signed THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET - Fontessa LP RVG Autographed EX/VG++ VANGELDER
$
50
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Description
A beautiful, fully signed stereo pressing. Cover signed boldly by John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, and Connie Kay.
Jacket is VG++ (Tiny bit of wear on back cover - see pics)
LP is EX.
THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET - FONTESSA
ATLANTIC RECORDS SD 1231
Red & Green labels
The Modern Jazz Quartet – Fontessa – Atlantic 1231 (1956)
(John Lewis – piano; Milt Jackson – vibraharp; Percy Heath – double bass; Connie Kay – drums)
As members of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, John Lewis and Milt Jackson were establishing a reputation as premier jazz instrumentalists. John Lewis was revered for his inclination toward classical music and its organic integration with jazz. Milt Jackson was a fierce instrumentalist, inspired by bebop. After forming the John Lewis Quartet in 1952, the beginning of a four-decade prominence on the jazz scene was launched. Eventually, the “final” lineup was established with the addition of Percy Heath and Connie Kay. Under the name Modern Jazz Quartet, the ensemble were adept at recording their own albums (on various labels) and collaborating with a variety of jazz icons (Ben Webster, Jimmy Giuffre, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins), Their ability to master improvisation and polyphony was unprecedented. They were adept at restrained, but inspired instrumental jams. Their earliest successes, “Django” and “Bags Groove” have become jazz standards. The Modern Jazz Quartet enjoyed various resurgences throughout their illustrious career, but they were at a creative apex in the 50’s with their catalog on Verve and Atlantic.
The recording was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder and John Kraus. Side One opens with a Lewis composition, “Versailles”. With a triangle for percussion, Lewis and Jackson play together and intermingle on the melody. The dual-pronged translation mirrors the distinctive, contrasting styles of Lewis (precise, serious) and Jackson (improvisational, bluesy). Heath’s understated double bass fits in perfectly. Perhaps the unique artistry of MJQ is best represented by the ruminative cover of “Angel Eyes”. With a single-note underlying vibraharp and triangle, Lewis executes his graceful, but complex piano notations. The melodic context has a sultry cinematic resonance. Lewis’ poignancy complements Jackson’s energetic be-bop phrasing.
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