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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMODERN JAZZ QUARTETCombo formed '51 by composer- pianist John Lewis, bassist Percy Heath, Milt Jackson on vibes and drummer Kenny Clarke, who all played in Dizzy Gillespie's big bands '45--50. The great bop pioneer Clarke was succeeded '55 by Connie Kay (b Conrad Henry Kirnon, 27 April '27, Tuckahoe NY; d 30 Nov. '94). Kay was a key member of the Atlantic house band early-to-mid-'50s, playing on many R&B hits and later played on early Van Morrison albums; his delicacy and precision in the MJQ confirmed him as a first-class all- rounder. The group's instrumentation allowed chamber music of wit and elegance, the additional element of swing making it one of the most popular groups of the post-war years. Lewis met Clarke in the US Army; his Toccata for Trumpet and Orchestra was played by Gillespie at Carnegie Hall '47; he played/arr. with Miles Davis 'birth of the cool' combo '49. Lewis, Jackson and Clarke recorded with Ray Brown as Milt Jackson Quartet on Gillespie's Dee-Gee label mid-'51, with Heath and Lou Donaldson as Milt Jackson Quintet on Blue Note early '52 (incl. early version of Jackson's 'Bags' Groove'), then as the MJQ: reissued Prestige tracks '52--5 incl. LPs Django with Clarke, Concorde with Kay on Fantasy. The idea was to present the music with some class, but it didn't always work; some people complained that they weren't loud enough, and when they appeared at the historic Donaueschingen jazz concert '57 in Germany they were still surprised to find an attentive audience. They recorded almost exclusively for Atlantic '56--74, incl. Fontessa '56, Live At Music Inn '56 (incl. clarinet by Jimmy Giuffre on some tracks), songs from Lewis's score for Roger Vadim's film No Sun In Venice '57 (aka One Never Knows, When The Devil Drives, Sait-on Jamais?) incl. 'The Golden Striker', and one of their best studio LPs, The Modern Jazz Quartet '57, incl. a ballad medley, Gillespie's 'Night In Tunisia', one of several versions of Lewis's 'La Ronde' (this one featuring Kay; the tune first written for Gillespie as 'Two Bass Hit'), and a wonderful version of 'Bags' Groove', an exercise in dynamics, hard swing with subtlety. Other LPs: with Sonny Rollins at Music Inn '58, compilation Pyramid '59, Third Stream Music '59 (with Beaux Arts String Quartet, Gunther Schuller cond.), two-disc European Concert '60 (originally on single LPs), LP with large orchestra '60 cond. by Schuller, The Comedy '61 (Lewis's impressions of commedia dell'arte, vocal on 'La Cantatrice' by actress Diahann Carroll), Lonely Woman '62, The Sheriff '63, Collaboration '64 (with Laurindo Almeida), Blues At Carnegie Hall '66, Plastic Dreams '71 (additional instruments, Lewis playing harpsichord on some tracks), The Legendary Profile '72, Blues On Bach '73. In A Crowd '73 from the Monterey festival was later on a Douglas CD. The Last Concert '74 was when they quit, but they reunited on Together Again! '82 at Montreux and Together Again 1984, both on Pablo; Three Windows '87 with NY Chamber Symphony (prod. by Nesuhi Ertegun) found them back on Atlantic; For Ellington '88 was on Ertegun's new EastWest label. A 40th Anniversary Celebration '93 on Atlantic had many guests; MJQ40 was a four-CD compilation. Other LPs incl. Longing For The Continent '58 on Denon, with Swingle Singers on Philips '66, Under The Jasmin Tree '67, Space '69 on Beatles' Apple label; MJQ appeared on UA '58. See entries for Lewis, Jackson, the Heath bros. |