Influenced by classical music as well as the cool jazz movement, The Modern Jazz
Quartet was a major jazz institution for 40 years with a distinctive style built
around the brilliant vibraphone playing of Milt Jackson and the piano virtuosity
of John Lewis, exploring the outer limits of jazz.
The seeds of the group were sewn in 1946 when Jackson, Lewis, bassist Ray Brown
and drummer Kenny Clarke were recruited into the rhythm section of the Dizzy
Gillespie Orchestra, gradually evolving into the Milt Jackson Quartet, with
Percy Heath taking Brown's place on the double bass. Con...