H. Johnson's Jazz Moments: Milt Jackson

August 19th, 2022

WABE’s H. Johnson has been a fixture on our station since 1978. As host of both “Blues Classics” and “Jazz Classics,” H. continually educates and entertains WABE listeners every Friday and Saturday night.

Now, H. is adding “City Lights” music contributor to his exceedingly long resumé, and he’ll be joining the show every other Friday to share a bit from his breadth of jazz knowledge. The new segment, “H. Johnson’s Jazz Moment,” explores selections from the best of H.’s music collection along with tidbits from history, personal reflections, and H.’s thoughts on the evergreen resonance of jazz.

In today’s “Jazz Moment,” Johnson listens to the music of Milt Jackson, “the last of a bunch of heroes,” in the vibraphone, xylophone and other melodic percussion instruments. H. places Jackson in the company of Lionel Hampton, Terry Gibbs, and Red Norvo but dubs Milt “Bags” Jackson the “most profound.”

The vibraphonist was first discovered by Dizzy Gillespie in Detroit, who picked him up for his sextet in 1945, then on to more big band arrangements. This consortium of then-present and future jazz giants, including John Lewis, Ray Brown and Kenny Clarke, eventually morphed into the Milton Jackson Quartet, later and best remembered as the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ), and going on to record as a group for the next several decades.

The featured track “Bags’ Groove” was composed by Milt Jackson and remains a standard in the jazz repertoire. In it, you can hear his effortless vibraphone trills engaged in a light-footed dance in harmony with the trumpet; all settled into a laid-back swing before Jackson’s smooth lift-off on a solo flight.

Catch H. Johnson’s Blue Classics every Friday from 10 p.m. to midnight and Jazz Classics every Saturday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on WABE 90.1 Atlanta.