Home » Jazz Musicians » Milt Buckner

Milt Buckner

A colorful and versatile musician who was comfortable while on the piano, or stretching out on the Hammond organ. Milt Buckner was also quite the character and very much the jovial entertainer.

Orphaned as a child, Buckner was taught music by an uncle in Detroit. He started playing piano and arranging for local bands such as The Harlem Aristocrats and The Dixie Whangdoodles - by the late 1920s. After joining drummer Don Cox's band in 1932, Buckner began experimenting with patterned parallel chords, becoming famous as the earliest purveyor of what came to be known as "block chords" or "locked hands" style;, he then attracted the attention of McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1934 for whom he wrote arrangements.

Buckner continued working with the local Detroit groups of Don Cox and Jimmy Raschel, until he joined Lionel Hampton's big band as pianist and arranger in November 1941, acting as pianist and staff arranger, and remained there for seven years, where his recorded arrangements included “Tempo's Birthday,” “Slide Hamp Slide,” “Overtime,” “Rockin' In Rhythm,” and the perennial “Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop,” and “Hamp's Boogie Woogie.” Hamp's free-wheeling orchestra suited Milt admirably; the on-stage histrionics, the jump and swing repertoire and the musical and visual appeal of the band fit his charact er like a glove.

While with Hampton, Milt broke away sporadically to pursue his own career on Savoy Records from 1946 to 1948, after getting an early taste recording a lone side under his own name for Hamp's Hamp-Tone label. Recording with a small quartet or quintet, he achieved sufficient success to quit Hamp's band in 1948 at which time Milt quickly formed his own orchestra which recorded for MGM Records.

Around this time that Buckner began to concentrate on playing organ, and he worked as a solo or in harness with Jo Jones, Sam Woodyard and Illinois Jacquet, frequently returning to Hampton for record and concert dates.

Milt returned to Hampton in 1950 for another two years during which time he switched from piano to organ - after being influenced by Wild Bill Davis' playing on Louis Jordan's “Tamburitza Boogie” - an instrument he was largely to stick with for the rest of his life.

As a jazz organist he recorded for Regent (1952), Scooter (1952-53), Brunswick (1953), Capitol (1955-57), Argo (1959-61) and Bethlehem (1962-63) before recording extensively in Europe throughout the 1960s and 1970s for the likes of Black & Blue, whe re he was the resident session man for visiting musicians. He also did recordings for MPS and Jazz Odyssey.

Read more

Tags

Recording

Backgrounder: Milt Bucker's 'Block Chords Parade'

Backgrounder: Milt Bucker's 'Block Chords Parade'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

What are block chords? That's when a pianist (or guitarist) plays a melody with chords rather than individual notes. This is done with the top note of the chord playing the melody line with chord notes below creating the harmony. Block chords are often played on piano with a “locked hands" technique, when both hands play block chords in unison or lock-step. To illustrate, let's visit with the great Dick Hyman... As Dick notes, Milt Buckner pioneered the block-chords sound, ...

1

Video / DVD

Milt Buckner: Locked Hands

Milt Buckner: Locked Hands

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Yesterday I posted on Go Power!, saxophonist Illinois Jacquet's 1966 album with Milt Buckner on organ and Alan Dawson on drums. In the post, I mentioned that Buckner had created the locked-hands technique on the piano keyboard. Unleashing this difficult approach requires that both hands play the same chords with the song's melody note up on top. Thrilling for the listener, challenging for the player. Buckner (above) began playing this way on the piano while with Lionel Hampton in the ...

261

Music Industry

Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade

Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

When pianist Billy Taylor asked fellow keyboard legend George Shearing in 1984 how he developed the “Shearing Sound," Shearing said he sandwiched the styles of two different musicians. Recalled Shearing: “When I came back to the States [in late 1947], I went to all of the big talent agencies. They seemed determined to make another Alec Templeton out of me. But I didn't want to do what I had already done. [Audiences] didn't need the English Art Tatum, or the English ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Block Chords Parade

Black and Blue Records
2002

buy

Milt Buckner

Progressive Records
1996

buy

Boogie Woogie USA

Qwest Records
1977

buy

Midnight Slows Vol 6

Qwest Records
1977

buy

Green Onions

Qwest Records
1975

buy

Videos

Similar

Jimmy Smith
organ, Hammond B3
Jimmy McGriff
organ, Hammond B3
Cab Calloway
composer / conductor
Henry Mancini
composer / conductor
Wild Bill Davis
organ, Hammond B3
Big John Patton
organ, Hammond B3
Don Patterson
organ, Hammond B3
Dave Pell
saxophone
Bill Doggett
organ, Hammond B3
Sam Butera
saxophone
Walter Wanderley
organ, Hammond B3

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.