Straight Ahead with the MJQ

by | Mar 7, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet

Continuing with the most well known members of with the Modern Jazz Quartet, once again we have John Lewis at the piano, Milt Jackson on vibes, Percy Heath playing bass and Connie Kay on drums. They were all pioneer bop musicians who early on pursued separate careers; except for Percy Heath, they had played together in the 1948 Dizzy Gillespie big band. In 1952, Heath was added and the Modern Jazz Quartet was born.

These videos serve-up a bit more standard MJQ fare than our feature last week. (Above) is a 1961 rendition of John Lewis’ Bags Groove … written as a tip of the cap to Milt Jackson. “Bags” was a nickname given to Milt by a Detroit bass player, and referred to the bags under his eyes. The name stuck! (Below) is a Milt Jackson original, True Blues, recorded in 1982 at the Alexandra Palace (Capital Radio Jazz Festival) in London.

Fiddlin’ Around with the MJQ

by | Mar 1, 2025 | Orchestral, Quartet/Quintet

The Modern Jazz Quartet began in 1952, performing music influenced by classical, cool jazz, blues, and bebop. They carved out their own special niche playing elegant, restrained music, that utilized sophisticated counterpoint, while retaining a strong blues feel. They performed and recorded jazz, off and on, for some 45 years between 1952 and 1997.  As with any group of musicians there were occasional personnel changes but the core group remained for most of that time.  The personnel probably most frequently identified with MJQ are John Lewis at the piano, Milt Jackson on vibes, Percy Heath playing bass and Connie Kay on drums.

A Day in Dubrovnik (top) is a John Lewis composition, and adds strings to The Quartet for a slightly classical, European flavor. Meanwhile (below) Itzhak Perlman lends his talented ‘fiddle’ to the MJQ mix in a most delightful arrangement of Summertime that would capture even George Gershwin’s attention … recorded at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in 1987.

Clark Terry Plus 3

by | Feb 20, 2025 | Quartet/Quintet, Solo/Duo

Clark Terry was one of the most influential swing and bebop trumpeters of our time, not to mention a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz.  He was also a composer, educator, and mentor whose career in jazz spanned more than 70 years, during which he became one of the most prolific of all jazz musicians, appearing on over 900 recordings! Born and raised in St. Louis, he blended the St. Louis sound upon which he ‘cut his teeth’ (as a youth he made a makeshift trumpet by attaching a funnel to a garden hose and using a lead pipe as a mouthpiece) with more contemporary music styles. Terry played with some of the greatest of the big bands, but his years with Basie and Ellington (who secretly recruited Clark away from Basie) in the late 1940s and 1950s established his lasting prominence.

The uppermost video is Mack The Knife, an earlier version of Terry recorded with the Oscar Peterson Trio in Finland during 1965. It features Clark on flugelhorn, Ed Thigpen on drums, Ray Brown at the bass, and of course Peterson playing piano.

To the left is a rare duo between Clark Terry on both flugelhorn and trumpet (watch carefully) and Red Mitchell on bass, with a most unusual rendition of Take The A Train. At the bottom the Ellington/Strayhorn mood continues with Satin Doll, recorded in Copenhagen during 1985 by the Clark Terry Quartet … comprised of Terry on trumpet, Duke Jordan playing piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Svend Norregaard drums.

Jam Session

by | Jan 5, 2025 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet

Unlike most performances that have a fixed group –– like Duke Ellington and his Orchestra or the Oscar Petersen Trio –– with a jam session, jazz musicians improvise and do something different each time they play a tune.  Producer Norman Granz loved jam sessions, and in his Jazz At The Philharmonic shows during 1944-60, he presented the greatest of the swing and bop soloists, together onstage, in both the US and Europe.

In 1967, Granz had a brief revival of JATP, including a concert for television presented by the BBC in England … the videos below are from that concert.  The all-star lineup speaks for itself: trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, flugelhornist Clark Terry, tenors Zoot Sims, James Moody and Coleman Hawkins (past his prime but worth seeing), altoist Benny Carter, pianist Teddy Wilson, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Louie Bellson.  Topmost is a 1947 Dizzy Gillespie composition called Ow.  Below that is Benny Carter with Duke and Gershwin’s I Can’t Get Started, seguing into Coleman Hawkins’ wistful solo of Body and Soul.

Four Songs – Four Freshmen II

by | Nov 30, 2024 | Quartet/Quintet, Vocal Group

In 1948, four young men, at Butler University in Indianapolis, created a sound that forever changed the way vocal harmony was sung. Their style embraced the Barbershop Quartet tradition, but took it a giant step further, adding Jazz influences and ultimately even exerting an influence on Rock and Roll. Known as The Four Freshmen, the group started with two brothers … Don and Ross Barbour, their cousin Bob Flanigan, and friend Hal Kratzsch.  With a soaring, true tenor in Bob Flanigan, the group created a sound that has endured for over 6 decades.  This is the second iteration of The Freshmen, circa 1956 through 1972.  Performing are Bob Flanigan, Ross Barbour, Don Barbour and Ken Albers, who replaced Hal.

(See MOJ Post of October 26, 2017 for more Four Freshmen)

Day In Day Out was originally recorded by The Four Freshmen on the 1972 Stan Kenton “Live At Butler University” LP. This version, also a live performance, may actually be even better than the original!

Shangrila is a love song from their 1962 Capitol LP “Stars in Our Eyes” … an album tip of the cap to other vocal groups. The Four Coins had the original hit on this tune, but nobody does it quite like The Freshman!

You Stepped Out Of A Dream was a television spoof, with the foursome in a “Let me take you away from all this” mode. The Stan Kenton Orchestra backs their efforts, creating the classic Kenton-Freshman sound!

Angel Eyes was recorded on their 1964 tour in Japan. As with the other videos in this group, visual quality is not the best … but the audio and the Freshmen’s sound are second to none. (Bill Comstock replaced Don Barbour here).

The Grasso’s Always Greener

by | Nov 9, 2024 | Quartet/Quintet, Trio, Vocal

Pasquale Grasso is an Italian-born jazz guitarist now based in New York City. He is known for a pianistic approach to jazz guitar, largely influenced by Bud Powell’s style; he has somehow managed to transfer the essence of piano language onto guitar. Grasso’s innovative blend of classical-guitar and bebop influences have helped him create a sound that’s completely his own, setting him apart as a one-of-a-kind jazz guitarist … in 2016 Pat Metheny told Vintage Guitar magazine that Grasso was “the best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life.” Recently, he has been getting more public exposure with several of his own recordings released by Sony Masterworks, and teaming up with super-vocalist Samara Joy on two of her recent hit albums.

(Below upper left) Pasquale Grasso adds his personal touch to the American Songbook Standard, Just One of Those Things, live at The Cutting Room in NYC. Pasquale is on guitar, Phil Stewart plays drums, and Ari Roland is on double bass. Charlie Christian’s Seven Come Eleven (Below upper right) was recorded at Birdland,also in NYC, and features the guitars of Pasquale Grasso, Frank Vignola, and Olli Soikkeli … with Gary Mazzaroppi on bass, and Vince Cherico playing drums. Finally a video (Bottom) with Grasso’s guitar and Samara Joy singing Ellington’s In My Solitude, from his Pasquale Plays Duke album.

Cobb Salad

by | Oct 26, 2024 | Quartet/Quintet

Arnett Cobb was a stompin’ Texas tenor player, in the tradition of Illinois Jacquet … robust and sometimes raw.  He mixed the musical vocabularies of swing, bebop, blues and R&B, and originated the “Open Prairie” tone and “Southern Preacher” style of playing. There was always excitement in Cobb’s uninhibited, blaring style, which earned him the label “Wild Man of the Tenor Sax.” His rendition of Deep Purple (above), as well as the two tunes (below) are typical examples of the sound-salad that made him so popular, even with other jazz musicians.

Just Like That was recorded at the Grand Théâtre de Limoges, in France during March of 1980. It features Arnett Cobb on tenor, Roland Hanna playing piano, Eddie Locke drums, and Jimmy Woode on bass.

In 1987,  Arnett Cobb recorded this video of The Nearness of You … once again proving how a simple ballad can be turned into a masterpiece through the gift of improvisation and soulful sensitivity.

Emily, Wendy and Cassandra … The Girls

by | Sep 27, 2024 | Quartet/Quintet

Paul Desmond is usually associated with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, but he achieved quite a body of work of his own, including his composition of the classic “Take Five” for the Brubeck Quartet. He was a modest, retiring man, known to his friends for his wit and charm. For example, when asked why he changed his surname to Desmond, with a straight face, he replied that Breitenfeld sounded too “Irish.” Such witticisms were as typical of his demeanor, as “soft and liquid” were typical of his sound … a tone that Paul, himself, once described as imitating a “dry martini.”  (Above) he demonstrates that tender touch with a wonderfully gentle version of Johnny Mandel’s Emily, recorded in 1975 at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Mundell Lowe is on guitar, Richard Davis bass, Roy Burns playing drums, and John Lewis at the piano. (Below) are two more tunes based on the names of girls.

Cassandra proves that even when Desmond swings, it’s mellow. He is joined by The Quartet, with Dave Brubeck on piano, Joe Morello playing drums, and Eugene Wright on bass, in 1965 at the Newport in Paris festival.

Here, Paul romanticizes Wendy with his quartet around 1975. Ed Bickert plays guitar, Jerry Fuller is on drums, and Don Thompson is at the bass. Will that martini be straight up or on the rocks?

The Count Basie Quartet

by | Aug 30, 2024 | Quartet/Quintet

Most of us are used to hearing the Count Basie big band, and when you’re a musician in an orchestra of that size, it’s easy to get lost in the power of the other 15 or so instruments … even if it’s your orchestra!  As a result, Basie himself became, arguably, one of the most underrated piano players in jazz.  In fact, few of his fans even realize that he has recorded with a trio, quartet, and even a septet. Twenty Minutes After Three (above), Untitled Blues (below left), and Squeeze Me (below right) are a testimonial to The Count’s actual keyboard prowess. His sidemen are drummer Sonny Payne, bassist Norman Keenan, and Freddie Green on guitar, retaining the trademark Basie sound even in a small combo. The recording was done in 1968 as part of the Jazz Casual series on National Educational Television (NET now PBS).

One If By Sax, Two If By Flute

by | Jul 7, 2024 | Big Band, Quartet/Quintet

More than a jazz saxophone and flute player, James Moody was something of a vocalist and composer as well. While playing predominantly in the bebop and hard bop styles, Moody took up the alto sax at the age of 16, eventually adding the flute and tenor to his tool bag, for its deeper resonance. He played with Dizzy Gillespie in 1964, where his colleagues in the Gillespie group––pianist Kenny Barron and guitarist Les Spann––would become important musical collaborators in the coming decades.

Mmm Hmm (top video) is a Moody original, with James playing flute, Christopher White on bass, Kenny Barron at the piano, and Rudy Collins on drums. It was recorded on the French Riviera in 1965.  Parker’s Mood (lower video) is from “Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall,” a 1996 live performance recorded for both record and video. Moody plays the sax on this one and the tune, of course, references ‘Bird’. Along with James Moody are Barry Harris on piano, Christian McBride on Bass, Kenny Washington playing drums, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, plus strings under Lennie Niehaus..