'Bags' Of Fun From Joe Locke And The Milt Jackson Tribute Band

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Vibraphonist Joe Locke's Rev-elation on Sharp-Nine Records is the hottest CD on the jazz charts today, and for good reason. It is one swinging recording. Locke joined the late Milt Jackson's rhythm section to record a live album as a tribute to Jackson at Ronnie Scott's in London on April 6-7, 2005. Pianist and Milt Jackson's music director for 11 years, Mike LeDonne had asked Joe to join the tribute band for weekend at Smoke in Manhattan earlier and the success of that engagement served as the genesis for this project. LeDonne joined Milt's group in 1988. That quartet also included bassist Bob Cranshaw and Drummer Mickey Roker who each have even longer associations with Milt, having performed and recored with him back in the 60's. They took the show to Ronnie Scott's in London where Jackson was well known and well loved and then, played their hearts out for an enthusiastic crowd. For a live recording, the sound quality is superb There is enough crowd sound to keep the feel of a club gig, but not any that interferes with the music.

"... what comes through in Milt's playing is his genius. His incredible harmonic and melodic inventiveness and the genius of that. Also, his humanity comes through deeply, which is even more important. Milt was also one of the few sound innovators and by sound innovator I mean that he actually changed the sound of his instrument and how people after him played it. He even changed how people who came before him played. ... His contribution has been immense. As an improviser, he took the language of bebop created by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Bud Powell and successfully translated it to the vibraphone." -Joe Locke in a recent Jazz Week interview.

Milt Jackson, a.k.a. Bags, was 'discovered' by Dizzy Gillespie, who hired him for his sextet in 1946. He quickly acquired experience working with the most important figures in jazz of the era, including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Howard McGhee, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker. He formed a quartet with John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke called the Modern Jazz Quartet, which had a long career of 20 years until disbanding in 1974. Jackson continued to perform and innovate and the rhythm section on this CD filled out his quartet until his death in 1999.

This project is a tribute, but not an imitation. As Joe says in the liner notes: "The notes can be copied, but no one will ever play them like Bags, I would never try. All I can do is use the lessons I learned to tell my own story." Locke tells his musical story with a style that is assertive but with fluidity and dexterity that give voice to the vibraphone. Joe Locke is a worthy musical descendant of Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson.

The solid hard-bop chops of Mike LeDonne on piano are the perfect for this outing, whether comping or soloing he nails it every time. Several tracks also feature LeDonne on Fender Rhodes, I would not have thought to pair a Rhodes with Vibes, but they are so similar in sound: percussive and metallic with vibrato. But in hearing them on this recording, the differences shine through. The biting and gritty chomp of the Rhodes make the vibraphone sound warmer, majestic and almost church-bell like. LeDonne, who is also a great Hammond B3 player, is no stranger to the groove. He penned the title tune and plays it and Opus De Funk on the Rhodes with crowd-pleasing heart while producing music that is accessible on many levels.

This CD is highly recommended. Joe Locke has managed to delever the goods, a swinging bop romp trhough some of Milt Jackson's most recent repertoire that pays tribute to a true musical genius.

REV-ELATION Track list:
1 "The Prophet Speaks", Jackson, 7:26
2 "Young and Foolish", Hague, Horwitt, 7:11
3 "The Look of Love", Bacharach, David, 7:17
4 "Rev-elation", LeDonne, 7:16
5 "Opus de Funk", Silver, 5:50
6 "Close Enough for Love", Mandel, Williams, 8:46
7 "Big Town", Locke, 7:22
* 8 "Used to Be Jackson", Brown, 6:5

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