The Modern Jazz Quartet

The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Last Concert (1975/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:31:18 minutes | 3,59 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino Atlantic

Recorded at the Avery Fisher Hall in New York on November 25, 1974, The Modern Jazz Quartet comprised of vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath, pianist John Lewis and drummer Connie Kay are at their very best. Performing with their distinctive bebop, cool jazz and third-stream sound, a blend of jazz and classical influences, the quartet performs some of their greatest hits including “Bags’ Groove,” “Summertime,” “A Night in Tunisia” and “Django.” This audiophile recording by one of jazz’s finest small ensembles is an essential for any jazz collection.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Django (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster) (1956/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 38:43 minutes | 245 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

Django, originally released in 1956 and features some of the best playing by The Modern Jazz Quintet in their discography. The album’s sessions took place between 1953 and 1955, mostly recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. All original tunes are by John Lewis, and the album also includes a few songs by Dizzy Gillespie and George & Ira Gershwin.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Concorde (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster) (1955/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 36:29 minutes | 398 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Prestige

This is a set with the Modern Jazz Quartet. The choice of material and its order of appearance approximates a set you might hear if you were listening to the group at one of America’s leading jazz rooms. All the pieces display different use of contrapuntal technique. The record features works, “Ralph’s New Blues” which starts off the set, “All of You” from Cole Porter’s musical Silk Stockings, and Sigmund Romberg’s “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” from New Moon. Originally recorded in 1955, the six song set has been remastered by Concord’s original engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Lonely Woman (1962/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 43:45 minutes | 1,77 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino Atlantic

The formidable quartet of pianist John Lewis, bassist Percy Heath, vibraphonist Milt Jackson and drummer Connie Kay release a paramount recording with Lonely Woman. The distinguished performers pay tribute to jazz great Ornette Coleman with a chamber music inspired rendition of “Lonely Woman.” One of their strongest efforts, the album features spine-chilling improvisations and magnificent solos. Included are two exceptional compositions by Lewis entitled “Fugato” and “Trieste.” This pristine hi-res download is the only way to experience the historic quartet.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Comedy (1962/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 34:45 minutes | 387 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vinyle Numérique

“This is the type of album that led many bop purists to criticize the Modern Jazz Quartet (and John Lewis in particular) for being overly influenced by Western classical music. This album has seven of Lewis’ compositions, episodic works arranged in a suite that portrays characters from a fictional Italian comedy based in the 1500s. Singer Diahann Carroll guests fairly effectively on “La Cantatrice.” Despite being tied to a story, there are some strong improvisations from pianist Lewis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson on this unusual material. The release is not that essential but it is quite interesting.” (Scott Yanow, AMG)

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – European Concert, Vol. 2 (1960/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:47 minutes | 911 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vinyle Numérique

Volume 2 of a double-length live set from the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet – recorded in Scandinavia in 1960, almost as a summation of the group’s growing genius in the 50s! The tunes are a mix of John Lewis and Milt Jackson originals, plus other songs all given the wonderful MJQ twist – distilled into a sublime blend of piano, vibes, bass, and drums – all delivered with a sense of class, but never too much polish. Titles include “Pyramid”, “It Don’t Mean A Thing”, “The Cylinder”, “Round Midnight”, “Bag’s Groove”, and “Skating In Central Park”.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – European Concert, Vol. 1 (1960/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:15 minutes | 892 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vinyle Numérique

European Concert’ is perhaps the classic of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The MJQ presented its jazz in a formally structured context, much like a chamber music ensemble in a classical context. This album, perhaps more than any of their studio recordings, illustrates how the band uses concepts of time, space, beat, rhythm and change to weave them into a seamless whole, where melody is the basis of improvisation, but never really constrains it.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Third Stream Music (1960/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 35:42 minutes | 1,41 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino Atlantic

For the First Time – Digitally Released As High Resolution Downloads 192kHz/24bit Classic Jazz Titles from the Archives of Warner Bros Records, Reprise, Atlantic Records, and Rhino Records. Third Stream Music, a definitive recording from the illustrious quartet, fuses together the best of jazz and classical forms. The album is a rare glimpse of the ensemble’s collaboration with greats Jimmy Giuffre and Jim Hall. A celebrated work in an extensive anthology, the quartet creates rhythmic contours with their virtuoso jazz improvisations that will appeal to any music lover.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Sheriff (1964/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 30:42 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino Atlantic

The Modern Jazz Quartet plays a selection of original compositions and riveting standards on their release, The Sheriff. The album is infused with Latin and bossa nova rhythms. The work features four pieces by pianist John Lewis, including the blues-driven title track and the hauntingly beautiful “In a Crowd.” The quartet also performs works by Heitor Villa-Lobos (“Bachianas Brasileiras”) and Luiz Bonfa (“Carnival”). The quartet’s rich melodies and harmonious playing are strong and compelling.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays For Lovers (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:16:46 minutes | 1,35 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy Heath (double bass), and Connie Kay (drums). The group grew out of the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band from 1946 to 1948, which consisted of Lewis and Jackson along with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke. They recorded as the Milt Jackson Quartet in 1951 and Brown left the group, being replaced on bass by Heath. During the early-to-mid-1950s they became the Modern Jazz Quartet, Lewis became the group’s musical director, and they made several recordings with Prestige Records, including the original versions of their two best-known compositions, Lewis’s “Django” and Jackson’s “Bags’ Groove”. Clarke left the group in 1955 and was replaced as drummer by Connie Kay, and in 1956 they moved to Atlantic Records and made their first tour to Europe.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Comedy (1962/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 35:02 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino Atlantic

The Comedy is an overwhelmingly brilliant concept album from the historic quartet, comprised of bassist Percy Heath, drummer Connie Kay, pianist John Lewis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The swinging infusion features seven scintillating compositions revolving around distinctive characters from an Italian comedy. Beautifully composed and artfully arranged, the album features one of the quartet’s finest performances ever with “Pulcinella”.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Artistry Of The Modern Jazz Quartet (1986/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:04:24 minutes | 577 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist John Lewis, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Kenny Clarke were all veterans of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band when they decided to dedicate themselves to the cooperative venture of the Modern Jazz Quartet. This compilation brings together material from 1952 to 1955, culled from recordings originally done for the Prestige label, and it shows both the gestation of the group and its early accomplishments. While the group could still swing with the unbridled ferocity of bop, the quieter instrumentation and Lewis’s tunes were changing the music considerably. They were in the process of creating a new school of jazz, “cool,” and they were already creating a repertoire that would permanently augment the jazz songbook. Heard here are the original recordings of Lewis’s “Django,” a tribute to the gypsy guitarist that’s one of the most beautiful tunes in the canon, and Milt Jackson’s “Ralph’s New Blues.” Sigmund Romberg’s “Softly As in a Morning Sunrise” is here, too, in a rendition that would forever associate the tune with the group and make it a jazz standard in the process. By the final session, Connie Kay had replaced Clarke, giving the group the lighter touch that would help define its ultimate identity. Also included are four tracks from a session with Sonny Rollins, including a moving version of Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood”.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Pyramid (1960/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 36:46 minutes | 698 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

Pyramid is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in 1959-60 and released on the Atlantic label.

The Allmusic review states “The MJQ had become a jazz institution by this time, but they never lost their creative edge, and their performances (even on the remakes) are quite stimulating, enthusiastic, and fresh”.

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The Modern Jazz Quartet – Odds Against Tomorrow (1959/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 32:04 minutes | 440 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

Music from Odds Against Tomorrow (also released as Patterns) is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring interpretations of the soundtrack score for the 1959 motion picture Odds Against Tomorrow. It was released on United Artists Records, the label that the films’ production company United Artists had founded two years earlier for its film soundtracks. The album was recorded with the Modern Jazz Quartet and a 22-piece orchestra.

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