NDR 60 Years Jazz Edition Vol.4 / Modern Jazz Quartet (Vinyle LP - Gatefold)

Description

Side A:
Announcement 1 - Vendome - Announcement 2 - Venice - Announcement 3 - All The Things You Are
Side B: Announcement 4 - Bluesology - Announcement 5 - Autumn Medley - Autumn In New York - Autumn Nocturne - Announcement 6 - The Golden Striker
Recorded on October 28, 1957 at the NDR studio in Hanover
It was the afternoon of October 28, 1957, in Hanover. The NDR-Landesfunkhaus studio production was featuring a portion of the concert that MJQ had previously given at the sold-out Beethoven Hall in Hanover. The very first piece is a perfect example of Lewis's concept of integration. "Vendome," one of the first compositions for the MJQ by the classically trained pianist born in 1920, is one of those "jazz fugues" for which the quartet was already famous and celebrated in Europe. Three thematic sections composed in the style of baroque fugues alternate with three improvised solo episodes on vibraphone and piano—plus a coda at the end that further intensifies the particular atmosphere of the six parts. However, formal restrictions do not only provide the necessary impetus for the soloists' creative process. Lewis's "jazz fugue" rather offers the MJQ musicians the opportunity to leave behind the narrow corset of theme and solo, which was typical of jazz at the time, and to play their refined swing in a form reminiscent of European art music.