Concorde The Modern Jazz Quartet

• 1 Ralph's New Blues 07:12
• 2 All Of You 04:32
• 3 I'll Remember April 05:10
• 4 Gershwin Medley 07:58
• 5 Softly As In A Morning Sunrise 08:00
• 6 Concorde 03:38
• Total Runtime 36:30

Info zu Concorde

„It is boom time for fans of the Modern Jazz Quartet, with reissues coming thick and fast. This is the second MJQ reissue I have reviewed this year. Concorde, now reappearing in the 'Rudy Van Gelder Remasters' series, was originally recorded in 1955, soon after Connie Kay joined as the group's drummer, replacing Kenny Clarke and starting a long period of stability for this particular personnel.

I touched on the history of the Modern Jazz Quartet's in my former review but it is interesting to note that the group's pianist and main composer, John Lewis, was part of the 'Third Stream' experiments of the 1960s, which tried to mix jazz with classical idioms. 'Chamber jazz' was already a well-established genre dating back at least to the 1930s' Benny Goodman small groups or those led by John Kirby. Indeed, Kirby's repertoire included jazzed-up versions of pieces by such composers as Grieg, Beethoven and Donizetti. At any rate, this tendency may explain the 'classical' elements in much of the Modern Jazz Quartet's work. And the quartet was much more successful than many other attempts at Third Stream, since they never lost the spirit of jazz - thanks especially to Milt Jackson's bluesy vibraphone playing. He blended perfectly with the 'classical' lines established by John Lewis's arrangements.

The extrovert drumming of Kenny Clarke tended to keep the MJQ closer to jazz than the classics, but the arrival of the gentler Connie Kay led the way for a subtler approach. Several of the tunes on this album have the quality of chamber jazz - even the opening Ralph's New Blues, composed by Milt Jackson. It is essentially a straightforward blues but it opens with structured interplay between vibes, piano and bass and, as the sleeve-note says, is 'based on a modal motive'.

Elements of counterpoint are also present in Cole Porter's All of You, which has the thoughtful pace that the MJQ so often achieved. In contrast, I'll Remember April is taken at a breakneck tempo, although with the piano sketching in touches of counterpoint behind the vibraphone. This exciting track belies the image of the quartet as strait-laced and introverted. The Gershwin medley returns us to gentle thoughtfulness, with Percy Heath's bass stating the melody of Soon and definite classical hints in John Lewis's treatment of Love Walked In.

Counterpoint is present right at the start of Softly As in a Morning Sunrise, with Lewis playing a counter-melody behind Milt's vibes. And the closing track Concorde is a fugue which manages to be catchy as well as complex.“ (Tony Augarde, MusicWeb International)

John Lewis, piano
Milt Jackson, vibraphone
Percy Heath, bass
Connie Kay, drums

Recorded in New York, New York on July 2, 1955

Digitally remastered

The Modern Jazz Quartet were incredibly important in the development of jazz in the 1950s, and although they officially disbanded in 1974, they’ve reformed for both concerts and recordings several times since then, making them now an “evergreen” jazz band. It was not always so.

The Modern Jazz Quartet was originally formed as the Milt Jackson Quartet (which, conveniently, had the same initials, MJQ) and consisted of Jackson on vibraphone, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Of these, Clarke was the veteran of the group, a drummer who had been at Minton’s after-hours club in 1939, where Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Christian and Clarke invented “bebop” or bop, a harmonically advanced and challenging kind of new jazz.

Clarke served in the Army during World War II, and there he met and became friends with John Lewis, who was fresh out of the University of New Mexico where he’d studied anthropology and music. In 1946 both joined the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, the only bop big band, and there they met vibist Milt Jackson. Until then only two jazz musicians were well known for playing this electrified xylophone, Lionel Hampton (famous for his work in the ’30s with Benny Goodman and a band leader himself in the ’40s) and Red Norvo (whose early ’50s trio with guitarist Tal Farlowe and bassist Charles Mingus catapulted him from the swing era into modern jazz). Jackson was the first to adapt the instrument to a bop context. And also in Gillespie’s band they met Ray Brown, a bassist who appears on some early MJQ recordings.

In 1948 and 1949 Lewis and Clarke were also participants in the Miles Davis Nonet sessions for Capitol which were later dubbed Birth of the Cool. The group, nominally fronted by Davis, was a composer/arranger’s band, showcasing the writing of Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis, Gil Evans and John Carisi. Lewis contributed two originals and arranged three other pieces in the band’s repertoire. During this same period Jackson was making recordings for Blue Note, Prestige and Savoy, all small but important jazz labels.

The MJQ was formed in 1952; its first recording was the 10-inch Prestige album, Modern Jazz Quartet with Milt Jackson (PRLP-160), released in 1953, which is now valued at from $60 to $150, depending on condition. This was followed the same year by Modern Jazz Quartet, Volume 2 (PRLP-170), another 10-inch LP which has the same value. In 1955 the MJQ made two 12-inch albums, Concorde for Prestige (PRLP-7005) ($30 to $75), and Modern Jazz Quartet for Savoy (MG-12046) ($20 to $50). That year drummer Clarke dropped out and was replaced by Connie Kay, setting the personnel in place for the rest of the MJQ’s career.

But 1956 was the year in which everything came together for the group, and this was due to their signing with Atlantic Records. Atlantic was the reflection of the Ertegun brothers’ enthusiasms. The sons of Turkish diplomats, they loved R&B and jazz. Atlantic recorded Ray Charles, the Clovers, Ruth Brown, and a number of R&B groups for singles, and established an ambitious jazz program on LPs. Unlike Prestige and Savoy (and, to a lesser extent, Blue Note) – labels known for recording jam sessions – Atlantic spent time on preparations for each album, and many of Atlantic’s jazz albums were ambitious projects. (Source: www.holeintheweb.com)

Booklet für Concorde