History
Milt Jackson, John Lewis, and drummer Kenny Clarke had originally played together in a quartet while in the Dizzy Gillespie orchestra from 1946 to 1950. Together with bassist Ray Brown they played during interludes designed to give the trumpeters time to recover from the challenging upper-register parts. This line-up recorded as the Milt Jackson Quartet in 1951.
Bassist Percy Heath joined the line-up in 1952 and the group became known as The Modern Jazz Quartet after John Lewis took over as Musical Director, a position which Jackson and Lewis had previously shared.
Connie Kay replaced Clarke as drummer in 1955.
In their middle years the group often played with classical musicians, but their repertoire consisted mainly of bop and swing era standards. Among the original compositions from the band's book are "Django" by Lewis (a tribute to the Belgian jazz guitar player Django Reinhardt), "Afternoon In Paris," also by Lewis, and Jackson's "Bags' Groove", the latter borrowing its composer's nickname.
The group was first signed by Prestige and later in the fifties with Atlantic. In the late 1960s, in between their two periods with Atlantic, they signed with Apple, the Beatles' label (the sole jazz group on the label), and released two albums: Under the Jasmine Tree (1968) and Space (1969). Both Apple albums were re-released on one CD at the end of October 2010, with a previously unreleased rendition of The Beatles' "Yesterday" (recorded during sessions for Space) added as a bonus track. The MJQ came to Apple through the first head of the label, Ron Kass. Kass was a jazz fan, and Under the Jasmine Tree was recorded in America prior to signing with Apple. The second Apple album Space was recorded at London's Trident Studios under the supervision of Apple A&R man, Peter Asher (of Peter and Gordon).
Jackson left the group in 1974 partly because he liked a freer flowing style of playing and partly because he was tired of playing for little money (compared to rock and roll stars). As there could be no Modern Jazz Quartet without the two principals Lewis and Jackson, the group disbanded after going out with a rollicking concert in November at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.
In 1981 the MJQ reorganized to play festivals and later on a permanent six-months-per-year basis. When Kay's health began to suffer, he was replaced first by Mickey Roker and then by Albert "Tootie" Heath, Percy's brother. The MJQ's last recording was issued in 1993. Percy Heath, the last surviving original member, died in 2005.
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