A few years ago, I initiated a personal project: to listen to all of my vinyl in alphabetical order in the course of one year. Then I decided to blog about it. Then I decided to add CD’s. This became quite a chore. I began feeling anxiety about how much music I would have to listen to and write about. And who cared anyway? I made it as far as the beginning of “J” on vinyl (Mahalia Jackson)and somewhere in the “D’s” on the CD’s. My project felt less like fun and more like a chore. Plus, life intruded, and so forth.
Lately, I’ve felt like restarting the project, but I don’t feel like going back to the “A’s”—at least not right now. Also, I want to stick exclusively with vinyl—my first love. So, I’m going to begin with where I left off (early J’s) and go from there.
Part record review, part memoir, part alphabetical listing—portions of my listening life in vinyl. We’ll begin with Milt Jackson’s collaboration with John Coltrane, Bags and Trane. A nice session with the great tenorist and vibist. The rhythm section is stellar: Hank Jones on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Connie Kay on drums. Jackson got to wail more than he was normally allowed with the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Coltrane gives us his bluesy sheets of sound. With Coltrane’s future far out projects in mind, I think I used to discount this record as a “blowing session,” but listening to it now, I think it’s solid all the way through.
Stand out track: “Be-Bop”
More Milt Jackson to come in the next entry.
