Album of the Day

As vibraphonist for the Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson represented a more traditional approach to jazz than did John Coltrane at the beginning of the 1960s – the latter's “sheets of sound” approach placed the tenor saxophonist closer to the avant-garde. Yet somehow the pair's Atlantic album BAGS & TRANE was a match made in heaven. Recorded 60 years ago today, this outstanding collaboration was produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and engineered by Tom Dowd; its five tracks were supplemented by three bonus cuts in the digital era. MJQ drummer Connie Kay, bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Hank Jones provide remarkably sympathetic support on BAGS & TRANE, and the playing on such tracks as “Stairway To The Stars” is among the most evocative of Coltrane's career.