THE DETROIT JAZZ PRESERVATION CONCERT SERIES CELEBRATES MILT JACKSON

 

Milt Jackson

Can a tribute to the great jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson be successful without including a vibraphonist equal to Jackson's skills and jazz acumen? I pondered that Sunday evening at Schaver Music Recital during the Milt Jackson tribute presented by the Detroit Jazz Preservation Concert Series. The series founder, trombonist Vincent Chandler, answered the question soon after the performance commenced, explaining to the near-capacity audience there's a shortage of jazz vibraphonists in Michigan. Then Chandler demonstrated beautifully for 90 minutes that Jackson's compositions fit any assortment of instrumentation. For this second concert of the DJPCS's second season, Chandler adhered to a formula that made the inaugural season a rousing success, assembling a cross-generation of top Detroit jazz musicians. Pianist Scott Gwinnell, drummer Louis M. Jones III, bassist Ralphe Armstrong, and tenor saxophonist Stephen Grady were the Detroiters Chandler selected to honor Jackson. Jackson was one of the native Detroiters who cultivated a legendary career suffused with accolades and classic recordings. Most jazz people know him as the pulse of the celebrated Modern Jazz Quartet. The concert opened with Jackson's "Put Off." A time-tested move from Chandler's playbook as a bandleader is allowing each bandmate to swing unfettered. Throughout the concert, it felt as if Jackson wrote the compositions with an intimate familiarity of each bandmate's soloing and improvisational prowess in mind. Armstrong, a colorful bassist, and a closet comic, walked holes in the soles of the bass on "Namesake" and "Ignunt Oil." On "The Spirit-Feel," trumpeter John Douglas showed that he was a cold swinger with traces of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's improvisational expertise. Jones, the youngest band member, was tasked with the timekeeper's responsibility. Throughout the concert, he drummed like being in Chandler’s outfit was one of his chief aspirations. The drummer played with self-assurance and a command of the drumkit that belies his age. Yes, Jones is still moist behind the ears, but he's developed rimshot by rimshot into a fine jazz drummer. The always-consistent Stephen Grady blew brilliantly. He's meticulous, and embodies an alluring, lover-man's tone on the tenor saxophone. Chandler only selected six of the many compositions Jackson penned over his five-decade career. I bet that was an arduous undertaking for Chandler. I was disappointed the band did not call "Bag's Groove," Jackson's most famous composition. The Jackson tribute was well attended, and the band rendered his music as if individually blessed by his spirit.