The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Comedy (1962/2011) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Comedy (1962/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 35:02 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino Atlantic

The Comedy is an overwhelmingly brilliant concept album from the historic quartet, comprised of bassist Percy Heath, drummer Connie Kay, pianist John Lewis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson. The swinging infusion features seven scintillating compositions revolving around distinctive characters from an Italian comedy. Beautifully composed and artfully arranged, the album features one of the quartet’s finest performances ever with “Pulcinella”.

This is the type of album that led many bop purists to criticize the Modern Jazz Quartet (and John Lewis in particular) for being overly influenced by Western classical music. This album has seven of Lewis’ compositions, episodic works arranged in a suite that portrays characters from a fictional Italian comedy based in the 1500s. Singer Diahann Carroll guests fairly effectively on “La Cantatrice.” Despite being tied to a story, there are some strong improvisations from pianist Lewis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson on this unusual material. The release is not that essential but it is quite interesting.

Tracklist:
1. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Spanish Steps (05:37)
2. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Columbine (04:11)
3. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Pulcinella (04:25)
4. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Pierrot (03:22)
5. The Modern Jazz Quartet – La Cantatrice (05:30)
6. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Harlequin (06:54)
7. The Modern Jazz Quartet – Piazza Navona (05:00)

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