learn to play piano, but they both died when he was nine years old. Milt and his younger brother Ted were sent to Detroit where they were adopted by members of the Earl Walton band, trombonist John Tobias, drummer George Robinson fostered Milt and reedplayer Fred Kewley fostered Ted. He studied piano for three years from the age 10, then at 15 began writing arrangements for the band. He and his brother went on to become active in the Detroit jazz world in the 1930s.

He first played in Detroit with the McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and then with Cab Calloway. In 1941, he joined Lionel Hampton’s big band, and for the next seven years served as its pianist and staff arranger. Buckner was part of a Variety Revue of 1950 organized by Lionel Hampton at the Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California. He led a short-lived big band of his own for two years, but then returned to Hampton’s in 1950.

In 1952, Milt formed his own trio and pioneered the use of the electric Hammond organ. He often played in Europe in the late 1960s. His last studio session took place in Paris. France on July 4, 1977. He is also known for the use of his song The Beast in the title menu of the video game, Battlefield: Bad Company.

Pianist and Hammond B3 organist Milt Buckner, who pioneered the parallel chords style that influenced Red Garland, George Shearing, Bill Evans, and Oscar Peterson, transitioned from a heart attack on July 27, 1977, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 62.

More Posts: bandleader,hammond b3,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano