Milt Jackson Ballads & Blues (LP, 180g Vinyl)

(Speakers Corner) 9 tracks, 180g vinyl

Lucky Thompson (ts); Milt Jackson (vib); John Lewis (p); Barney Kessel, Barry Galbraith, Skeeter Best (g); Oscar Pettiford, Percy Heath (b); Kenny Clarke, Lawrence Marable (dr)

Whenever Milt Jackson was able to escape the constraints of the Modern Jazz Quartet with its all-dominant head John Lewis, he devoted himself with preference to his two passions: ballads and the blues. So it was when he went to the famous Rudy van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, at the beginning of 1956. He was certainly free to choose his sidemen, money was not an issue, and so for three recording dates changing formations came to the studio. Lucky Thompson on tenor (unfortunately only for three titles), Barry Galbraith, Barney Kessel, Skeeter Best on guitars, Oscar Pettiford and Percy Heath on bass, as well as Kenny Clarke and Lawrence Marable on drums took him on a journey through the history of jazz. Discreetly John Lewis held back here and offered 'Bags' the opportunity to enjoy his soloistic freedom.

The themes were quickly found, the musical composers Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern as well as a piece from the Ellington Songbook provided the basis on which all musicians could act confidently. In addition, three original compositions prove that Milt Jackson was full of ingenuity. Those who have this or no Milt Jackson LP in their collection can finally eliminate this deficiency. Anyway, this reviewer's rating is 5 stars out of a possible 5.

This Speakers Corner production was made using analog master tape and mastering 100% pure analog. More information at pure-analogue. com.