Milt Jackson Marches to Beat of Two Jazz Foursomes

Vibraharpist Milt Jackson leads two musical lives: One as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, another with his own foursome. And while he likes the MJQ just fine, he’s more himself when he’s his own boss.

“My quartet’s more of my own personality, because I’m the musical director and I determine what we play,” he said. “The MJQ is more or less (pianist and musical director) John (Lewis)’s personality.”

“Most of MJQ’s music is planned and structured, because John likes it that way,” Jackson said by phone from his home in Teaneck, N.J. “My idea is to be more spontaneous and sort of relaxed. In other words, it’s loose. For example, a lot of nights when I go to work on my own job, I don’t even think about what I’m going to play until I get there. When I walk on stage, pick up the mallets, then I’ll decide what to play.”

Whether with the MJQ or his quartet--which, including pianist Cedar Walton, bassist John Clayton and drummer Billy Higgins, works the Catalina Bar & Grill tonight through Sunday--Jackson always plays in a be-bop-based style that’s replete with blues inflections. “My roots come out of the be-bop era, that’s where I’ve always been and to make a very long story short, when people get tired of that, then I’ll do something else to make a living,” he said. “But I will not go into the new type music, fusion or whatever you call it. I don’t care for it.”

In a way, Jackson both started the MJQ, and stopped it. For a series of recordings he made for Savoy in the late ‘40s, he used his rhythm section partners from Dizzy Gillespie’s big band--pianist John Lewis, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke. In 1952, these players, with bassist Percy Heath replacing Brown, recorded for Prestige as The Modern Jazz Quartet. The ensemble’s permanent personnel was cemented in 1955, when drummer Connie Kay replaced Clarke.

In 1974, Jackson decided he wanted to quit. “One of the reasons the quartet broke up was that I personally was disappointed with the financial reward, seeing what the group represented musically,” he said. “And when I left, I had no intentions of coming back.”

But in 1981, when Lewis approached Jackson to do a series of concerts in Japan, the vibist consented. Since then, the demand for the MJQ has snowballed, and it’s once again a pretty much full-time role for Jackson, who still finds time for occasional appearances with his own quartet. And while he’s still not thrilled with the financial aspects--”It’s not paying as good a money as I thought it would, which was one of my reasons for coming back, but it’s better than before the break-up”--he doesn’t let that bother him.

“I feel well rewarded,” he said. “Playing together for so many years puts us in a class with no other group. We do things that nobody else can do, the way we perform. And though playing music on the road is a rough way to make a living, being dedicated makes it all right. The fact that a pop artist like Michael Jackson makes more money in one night than I make in a year . . . that’s the part that’s rough. But I don’t feel too bad about that because you can’t take the money with you and I have left music here for my grandchildren.”

At the core of each Jackson performance is a desire to communicate. “I’m trying to express good vibrations,” he said with a quiet chuckle, “and when people let you know they’ve enjoyed it, that you’ve given them pleasure, then you’ve communicated. I feel good making people feel good. That’s the reward of being a dedicated musician. But then, I always play for the audience, I never play for myself. You have to remember it’s the audience that keeps you there. It’s important that you reach them and that they enjoy what they’ve come to hear.”

The 65-year-old Jackson, whose most recent solo LP is “Brother Jim” (Pablo) and who says that his “intensity” is his strongest musical aspect, hopes he’s playing better as time goes on. “That’s the objective,” he said. “You mellow with age and you’d like to think that your music does the same. And mellow doesn’t mean it lacks fire. When the music calls for fire, you just add it, because it’s been inside all along.”

Born in Detroit, Jackson began playing piano at age seven and picked up vibes as a teen-ager. He came to New York in 1945, eventually playing with many of his musical heroes, among them Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. One of Jackson’s fondest memories is of an engagement in 1946 with the be-bop innovators at Billy Berg’s in Hollywood. “It was historical then, and it’s still historical, 42 years later,” he said. “Bird was incredible. His sound was so strong, it went right through your heart. It was a sound nobody else could make. As a matter of fact, nobody’s been able to duplicate it yet.”

Though he’s done a lot with his musical life, Jackson intends to do more, particularly as a leader or in a featured role with the MJQ. He’s got another solo project, “The Bebop Band”--spotlighting the music of Parker and Gillespie--due out soon on East-West, and he’s busy composing all the music for an upcoming MJQ date, another first. “As a dedicated artist, you can’t be too easily satisfied. As soon as you achieve what you thought was a goal, you immediately set another one. You never stop. Once you tell yourself, ‘I got it,’ it’s over.”