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Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was a major jazz institution, a band that, counting a seven-year “vacation,” lasted 43 years. During a time when jazz musicians were stereotyped as unreliable, rarely sober and erratic, the MJQ played at concert halls while wearing tuxedos. They are not known to have ever been late, missed a gig, or disappointed an audience.
The Modern Jazz Quartet’s evolution began in the Dizzy Gillespie big band of 1946. Due to the complexity of the charts and the strain that it caused in the trumpet section, Gillespie featured his rhythm section on an occasional number. Vibraphonist Milt Jackson (1923-1999), pianist John Lewis (1920-2001), bassist Ray Brown (1926-2002) and drummer Kenny Clarke (1914-1985) made for a very self-sufficient group and they discovered that they had a great deal of musical chemistry. That was not too surprising considering that Jackson was the new pacesetter among vibraphonists, Lewis offered a sparse and bluesy but boppish alternative to Bud Powell, Brown was a major new bass soloist, and Clarke had revolutionized the drums.
A few years passed and in 1951 the Milt Jackson Quartet was formed with those four players. Brown soon left to join Oscar Peterson and was succeeded by Percy Heath (1923-2005), the oldest of the Heath brothers who had also worked with Dizzy Gillespie and the other bop greats. The MJQ made their recording debut in 1952 for the Prestige label and their first successes were for that label.
In 1955 the Modern Jazz Quartet had their one personnel change. Kenny Clarke, feeling restricted by the format, departed and was replaced by Connie Kay (1927-1994). Kay, who had played with Lester Young, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker, was perfect for the role as drummer with the MJQ. His emphasis on creating quiet sounds while keeping time fit Lewis’s conception perfectly.
The MJQ spent the majority of its existence recording for the Atlantic label and it was one of the most successful jazz groups of the 1950s and ’60s. By 1974, however, Milt Jackson was itching to expand on his own solo career and he quit the group. Since replacing Jackson was unthinkable, the MJQ called it quits after a final round of sold-out concerts. Each of the musicians remained active, with Percy Heath joining his siblings in the Heath Brothers, Connie Kay working with Benny Goodman, John Lewis heading his own combos, and Milt Jackson recording constantly with all-stars on the Pablo label.
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The Modern Jazz Quartet: From Residency To Legacy
by Kyle Simpler
There are plenty of fictional stories about utopian societies where life is good and everybody gets along. Of course, the word utopia literally means “no place," suggesting that an actual utopia is nothing more than an illusion, but that hasn't stopped people from trying. Although there are many utopian societies that didn't work, there are a few real world attempts that have come close. One such example could be The Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts. Even though it wasn't a ...
read moreChardonnay meets The Modern Jazz Quartet
by Kristen Lee Sergeant
Kristen talks about The Modern Jazz Quartet, Pence Ranch chardonnay, the importance of glassware, performance space, and the difficulty of respectability. ...
read moreEase: Chardonnay meets The Modern Jazz Quartet
by Kristen Lee Sergeant
I'm thrilled to have you back for the second month of “Jazz & Juice“--thanks to all of you who made April's adventure all the more fun with your comments on the article, video, and podcast. I'm excited to share this month's music and wine with you without further ado! EaseI've found that the biggest misconception about any art or craft is that it must be difficult to grasp in order to be considered seriously. As students of a ...
read moreThe Modern Jazz Quartet and the Third Stream (1956 - 1961)
by Russell Perry
As the Modern Jazz Quartet, members of which were once Dizzy Gillespie's rhythm section in the 1940s, moved into the 1960s, they continued to swing in their own quiet way, even as their music director, pianist John Lewis, explored the third stream, a synthesis of jazz and classical music. Having been founded in 1952, the MJQ was active as a unit until 1974, then reunited periodically for another twenty years, until drummer Connie Kay's death in 1994. Playlist ...
read moreModern Jazz Quartet: The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
The Modern Jazz Quartet The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings of The Modern Jazz Quartet 1956-64 Mosaic Records 2011 They were diverse in talent and temperament. John Lewis, the quiet and determined westerner, who told sound stories with his linear and logical blues-based pianisms; Milt “Bags" Jackson, the baggy eyed, Motor City vibraharp virtuoso; Percy Heath, the Philly bassist with deep, in-the-pocket basslines; Kenny Clarke, the bomb-dropping blacksmith of the beat from Pittsburgh; and Connie ...
read moreModern Jazz Quartet: The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64
by John Kelman
The Modern Jazz Quartet The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings of The Modern Jazz Quartet 1956-64 Mosaic Records 2011 Even now, nearly sixty years later, it seems improbable that a group which came together as the rhythm section for one of the hottest players in bebop's genesis era, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, could morph into a standalone group that was the epitome of grace, elegance and cool dignity. But that's exactly what happened when Gillespie recruited ...
read moreModern Jazz Quartet: 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival
by Graham L. Flanagan
For nearly half a century, the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) endured as one of the most well-renowned ensembles in jazz. The original MJQ came together in 1946 as the rhythm section in Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra: Milt Jackson on vibes and John Lewis on piano, as well as bassist Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke. Brown and Clarke were replaced early on by Percy Heath and Connie Kay, respectively, but Lewis and Jackson would remain mainstays of the MJQ all the ...
read moreModern Jazz Quartet: Nearly Forgotten
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Time has a way of sweeping some jazz stars away while leaving others top of mind. One supergroup that seems to be disappearing from the public consciousness is the Modern Jazz Quartet. In the 1950s, when a more classically influenced style known as chamber jazz became popular at the start of the LP era, the MJQ began to attract attention. The group's esteem and status only grew in the late 1950s and early 1960s as their gentle, erudite music attracted ...
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MJQ: On the Road, 1964 + '61
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The Modern Jazz Quartet wasn't big on obvious excitement. They tended to be subtle and hushed, more introspective than explosive. But the more carefully you listen, the more you'll hear the tender swing and beauty of pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay. Here's the MJQ in London in April 1964... And here's the MJQ abroad in the 1960s, thanks to Milan Simich. I can't confirm that this is 1961 or Japan, given that ...
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MJQ in Germany, 1956-58
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Ten years after the end of World War II, Germany was still furiously rebuilding. Aided by American dollars, West Germany was eager to shore up its infrastructure and re-invent itself as a modern, democratic nation. The faster it was integrated into the West, the better its chances of staving off Soviet and East German influences and incursions. Cultural exposure and diversity was key to helping German society through its transformation. By 1956, the middle class was absorbing American music and ...
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The Modern Jazz Quartet - Bluesology: The Atlantic Years 1956-1988 (Warner Archives, 2009)
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Music and More by Tim Niland
The Modern Jazz Quartet had a lengthy run of successful albums and concerts and their most well known work was done for the Atlantic Records label during the 1950's and 1960's. At this time, the core members of the group had solidified: Milt Jackson on vibraphone, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Connie Kay on drums, and became a very popular recording and touring unit that mixed the Holy Trinity of Jazz: bebop, blues and ballads with ...
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Scanner and the Post Modern Jazz Quartet - Blink of an Eye
Source:
Something Else!
By Mark Saleski The area of electro-acoustic music encompasses so many different sounds and constructions that the label itself is nearly meaningless. As the name implies, it is music created with both acoustic and electronic instruments. On my list of favorites are the Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum collaboration featuring synthesizers and contrabass clarinet, and Alvin Lucier's I Am Sitting In A Room. This pairing is instructive if only to illustrate that the two musics sound nothing like each other. The first ...
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Scanner with The Post Modern Jazz Quartet "Blink of an Eye" Available Now on Thirsty Ear Recordings
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Peter Gordon
The blending of jazz and electronics has been one of the more difficult musical challenges, as it attempts to humanize the machine or mechanize the free spirit of improvisation. It's a very tricky balance to get right, as they can be on a collision course with each other. British artist Robin Rimbaud traverses the experimental terrain between sound, space, image and form, creating absorbing, multi-layered sound pieces that twist technology in unconventional ways. From his early controversial work using found ...
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Percy Heath: Modern Jazz Quartet bassist
Source:
All About Jazz
Born: April 30, 1923 in Wilmington, NC Died: April 28, 2005 in Southampton, NY
By Todd S. Jenkins
Bassist Percy Heath was the Modern Jazz Quartet’s secret weapon, perhaps the most subtle member of an outfit known for its hip delicacy. An ideal rhythm section partner, and the last surviving member of the MJQ, “Big P” died of bone cancer on April 28, 2005, two days shy of his 82nd birthday.
Heath was the eldest of three musical ...
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The Modern Jazz Quartet/Laurindo Almeida's Collaboration Reissued On Label M
Source:
All About Jazz
In 1963, Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida joined the Modern Jazz Quartet for a performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, sparking a brief, but bountiful relationship. The results would include a European concert tour the following year (1964) and the brilliant Atlantic Records date Collaboration, now being reissued for the first time on CD by Label M.
During this period in The Modern Jazz Quartets history, the group consisting of John Lewis on piano, Milt Jackson on vibes, Percy Heath on ...
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John Lewis: Musical Architect of the Modern Jazz Quartet
Source:
All About Jazz
John Lewis was an important pianist, composer and educator in his own right, but will always be best remembered as the pianist and musical director of the most successful jazz group of its era, the Modern Jazz Quartet. Although the group launched and ran as a collective, Lewis was responsible for the unique fusion of jazz and classical music which characterised the MJQ in an existence which spanned five decades. If vibraharpist Milt Jackson, who died ...
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Modern Jazz Quartet
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
Formed: 1952
