Modern Jazz Quartet, The

2 LPs ON 1 CD
 

The sides on this set were recorded in the summer of 1958, during the annual three-week workshop course under John Lewis direction at the Music Inn, a rambling, relaxed summer resort outside of Lenox, Mass. The MJQ was the Inn's jazz group in residence and the two sides which bring Sonny Rollins together with the Quartet, and marked the first meeting on records of these musicians since 1953.

Sonny was in one of his more whimsical and sardonic moods that night. Sonny's unwavering insistence on funny produces a very interesting by play of reactions in the Quartet. Milt and Connie buckle down to some real great, swinging playing. Percy occasionally joins the fun, as in Bags' Groove, where he plays, for instance, a typical «oom-pah» bass line with a funky swing. In Bags' Groove, when Rollins enters with humorously disjointed parodies of Milt's theme, John prods him soberly with beautiful sustained chords. John and Milt apply their unique talents via simultaneous improvisation. There are wonderful moments as the piano and vibe lines intertwine in the same register, causing delightful, subtle clashes that are the height of contrapuntal ingenuity—all the more intriguing because they are spontaneous.

Personnel:

Sonny Rollins (ts)
John Lewis (p)
Milt Jackson (vib)
Percy Heath (b)
Connie Kay (d)

Tracks #1-4 taken from original Stereo LP Sonny Rollins at music Inn / Teddy Edwards at Falcon's lair
with Joe Castro(Metrojazz E1011).

Tracks #5-10 from the album:The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn. Guest Artist: Sonny Rollins

Tracks:

01. Doxy
02. Limehouse Blues
03. I’ll Follow My Secret Heart
04. You Are Too Beautiful
05. Bags’ Groove
06. A Night in Tunisia
07. Medley: -Star Dust
-I Can’t Get Started
-Lover Man
08. Yardbird Suite
09. Midsömmer
10. Festival Sketch

Total time: 65:00 min. aprox.