20bit K2 SUPER CODING - Digital K2
LEKTURA OBOWIĄZKOWA

The Modern Jazz Quartet’s origins, like so much in postwar jazz, were in Dizzy Gillespie’s 1946 big band. Vibraharpist Milt Jackson often joined the rhythm section so that the four could perform as a quartet and give the brass section a rest from Gillespie’s demanding arrangements. Later, they worked as the Milt Jackson Quartet. In the early 1950s, they changed the name to the Modern Jazz Quartet and over the next three and a half decades were one of the most successful and acclaimed small bands in the history of jazz. The MJQ was a leaderless group, but John Lewis functioned as musical director and wrote much of the group’s repertoire. Many of his compositions reflected musical traditions going back to Bach and the Italian renaissance. One of them, "Django," the stately piece named for the virtuoso French gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, became an instant jazz classic. "…Django was one of the group's finest albums, and is a welcome addition to the re-issue market. While not audiophile grade recordings, these sessions provide quite good sound given their early provenance. Rudy Van Gelder recorded the later sessions, but the uncreditied 1953 session does not suffer by comparison. I compared the Van Gelder recorded sessions to the original 10" LP. The remastered LP wins hands down, the purity of the vibes being the most conspicuous evidence. I will return to this LP many times." Recording = 7/10; Music = 8/10 – Dennis Davis, Hi-Fi+, Issue 43 “The latest round of Acoustic Sounds’ ‘Fantasy 45 series’ – albums from Fantasy’s Original Jazz Classics catalogue, each reissued on two 180-gram LPs cut at 45rpm – includes two mid-‘50s masterworks…The better part of Django was recorded the day before the Miles session, and John Lewis’ piano sounds fine and present, while Jackson’s vibes seem a bit recessed – which tells you who was in charge. Heath’s bass, once again, is spot-on; you can smell the wood.” – Fred Kaplan, The Absolute Sound, January 2006, Issue 158