Modern Jazz Quartet: 40 Years of MJQ

40 Years of MJQ, presents the Modern Jazz Quartet’s (MJQ) Fortieth Anniversary Concert, showcasing the signature sounds that ensured the group’s lasting legacy in the history of music. Recorded live in Germany, the Quartet, performing the timeless compositions of their musical mastermind John Lewis, is accompanied by the lush sound of a full string orchestra. 40 Years after leaving Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band (where the MJQ originated as Gillespie’s rhythm section), pianist and composer John Lewis, bassist Percy Heath, vibraphonist extraordinaire Milt Jackson, and drummer Mickey Roker (subbing for original member Connie Kay) perform in this unforgettable musical celebration that exemplifies the dignity of Jazz. In this spectacular, live, full-length concert performance, the MJQ performs with the soul and the skill that defines the Jazz spirit, but you’ll hear the band’s love for classical European music reflected in gems like Three Windows (medley from the movie No Sun in Venice). “Classical” seems to be a key term here, for the Quartet’s musicians grew up inspired by the giants of classical American Jazz such as Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, and Sid Catlett. “…can quench the thirst of almost every jazz fan.” – The Washington Post This Album 40 Years of MJQ, exemplifies the beautiful flux between Classical and Jazz music in a fashion that has assured its lasting legacy in the world of Jazz, and stands as a venerable example of how tradition and innovation can merge into a deeply beautiful sound. Song Selection: Three Windows (from No Sun in Venice) (John Lewis) 3:51 The Golden Striker (from “No Sun in Venice”) (John Lewis) 3:43 Sketch (John Lewis) 5:54 Alexander’s Fugue (John Lewis) 5:27 Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez (John Lewis, Joaquin Rodrigo) 5:01 A Day in Dubrovnik Suite: Afternoon (John Lewis) 4:45 A Day in Dubrovnik Suite: Night (John Lewis) 7:53 A Day in Dubrovnik Suite: Morning (John Lewis) 4:28  John Lewis: Piano Percy Heath: Bass Milt Jackson: Vibes Mickey Roker: Drums String Orchestra: Kammerorchester Arcata Total Time: 41 minutes About the Modern Jazz Quartet: American musical ensemble noted for delicate percussion sonorities, innovations in jazz forms, and consistently high-performance standards sustained over a long career. For most of its existence the group was composed of Milt Jackson (original name Milton Jackson; January 1, 1923, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.—d. October 9, 1999, New York, New York), vibes; John Lewis (in full John Aaron Lewis; May 3, 1920, La Grange, Illinois, U.S.—d. March 29, 2001, New York, New York), piano; Percy Leroy Heath (April 30, 1923, Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.—d. April 28, 2005, Southampton, New York), bass; and Connie Kay (original name Conrad Henry Kirnon; April 27, 1927, Tuckahoe, New York, U.S.—d. November 30, 1994, New York), drums. Jackson, Lewis, and drummer Kenny Clarke were pioneer bop musicians who had played together in the 1948 Dizzy Gillespie big band and pursued separate careers before adding Heath to form the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1952. Its early career was distinguished by introducing Lewis compositions such as “Django” and “Concorde.” Clarke’s departure in 1955 resulted in a loss of some of the group’s rhythmic energy; his replacement was Kay, whose playing helped place the interplay of Jackson and Lewis in the foreground. Jackson, whose dynamic sensitivity and technical mastery brought a rare expressive quality to his instrument, was a virtuoso of melody, rhythmic detail, and swing. Lewis accompanied him not with the customary harmonic punctuations but rather with riffs (repeated melodic patterns) and melodic variations in a rhythmically simplified style that resulted in unique extended counterpoint; Heath, an uncommonly melodic bassist, and Kay accompanied. Lewis’s interest in baroque forms led him to compose fugues for the MJQ, and his classical-music-inspired works such as The Comedy (1962) and the film score No Sun in Venice (1957) are among the group’s successes. Popular and jazz standards and Jackson’s compositions were also part of its repertoire; in the 1980s it played, less successfully, arrangements of Duke Ellington compositions. In its album Third Stream Music (1957) the MJQ is joined by a string quartet and others in extended works by jazz and classical composers. Its members also pursued separate careers during periods when the MJQ was not performing together, and in 1974 it disbanded. It began reuniting for annual tours in the 1980s. Following Kay’s death in 1994, Albert (“Tootie”) Heath, brother of Percy, became the MJQ’s drummer.