Requisites

Bags’ Opus ~ Milt Jackson | By Eddie Carter

Milt Jackson steps into the spotlight to begin this morning’s discussion with one of my favorite albums from 1959, Bags’ Opus (United Artists UAL 4022/UAS 5022). This is my album to listen to when reading or relaxing because the music is so soothing, I can listen to it endlessly. Here, the vibist is leading an exceptional sextet consisting of Art Farmer on trumpet, Benny Golson on tenor sax, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Connie Kay on drums. My copy used in this report is the 1976 Japanese Stereo reissue (United Artists GXC-3135), and the album opens with the leader in ballad mode on Ill Wind by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. It was written in 1934 and performed by vocalist Adelaide Hall in their final show at The Cotton Club. Milt’s vibes are delicately discreet on the melody and as the featured soloist, he tells an exquisitely tender story matched by the sensitive accompaniment of the rhythm section into a gorgeous finale.

Blues For Diahann is Jackson’s tribute to actress, model, singer, Diahann Carroll, and the only original of the session. It opens with a jubilant intro by the rhythm section and a collective theme by the sextet. Golson takes off first with some straightforward blowing.  Farmer doesn’t let up the pace on the next reading with a spirited solo. Flanagan follows with a dazzling display of his virtuosity, and Chambers gives a spicy performance that’s worth the wait. Kay begins the next reading with some brisk brushwork in a shared statement with Jackson. The leader wraps up everything with a short workout ahead of the close. Afternoon In Paris by John Lewis was written in 1949 and was first recorded by Phineas Newborn Jr. on the album, Here Is Phineas-The Piano Artistry of Phineas Newborn Jr. (1956). Lewis made it the title song for his 1957 release with guitarist Sacha Distel, and the group takes this tune for an easy ride with five soulful statements by Milt, Benny, Art, Tommy, and Paul.

Benny Golson’s timeless 1957 jazz standard, I Remember Clifford, was written to honor the memory of trumpet player Clifford Brown who alongside pianist Richie Powell and his wife Nancy perished in an auto accident a year earlier. It opens Side Two delicately with the front line featured on the melody and reprise. Bags gives this evergreen all the poise and elegance it deserves on a sublimely beautiful performance backed by the trio.  Thinking of You was composed by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar in 1927, and debuted in the Broadway show, The Five O’Clock Girl that year. It was also featured in the 1950 film, Three Little Words. Art takes the lead on the gentle opening chorus with Milt and the rhythm section providing the lush background. He continues on the first solo with an intimately moving interpretation. Bags comes in next to add a touch of sensuous beauty to the closing statement ahead of Art’s return for the tenderly expressive coda.

Benny Golson wrote Whisper Not in 1956 while a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band.  It’s one of his most popular tunes and has been a signature song of Golson’s since its inception.  Leonard Feather wrote lyrics for Anita O’Day who recorded it in 1962.  The sextet begins the melody at an easy beat with an irresistible toe-tapping melody.  Jackson cruises at a comfortable speed with impeccably-crafted lines.  Farmer works the next solo using his mute with a firm tone and relaxing informality. Golson gets the next nod for an infectious groove that just won’t stop, and Flanagan sparkles on the final reading before the sextet reassembles to take the song out. Bags’ Opus was produced by Jack Lewis and engineered by Tommy Nola whose work can also be found on Argo, Atlantic, Blue Note, Cadet, Contemporary, Jazztime, Mercury, Riverside, and Verve to name a few. The album has a solid soundstage with an excellent definition from each instrument bringing the musicians from your speakers into your listening room.

Milt Jackson was one of the extraordinary musicians of jazz whose consistency on record is unequaled. He played and recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Wes Montgomery, and countless others as a leader, sideman, and on many records as a member of The Modern Jazz Quartet.  He was given the nickname Bags by a Detroit bass player, referring to the bags under his eyes. I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since seeing him live in 1972. On Bags’ Opus, Jackson and his colleagues offer an album of easy listening jazz that any fan of Post-Bop should consider a must-have for their library!

~ Afternoon In Paris (Atlantic 1267); Anita O’Day and The Three Sounds (Verve Records V-8514/V6-8514); Here Is Phineas-The Piano Artistry of Phineas Newborn Jr. (Atlantic 1235/SD 1235) – Source: Discogs.com

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Terry Pollard (August 15, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan and began her career by collaborating with other Detroit musicians, such as Billy Mitchell and Elvin Jones, in the house band at the Blue Bird Inn. Johnny Hill, and the Emmitt Slay Trio.

Discovered by Terry Gibbs, she toured with him in the early 1950s, playing piano and vibraphone. They recorded several albums, including Terry Gibbs Quartet – Featuring Terry Pollard. Pollard appeared with Gibbs on an episode of The Tonight Show hosted by Steve Allen. Her collaborations with Gibbs from 1953 to 1957 marked the height of her career.

Pollard also performed with John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald

Recording a self-titled solo album for Bethlehem Records in 1955, Terry won Down Beat magazine’s New Artist award in 1956. She retired from her full-time music career shortly thereafter in order to raise a family, but she continued to play locally in Detroit and performed with Yusef Lateef, Dorothy Ashby, Don Fagerquist, and Diana Ross and the Supremes among others.

Her contributions to the mid-century Detroit jazz scene were recognized in the book Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit 1920-1960, by Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallert. Pianist, vibraphonist Terry Pollard, who was inducted into the Michigan Jazz Hall of Fame, passed away on December 16, 2009 in Detroit.

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Edwin James Costa was born on August 14, 1930 in Atlas, Pennsylvania, near Mount Carmel, in Northumberland County. He was taught and influenced on piano by his older, musically trained brother, Bill, and a local piano teacher. He took paid jobs as a pianist from the age of 15, and in contrast to his piano training, he was self-taught on vibes.

In 1949 he played and toured for a few months with violinist Joe Venuti. He then worked for his brother in New York until 1951, when Eddie was drafted into the army. During this time in the armed forces, he performed in Japan and Korea. After his discharge, he returned home and worked around the New York area, including for bands led by Kai Winding, Johnny Smith, and Don Elliott.

n 1957 he was chosen as Down Beat jazz critics’ new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two categories in the same year. He became known for his percussive, driving piano style that concentrated on the lower octaves of the keyboard.

Costa had an eight-year recording career, during which he appeared on more than 100 albums, with five of them were under his own leadership. As a sideman, he appeared in orchestras led by Manny Albam, Gil Evans, Woody Herman, and others; played in smaller groups led by musicians including Tal Farlow, Coleman Hawkins, Gunther Schuller, and Phil Woods; and accompanied vocalists including Tony Bennett and Chris Connor. Costa died, aged 31, in a car accident in New York City.

His first recording as a leader was in 1956, with his trio featuring bassist Vinnie Burke and drummer Nick Stabulas. Around this time, he was nicknamed The Bear by Burke for his powerful playing. He and Burke joined Tal Farlow and became the resident trio at the Composer Club. In 1957 Costa was again leader, recording Eddie Costa Quintet with Woods, Art Farmer, Teddy Kotick, and Paul Motian. He would go on to record 1958’s Guys and Dolls Like Vibes with Bill Evans, Wendell Marshall, and Motian.

Late at night on July 28, 1962, pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and arranger Eddie Costa passed away in a car crash, involving no other vehicles, on New York’s Westside Highway at 72nd Street in New York City.

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Robert Naughton was born on June 25, 1944 in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied piano from the age of seven through his teens, playing in rock bands and lounge bands.

After serving in the U.S. Army, Naughton started playing organ with a blues band. Following this period he studied painting in art school, then in the 1960s vibraphone became his instrument in the 1960s he was accompanying Sheila Jordan and Perry Robinson.

In 1969 Bobby recorded for the first time, releasing music on his label, Otic, and five more through 2002 as a leader. He composed the score for the silent film Everyday by German artist Hans Richter. In 1972 he played in the Jazz Composers Orchestra. Beginning a year later working with Wadada Leo Smith he recorded several albums through the 1980s. From 1978 to 1982 he toured and recorded with Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, the Creative Music Orchestra, and the Creative Improvisers Orchestra.

Vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, who plays fluently with four sticks, exploits the instrument’s overtones and sometimes controls manually the instrument’s vanes continues to perform and record.

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Hazy Osterwald was born Rolf Osterwald on February 18, 1922 in Bern, Switzerland. He began his career as a pianist, arranged for Fred Böhler in the late 1930s and joined him as a trumpeter in 1941. Around this time he also worked with Edmond Cohanier, Philippe Brun, Bob Huber, Eddie Brunner and Teddy Stauffer.

Hazy led his own ensemble starting in 1944, recording through the 1970s, with sidemen including Ernst Höllerhagen and Werner Dies. In the late 1940s he recorded with Gil Cuppini and played at the Paris Jazz Fair with Sidney Bechet and Charlie Parker. Trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist and bandleader Hazy Osterwald passed away on February 26, 2012 in Lucerne Switzerland.

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