Milton "Bags" Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999) was an American j… Read Full Bio ↴Milton "Bags" Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999) was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with several hard bop and post-bop players.

A very expressive player, Jackson differentiated himself from other vibraphonists in his attention to variations on harmonics and rhythm. He was particularly fond of the twelve-bar blues at slow tempos. He preferred to set the vibraphone's oscillator to a low 3.3 revolutions per second (as opposed to Lionel Hampton's speed of 10 revolutions per second) for a more subtle vibrato. On occasion, Jackson would also sing and play piano professionally.

He was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie, who hired him for his sextet in 1946. He quickly acquired experience working with the most important figures in jazz of the era, including John Coltrane, Woody Herman, Howard McGhee, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker. In the Gillespie big band one of his jobs was to play in a quartet with John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke while the horn section took a break from the demanding high-register horn parts. This group became the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ), which had a long independent career of 20 years until disbanding in 1974 over financial problems (though it reformed in 1981). Jackson then toured alone, performing in various small combos.

From the mid-70s to the mid-80s, Jackson recorded for Norman Granz's Pablo Records, including the classic, "Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company" (1983), featuring Jackson with J.J. Johnson on trombone, Ray Brown on bass, backed by Tom Ranier on piano, guitarist John Collins, and drummer Roy McCurdy.

He also guested on recordings by many leading jazz, blues and soul artists, such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, etc.

His composition "Bags' Groove" ("Bags" was his nickname, from the 'bags' under his eyes from staying up late) is a jazz standard. He has been featured on the NPR radio program Jazz Profiles.

All Too Soon
Milt Jackson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

All too soon
We had to part
The moment you had touched my heart
And with you went my dream

All too soon
All too sweet
Was our affair

And you put all the sweetness there

What a shame that it's gone
All too soon
I knew the strange delights
That only you in love could bring

And as I reached the heights
The bottom fell from everything
You should know as well as I
Our love deserves another try

For we whispered goodbye

All too soon
Too soon

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of All Too Soon describe the feeling of a lost love that seemed to have disappeared too quickly. The song begins with the line "All too soon, we had to part," indicating that the singer is regretting a break-up that happened too abruptly. The phrase "the moment you had touched my heart" refers to a time when he/she was truly in love and felt fully alive. The line "and with you went my dream" suggests that the singer had a deep longing for the relationship to continue, but that their dreams were shattered when they parted. The second verse takes on a more upbeat tone, reflecting on the happy times that they shared together. The phrase "all too sweet, was our affair" speaks to the tenderness and joy of being in love with someone special. In the end, the singer realizes that their love deserves another chance, as they both had a deep connection that ended too soon.

Line by Line Meaning

All too soon
It was all too brief and fleeting

We had to part
We were forced to separate

The moment you had touched my heart
The instant you won my love

And with you went my dream
And all my hopes and aspirations went away with you

All too sweet
It was all too enjoyable and pleasurable

Was our affair
Our relationship was very satisfying

And you put all the sweetness there
You were the source of all the joy, delight, and pleasure

What a shame that it's gone
It's truly unfortunate that our relationship ended

I knew the strange delights
I experienced the unique and thrilling pleasures

That only you in love could bring
That could only be brought by your love

And as I reached the heights
As I attained the peak of happiness and success