Modern Jazz Quartet

Seminal and long-lived (1952-1974) Jazz ensemble which grew out of the rhythm section of the Dizzy Gillespie orchestra and had its first incarnation as the Milt Jackson Quartet in 1951. The original members of the group were John Lewis on piano, Milt Jackson on vibes, Ray Brown on double bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. By 1955, Percy Heath had replaced Brown and Connie Kay, Clarke. Over the years, many other musicians 'guested' with the MJQ, or were temporarily integrated into the unit. These included, among others Laurindo Almeida, Jimmy Giuffre, Sonny Rollins and Paul Desmond. The MJQ also performed with the Beaux Arts String Quartet conducted by composer and horn player Gunther Schuller, as well as with the string band Third Stream Music. The MJQ cemented their seriousness and 'respectability' as a more cerebral jazz ensemble by being invited to perform at the most prestigious clubs (such as Birdland,New York) concert and recital halls (eg. Carnegie Hall). Under the musical direction of Lewis who took over the mantle of leader, the cooperative adopted a formal approach to jazz (the players were always attired in their tuxedos), playing a relaxed and always swinging combination of improvised bebop and swing in a style which was uniquely their own, always approachable in terms of rhythm and melody. The disciplined Lewis had the most creative input, by writing very tight, precise arrangements for each of the four instruments. He was also instrumental in leading the group towards a style somewhat akin to an East Coast version of 'cool'. His long-standing interest in classical music (particularly Bach) was also reflected in his compositions of such pieces as "Vendome" and "The Queen's Fancy". Then, there were also a number of original compositions, most importantly "Django" (a salute to Django Reinhardt) and "Delauney's Dilemma", as well as "Bag's Groove", composed by the most improvisational member of the quartet, Jackson. By 1974, Jackson felt his free-wheeling soloist style ham-strung by the structured arrangements and left the MJQ, causing it to break up. However, seven year later he caved in to pressure from the other members of the group and they reformed for a concert tour of Japan. They stayed together as a part-time cooperative over the following years and released several more recordings under the Pablo and Atlantic labels. While some detractors have criticized the MJQ as 'chamber jazz', as too subtle or sanitized (bucking, as they did, the trend towards free jazz prevalent at the time), the group's longevity was proof of its enduring popularity with mainstream audiences.