The Modern Jazz Quartet: Django
Track
Django
Group
The Modern Jazz Quartet
CD
Django (Prestige PRCD-7057-2)
Musicians:
John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibes), Percy Heath (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).
Composed by John Lewis
.Recorded: New York, December 23, 1954
Rating: 100/100 (learn more)
Ceremonially attired, affecting deadpan expressions suitable for illustrations in an embalmer’s manual, the MJQ looked like four stiffs modeling for Madame Tussaud. Their musical charm, however, will live forever. Based on a Bartók piano piece, John Lewis's finest composition is a tribute to the great Gypsy swing guitarist Django Reinhardt, who died a year earlier. "Django" doesn’t sound like Django, but it’s a stately, swinging, multihued masterpiece of modern jazz.
In a famous putdown, Miles Davis likened the MJQ to boxers "fighting in tuxedos." If so, "Django" wins the undisputed world championship for pugilists in evening dress. It's a knockout.
Reviewer: Alan Kurtz
Tags: 1950s jazz · chamber jazz · cool jazz
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