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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Fontessa – Atlantic/Speakers Corner 

The Modern Jazz Quartet – Fontessa – Atlantic/Speakers Corner 

by | Apr 11, 2018 | Jazz CD Reviews

Mono jazz comes alive on re-mastered audiophile vinyl! The Modern Jazz Quartet – Fontessa – Atlantic 1231 (1956)/Speakers Corner (2018) 180-gram mono vinyl, 36:28 ****1/2: (John Lewis – piano; Milt Jackson – vibraharp; Percy Heath – double bass; Connie Kay – drums) As members of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, John Lewis and Milt Jackson were establishing a reputation as premier jazz instrumentalists. John Lewis was revered for his inclination toward classical music and its organic integration with jazz. Milt Jackson was a fierce instrumentalist, inspired by bebop. After forming the John Lewis Quartet in 1952, the beginning of a four-decade prominence on the jazz scene was launched. Eventually, the “final” lineup was established with the addition of Percy Heath and Connie Kay. Under the name Modern Jazz Quartet, the ensemble were adept at recording their own albums (on various labels) and collaborating with a variety of jazz icons (Ben Webster, Jimmy Giuffre, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins), Their ability to master improvisation and polyphony was unprecedented. They were adept at restrained, but inspired instrumental jams. Their earliest successes, “Django” and “Bags Groove” have become jazz standards. The Modern Jazz Quartet enjoyed various resurgences throughout their illustrious career, but they were at […]

Dizzy Gillespie & Friends – Concert Of The Century – Justin Time

Dizzy Gillespie & Friends – Concert Of The Century – Justin Time

by | Dec 18, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Dizzy Gillespie & Friends – Concert Of The Century – Justin Time Just 259-2, 60:12 ****: A singular aggregation in top-flight form. (Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet/ Ray Brown – bass/ Milt Jackson – vibes/ Hank Jones – piano/ James Moody – tenor sax & flute/ Philly Joe Jones – drums) For a time after World War II until the mid ‘50s, there was a vibrant jazz scene in Montreal Canada. Clubs like the Alberta Lounge, Café St Michel, Chez Parée, Rockheads Paradise, and the Latin Quarter flourished, thus attracting major international jazz players. Additionally Montreal’s fame grew when artists like Oscar Peterson, Paul Bley, Maynard Ferguson and Oliver Jones, each of whom had been born there, gained recognition in the jazz world. After this terrific period, jazz seemed to lose its way, and Montreal its lustre, due in no small measure to the anti-corruption crackdown that took place in the city which closed the clubs and most other night-life. This phase lasted until Expo 67 launched in the city.  But it was not until the mid ‘70s however, when an immigrant from French Guiana named Rouè-Doudou Boicel, opened a jazz club called The Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club, that the […]

The Modern Jazz Quartet – Lonely Woman – Atlantic (1962)/ Pure Pleasure (2016)

The Modern Jazz Quartet – Lonely Woman – Atlantic (1962)/ Pure Pleasure (2016)

by | Jul 26, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

A magnificent MJQ album in remastered vinyl sonics. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Lonely Woman [TrackList follows] – Atlantic PPAN SD1381 (1962)/Pure Pleasure Records (2016) – (4/16) *****: Lovingly remastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London, this is one of the best of the many MJQ albums out there.  John Lewis (who in the liner notes by Raymond Mouly in France is called the second greatest American composer after Ellington) decided to honor one of the last great innovators in jazz – Ornette Coleman – by having the first track and the title of this album reflect one of his great compositions. Lewis saw Coleman as the first jazz genius since Parker, Gillespie and Monk. While not following Coleman’s own harmolodic theory, Lewis emphasizes the  often overlooked strength of his compositional ideas. The MJQ adds a chamber music-like feeling to its interpretations of Lewis originals “Fugato” and “Trieste.” Mouly talks about being tempted to call the “Fugato” and some other tracks “third-stream-and-a-half” for the remarkable quartet arrangements of what were originally works for full orchestra. “Lamb, Leopard” is from Lewis’ original ballet Original Sin and is a total delight. Milt Jackson’s vibes are distinctly on the left […]