Jazz Quartet

The album is largely dominated by the opening multi-sectional piece, three parts interlocking into a suite-like whole. Each part can stand-alone or together as evidenced by other versions of the first two: “Route 4” and “Lyriste” recorded by other groups on other albums.

Having sponsored Ornette Coleman at the School of Jazz near Lennox, MA, pianist and composer John Lewis helped launch the controversial career of one of the last great innovators in jazz. Lewis' support of the ragtag Texas native was somewhat unique in jazz circles at the time and even surprising, especially considering the gulf between the classical jazz formality of his group the Modern Jazz Quartet and Coleman's radical notions of free improvisation. Nevertheless, Lewis not only saw in Coleman the first jazz genius since bebop's Parker, Gillespie, and Monk, but put pay to the praise with the MJQ's 1962 rendition of one of Coleman's most famous numbers, "Lonely Woman." (Along with Art Pepper's 1960 version of "Tears Inside," this was one of the earliest of Coleman covers don.)…

Having sponsored Ornette Coleman at the School of Jazz near Lennox, MA, pianist and composer John Lewis helped launch the controversial career of one of the last great innovators in jazz. Lewis' support of the ragtag Texas native was somewhat unique in jazz circles at the time and even surprising, especially considering the gulf between the classical jazz formality of his group the Modern Jazz Quartet and Coleman's radical notions of free improvisation. Nevertheless, Lewis not only saw in Coleman the first jazz genius since bebop's Parker, Gillespie, and Monk, but put pay to the praise with the MJQ's 1962 rendition of one of Coleman's most famous numbers, "Lonely Woman." (Along with Art Pepper's 1960 version of "Tears Inside," this was one of the earliest of Coleman covers don.)…

The Australian Jazz Quartet - The Australian Jazz Quartet (1955) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6141}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 121 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 81 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 189 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6141 | LP BCP-6003 | Mono
Jazz / Cool / Vibes / Flute

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description. Features original cover artwork. A very cool quartet with a very unusual sound – one that mixes up reeds, piano, and vibes with a very fresh approach – one that's partly west coast cool, and partly east coast modern! Key players in the group include Bryce Rhode on piano and Errol Buddle on bassoon – both musicians who'd make bigger waves in the 60s back home in Australian – and the set also features excellent vibes by John (Jack) Brokensha, who'd stay on these shores and make some groovy records for the US, and Dick Healy on flute. The group's joined by Jimmy Gannon on bass and Nick Stabulas on drums – and titles include "Saxophone Pads", "Tune For Jaimey", "Spring Is Here", "Nostalgia", and "Thou Swell".

The names of Johann Sebastian Bach, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff do not necessarily conjure images and sounds of jazz in one's mind, that is until one has listened to recordings by the Classical Jazz Quartet. Although these musicians utilize the same instruments as the Modern Jazz Quartet, they are in no way clones or copycats of that groundbreaking group. They have very much their own sound and style. This is not surprising given the huge talent of the musicians involved; all four are virtuosos on their respective instruments. The themes, although composed in a different time and place, become excellent vehicles for complex, sometimes, bluesy, often swinging and always fresh improvisations in the hands of these musicians.

The Classical Jazz Quartet Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Stefon Harris on vibraphone and marimba, and Lewis Nash on drums seems to begin where the Modern Jazz Quartet of the 1950s left off, right down to the CJQ initials that seem to evoke memories of the earlier group. Bach was the staple of the classical-music treatments the MJQ released.