Bags and Trane

Artist: Milt Jackson & John Coltrane
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 075678134821
EAN: 0075678134821
ASIN: B000002I57

Release Date: 1990-10-25

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Listmania:

Best Albums of 1961
Milt Jackson: The Best of Bags
Awesome Jazz Albums In No Order Part 1
Some good jazz to add to your CD collection
JOHN COLTRANE, PART 2
JAZZ 101: THE SHORT COURSE.
My Favorite Cool Jazz Music
Often Overlooked Jazz Albums
Great Jazz

Tracks:

Stairway To The Stars
Late Late Blues
Bags & Trane
Three Little Words
The Night We Called It A Day
Be-Bop
Blues Legacy
Centerpiece

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Customer Reviews:

Stairway to the Stars.......2007-03-08

This is classic album opens with a wonderfully moody ballad, aptly titled, for this album is a stairway into the musical genius of some of the brightest stars in jazz history, John Coltrane and Milt Jackson. There is not a bad track on this album, and the supporting cast, including Paul Chambers and Connie Kay, could not be better. Perhaps my favorite tune is "The Late Late Blues" which has a very catchy bass line/melody. Overall, one of the most satisfying jazz discs you'll ever buy!

This much gold for ten bucks!.......2007-02-11

This collaboration has been a favorite of mine since I discovered the vinyl in high school 40 years ago. The soul of jazz, and in particular, of these two splendid musicians, is laid bare. The "sheets of sound," mentioned by another reviewer, are used sparingly as Coltrane uses his horn economically to give us only the notes that are needed. Even the boistrous "Bebop" leaves us wanting for some jazz archaeologist to dig up a "first take" that might last 15 minutes longer. Milt Jackson can make you laugh, cry, or just plain get hypnotized with the magic of the mallets. No more words needed. Get this CD!

Good Straight Ahead Jazz Album!!!!!!.......2004-06-21

There's no special arrangements on this album, like there are on MJQ albums that Milt Jackson is associated with, but it has some good grooves on it. One highlight is Bags' original blues, "Late Late Blues." It's a got a good drum beat and a perfect 12 bar blues format. One other highlight here is Connie Kay's drum solo, a real rarity. I only heard Kay solo on three albums, Blues On Bach, MJQ Last Concert, and this one! A real treat! Milt Jackson shines here, but Trane's mic. was a little too close during the session. When he comes up to solo, I get a "dizzy" feeling, because the sound of his sax is all over the place, in volume and sound. This album is good for any hard bop jazz fan!

Not nSynch (thank goodness).......2004-05-21

I passed on the original LP, but this reissue with twenty additional minutes of music by, on the one hand, the quintessential jazz blues player and, on the other, the most influential jazz innovator of the past half century, led me to reconsider my decision of 40 years ago (I was poorer then, too).

Listening to the album again, I'm finding that the source of my reservations at the time are now a source of pleasure. Not only are the primary players conscious of their different musical styles, but each brings a "second" for support: Coltrane has Paul Chambers, his colleague from the Miles Davis Group, and Jackson has Connie Kay, his associate from the the Modern Jazz Quartet. The result is a rhythm section that is never quite in synch. Paul lays down as powerful, unflappable a bass line as I've ever heard from him while Connie Kay reminds me of a trailer or dinghy faithfully in tow. Coltrane leans forward on the time, keeping up with his man, while Bags waits on the beat, as though listening to his own accomplice.

Is there a "winner"? The advantage is definitely Coltrane-Chambers. On the other hand, Hank Jones is so effective in bridging the gap, playing in the "middle" of the beat, that the whole thing works. In fact, the undeniable tension in the rhythm along with the players figuring out ways to deal with it create a whole new layer of musical interest.

I'm really inclined to four and a half stars, but the principals, not to mention the performance of the roadbuilder, Paul Chambers, forbid it.

Better than snake oil........2002-11-06

Milt Jackson and John Coltrane complement one another marvelously in this collection of quintet recordings from 1959. The rhythm trio features Hank Jones on piano, assisted by Paul Chambers on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Jackson is here in familiar territory with a group that isn't far from MJQ. The differences are Coltrane and the interplay. The disc commences with a bonus track, the standard "Stairway to the Stars." Here is Coltrane in his best ballad form, excercising restraint and what is as close to lyrical as he gets. Milt Jackson spins his filligrees, nets of sound, as usual, and Coltrane answers seemingly from a distance, with clarity. The next track is Bags' "The Late Late Blues," a simple theme that Coltrane explores in his legendary sheets of sound. His clarity is such that you can hear the patterns evolve within the sheet. Paul Chambers' bass is prominent both in its steady line and in solo. "Bags & Trane" begins with a simple call and response. Bags' intricate solo is followed by Trane's brief statement, again exemplary of his improvisational skill. Hank Jones piano solo proceeds Paul Chambers' arco solo followed by traded breaks by Bags and Trane. "Three Little Words" is a mid-tempo tune that cooks. It begins with Bags' statement of the theme and then Trane establishes the groundwork for his solo and goes to the invention--arabesque variations built on the theme. Trane's solo here is exemplary--worth studying for insights into his method. Jackson's extended solo illustrates his inventiveness and Hank Jones continues into traded fours between Trane, Connie Kay, and Bags. Which leads one to extoll Connie Kay's gifts. Here is a consumate professional at work. He is delicate and tasteful when necessary, but he swings explosively as well. "The Night We Called It a Day" is a quiet ballad, but Jackson's lyrical solo and Coltrane's lengthy invention are masterful. Again, Trane's solo is an object lesson in his method. But these guys can blow the roof off. That's apparent in Dizzy Gillespie's "Be-Bop" where Bags starts off at breakneck speed and Coltrane blows hard and quick--probably the only tenor player aside from Johnny Griffin who blows as hard and fast as Bird with coherence. This is sheets of sound--a style that can become "cerebral" that euphimism for boring when you want your jazz visceral. The Jones solo arrives apace with Chambers and Kay cooking in the background down to Bags and Trane trading breaks. Cerebral doesn't happen here. A hard bop classic. The remaining tracks, "Blues Legacy" and "Centerpiece" follow suit. The first is a simple call and response blues riff with some gigantic solos. The last is an old favorite of mine, but despite Bags' wonderful solo it doesn't have Annie Ross, alas. Nevertheless, this is a very good CD. Highly recommended, too.

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