Modern Jazz Quartet

Subject: Modern Jazz Quartet
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jul 24 - 03:14 AM

live concert on you tube from 1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBvkj9Vewck

Subject: RE: Modern Jazz Quartet
From: GUEST,Roderick A Warner
Date: 26 Jul 24 - 04:01 AM

First live gig I went to at the tender age of 14… MJQ at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, UK, 1961… and acquired a load of old albums from their classic years in good condition a few months back. Still sound fresh…

Subject: RE: Modern Jazz Quartet
From: GUEST,PHJim
Date: 26 Jul 24 - 07:28 PM

I saw them in Stratford, Ontario in the mid-sixties.
I have some albums that Milt Jackson made with Ray Charles. Milt plays guitar on a song called "Bags' Guitar Blues" and Ray plays a lot of alto sax.

Subject: RE: Modern Jazz Quartet
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Aug 24 - 02:23 PM

I have heard that MJ also stands for Milt Jackson, the vibraphonist.
But he couldn't formally use his name for contractual reasons or something.

Subject: RE: Modern Jazz Quartet
From: Nick Dow
Date: 09 Aug 24 - 02:55 AM

I used to go and see the UK free-form Jazz bands like Mike Westbrook. Mike Osborne George Khan (The Boris Karloff of the tenor saxophone) then later moved on to Buddy Rich. Try and find decent Jazz in East Lancs! Not much chance. Chris Spedding could put a good Jazz gig together before Bryan Ferry and various rock bands tempted him on to the pay roll. I saw Oscar Peterson in concert, and Dudley Moore was one of the best when he stopped clowning about. Happy days!

Subject: RE: Modern Jazz Quartet
From: GUEST,roderick A Warner
Date: 09 Aug 24 - 10:47 AM

The Westbrook Band had a long abd distinguished run, defying labels like ‘jazz’ along the way (as did Mike W’s musical hero Duke Ellington) with their forays into other musical traditions. The move back to a big band swing drummer like Buddy Rich is an interesting one! Mike Osborne was a true original alto saxophone player. I have recordings but never saw him live unfortunately as was abroad a lot when he was in his brief prime before early death. But seen the Westbrooks Mike and Kate here and there. Always felt it would have been interesting for Mike W to dig deeper into uk traditions. His settings of Blake were sublime: ‘Bright As Fire’ for. example. He recorded an interesting setting of a John Clare poem, ‘The Toper’s Rant,’ sung by Phil Minton in a raw, powerful version which indicated a path never followed unfortunately. I’ve looked for a YouTube version and there are a couple but the sound is rough as a robber’s dog, to slip into local patois… This was from ‘The Cortege’ (1982) which included a variety of texts set from the Europe and the UK: Garcia Lorca, Rimbaud, Clare, Herman Hesse, Blake and beyond.