Fontessa

Fontessa

This 1956 record marked the beginning of the Modern Jazz Quartet's long and fruitful relationship with Atlantic Records and was one of their most inspired visits to a studio. While there had been excellent bands in the past that created a chamber-jazz genre, such as Red Norvo's trio, John Lewis's vision of a fusion of jazz and classical elements was distinctly original. It's apparent here in the controlled counterpoint of "Versailles," the extended first recording on "Fontessa," with Lewis's spare and precise piano perfectly complementing the looser swing of Milt Jackson's glistening vibraphone sound. The group mingles beautifully around Percy Heath's supple, melodic bass lines and Connie Kay's discrete and gently propulsive beat. Jackson's "Bluesology" and Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody'n You" inspire boppish invention, while the limpidly beautiful standards "Willow Weep for Me" and "Angel Eyes" demonstrate Jackson's ability to shift mood in a single phrase. --Stuart Broomer
Country USA
Brand Atlantic
Manufacturer Atlantic
Binding Audio CD
ItemPartNumber 075678132926
ReleaseDate 1990-01-31
UnitCount 1
UPCs 075678132926
EANs 0075678132926

You might also like...