Milt Jackson & John Coltrane - Bags & Trane - 2 x 180g 45rpm LPs

Reference Sound: Mastered from the Original Master Tapes

It’s a shame more classic hard-boppers weren’t unified for multiple collaborations. Vibraphonist Milt Jackson and saxophone virtuoso John Coltrane recorded just once together, and this 1959 date makes one wish they reunited for several return engagements. Lighthearted, upbeat, and joyously fluid, Bags & Trane plays like a private after-hours session of friends hanging back and toying with the music.

In collaborating with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Connie Kay, the headliners go for broke, expanding the parameters of two Jackson originals as well as three standards, including Dizzy Gillespie's "Be-Bop" and the staple "The Night We Called It a Day." Upbeat tempos and spirited interplay pulses throughout.

Mastered from the original master tapes, ORG Music's reissue presents this heralded release in exacting sound, with the instruments given full range and true-to-life imaging that takes you right into New York City's Atlantic Recording Studios when the pieces were recorded in January 1959. What a delight!

5/5 Stars - All Music