Billboard : 01/14/1956
Spotlight on… selection

Considering the critical esteem that the Modern Jazz Quartet enjoys, comparatively few recordings have been made available. Some of their outstanding recent work is presented here. The classic form and sensitive workmanship of previous albums is evident, as is a more showmanly flair and a swingier rhythmic feel. For a sample of the ensemble at its best, demonstrate Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, long a highpoint in the group’s repertoire. John Lewis‘ Concorde, after which the album is named, is an interesting adaptation of the fugue to jazz uses. An artistic bull’s-eye that will sell well to an ever increasing, discriminating public.

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Boston American – Boston, MA
Eddie Condon – 04/22/1956

Do I have to mention that I am not a bop, nor progressive jazz, devotee?

Pass the smelling salts; there’s a record out I like. It’s about as progressive as you can get, too. It’s by the Modern Jazz Quartet, it’s on the Prestige label and it’s called Concorde.

The group consists of Milt Jackson, vibes; John Lewis, piano; Percy Heath, bass; and Connie Kay, drums. They play a Gershwin medley, a song dedicated to Ralph Gleason called Ralph’s New Blues, Cole Porter‘s fine All Of You, and several others.

The group has a very restful lack of blatancy. They’re even-keeled; nobody loses his mind – or his beard (I should explain that chin hedges predominate among these boys.

If I’ve got to listen to some bop and my co-maker tells me I do, occasionally; give me the Modern Jazz Quartet.

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Cash Box : 03/24/1956

This set offers four men possessing an obvious keen awareness of the finer points in today’s often involved jazz forms. The Modern Jazz Quartet rely heavily on the subtle, intricate nature of music’s classical techniques. The application of this is expertly evident in the Gershwin medley. Milt Jackson on the Vibes is one of the strong guns the Quartet has to offer. Good sound.

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High Fidelity : February 1956

The two LPs by the Modern Jazz Quartet which preceded this one have contained some suggestion of the merit of this group, but this disk reveals them as they really are: a great beacon of warmth in a sea of cool jazz. For all the monkish solemnity with which they sometimes approach their work, the Quartet is essentially a direct and swinging group as almost every selection on this disk demonstrates. Vibist Milt Jackson has developed steadily and now has the combination of strength, delicacy, and taste required to hold up his important end of the foursome. The rhythm section seems more aptly balanced since Connie Kay has taken over the drums. And John Lewis, the mind behind all this, continues to be an amazingly rational and unpretentious pianist whose playing is utterly jazz even while part of his thinking is firmly rooted in the classics (there is a fine sample of his surprisingly low down piano behind Jackson’s solo on Softly As in a Morning Sunrise.) Except for I’ll Remember April, these are all mature, reasoned, and delightfully rhythmic performances. I’ll Remember April misses only because Kay turns to that bane of modern drumming, the persistent riding cymbal, which is blessedly absent from the other selections.

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San Francisco Chronicle – San Francisco, CA
Ralph J. Gleason – 02/21/1956
Modern Jazz Quartet — Exciting, Expressive

Modern jazz is nothing more or less than the natural and logical attempt of the schooled musicians of today to search out the limits of the musical instruments and the music at their disposal.

In an effort to prove he is different, the modern musician has done things just to show it was possible to do them, not because it was artistically necessary. But this, basically an attitude of rebellion against the structures of a previous style of jazz, has gradually come back into perspective and now, finding himself accepted and believing in the fact that his music is here to stay, the modern jazz musician is able to create with confidence and coolness and the result is a fine music – beautiful, exciting and expressive.

It is no longer necessary to be loud just to make oneself heard and jazzmen are no longer afraid of pretty melodies and soft harmonies. In short, modern jazz has grown up. One of the most delightful examples of this is the Modern Jazz Quartet which opens a two week engagement at the Black Hawk tonight. No one who is at all interested in modern jazz should miss it.

The Modern Jazz Quartet came into being a few years ago as a result of a series of recording sessions, some of them for Dee Gee, a small label jointly operated by Dizzy Gillespie and a Detroit jazz fan, Dan Usher. The members of the group assembled for the sessions were all alumni of the Gillespie band – pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson (THE influence in modern vibes playing), Percy Heath, bass, and Kenny Clarke, drums. The sides they made then, including the great Bluesology and Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, have just been reissued by Savoy in a 12-inch LP called The Quartet along with several other numbers including Milt Meets Sid and Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. These are the earliest examples of what has come to be regarded as the greatest group in modern jazz.

A more recent (made this past fall) example is the Prestige 12-inch LP Concorde on which Lewis, Jackson and Heath are joined by drummer Connie Kay. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise is done again and there are a number of other tunes, mostly ballads, and a beautiful blues of which I am particularly fond.

What the Modern Jazz Quartet does is to express the power of restraint in jazz, the ability to suggest excitement, to whisper rather than shout. The group is delicate but with surprising strength. When Jackson plays a blues line with Lewis and Heath in the background, it has all the earthy swing and solidarity of Count Basie‘s band. But it remains the kind of music you can play for your grandmother and it neatly answers the criticism that jazz is raucous or noisy. This jazz is fragile, restrained, pretty and sometimes almost tinkling. but it is never dull. There is humor in the MJQ men, too, and there is sadness. The blues they have are the bluest and when they are happy they jump for joy. Even if it never has the direct impact of a 17-piece band it has, in its own special way, the same shattering effect as a line by Donne or a sketch by Picasso. If there is really jazz music that can be called chamber music, this is it.

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The Virginian-Pilot – Norfolk, VA
Robert C. Smith – 03/25/1956

Another dean of East Coast experimentals is John Lewis, guiding genius of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Norman Granz commissioned a group of Lewis compositions for a hefty instrumental ensemble called the Modern Jazz Society (Norgran 1040 12-inch LP). This group boasts soloists of the caliber of Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, Aaron Sachs and Lucky Thompson, working over a bassoon, French horn, and harp plus rhythm. John’s Django, a modern classic, and Queen’s Fancy were orchestrated by Gunther Schuller for this session; John wrote the three new ones for the group. On Django Sachs solos well, while horns carry the Percy Heath bass lines; still, the MJQ version of this is better. John’s writing is keen throughout and Johnson particularly stands out. A second Lewis-guided session is equally rewarding, presenting another Modern Jazz Quartet program, Concorde, (Prestige 7005 12-inch LP). On this one Connie Kay has supplanted Kenny Clarke on drums. The big moment, after a lovely George Gershwin medley and the Lewis album-title original, is Milt Jackson‘s Ralph’s New Blues. Here is why this group is tops in its field.

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Down Beat : 02/08/1956
Nat Hentoff : 5 stars

A characteristic night club set by the MJQ, ranging from Milt‘s easy-wailing ode to Ralph Gleason to the softly lyrical All of You illuminated by Milt; the stimulatingly brisk, deeply swinging work of Milt and John in April; the tasty Gershwin medley; the gently pulsating Sunrise; and John’s fresh, fugal Concorde this is simultaneously strongly within the jazz mainstream tradition in terms of feeling and beat. The MJQ way is obviously not the only way modern jazz is productively evolving, but it’s an important path.

One critic recently commented that John Lewis is writing and playing what he “wants” rather than what he “knows.” I am neither a psychoanalyst nor am I adept in telepathy, so I perforce rely instead on the empirical evidence presented by my ears and feelings. As a result, I am grateful as a non-omniscient listener for the warmth, imagination, compositional freshness and musical integrity of Lewis and his super associates – Jackson, Percy Heath, and the unusually tasteful Connie Kay whose first record with the MJQ this is. The potential of the MJQ has been far from fully realized, but the unit is wisely moving slowly, soundly, and so far, rewardingly.

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Liner Notes by Ira Gitler

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.

Ralph’s New Blues which starts off the set was written by Milt Jackson and dedicated to Ralph Gleason, eminent San Francisco music critic. It is in the blues form, based on a modal motive which wavers between F minor and Ab major using simple imitation of the motive between the three pitch instruments in stretto.

From the pen of Cole Porter and his new musical Silk Stockings comes the wonderful All Of You. At this point in the proceedings John Lewis would take the microphone and announce, “Now the American ballad form enriched rhythmically and melodically by Milt Jackson”. Milt is the main melodic voice here. The counterpoint played by Milt, John and Percy Heath is improvised and interdependent. It derives its life from the musical ideas that each member of the group supplies one number.

I’ll Remember April is another example of the American ballad idiom but one which has lost its ballad characteristics in regard to tempo through usage by modern jazzmen. It lends itself very well to virtuoso fast playing. The format is a simple one, popular in jazz, which consists of an opening statement of the melody, solos. eight bar conversations, four bar conversations and re-statement of the melody.

Next is a medley. In this instance the Quartet has drawn from the vast storehouse of melodic and harmonic material that is George Gershwin’s music. Percy Heath carries the melody for the first half of Soon. On For You, For Me, Forevermore John Lewis plays melody for the first half, then Milt improvises counter lines against this melody statement. In the second half John plays variations. Love Walked In has the melody stated in canon form by Milt and John for the first half, then Milt solos. John plays counterpoint to Milt’s melody line on Our Love Is Here To Stay.

Sigmund Romberg’s Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise from New Moon has long been a high point in the group’s repertoire. The introduction and ending are one of the canons from Bach’s The Musical Offering.

Concorde, the title piece, concludes the set. Another important John Lewis composition, it is a fugue (the height of the use of counterpoint) with episodes improvised. The character of the opening eight bar statement is closer to jazz than was Vendome (PRLP 160). Vendome’s jazz feeling was secured by the improvised passages. Titles such as Concorde, Vendome and his earlier Elysses show John’s fondness for France in general and Paris in particular. He also feels that the sounds of these names lend themselves well to musical compositions.

Since the MJQ’s list recording, one change has been made in the group. In February 1955, Connie Kay (who changed his last name from Kirnon when Birdland’s Pee Wee Marquette couldn’t pronounce it) replaced Kenny Clarke who left to free-lance in New York. Connie, a native New Yorker, previously worked with Lester Young, Stan Getz, Beryl Booker, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins. His favorites on his own instrument are Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Big Sid Catlett. Connie has filled in marvelously where many people thought it would be impossible to replace Kenny. John, a perfectionist, makes his happiness with Connie very evident in his comments.

For the three original members, as well as Connie, 1955 was a rewarding year. The Quartet scored successes at such varied places as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Berkshire Music Barn, Cooper Union and the music series at Ipswich, Massachusetts, in addition to numerous concert and club engagements. For the second consecutive year they won the International Critics’ Poll of Down Beat magazine and Milt Jackson was voted to the top of the vibes division in the same poll.