The Essential MJQ CD
Patto53 | Lawson, NSW Australia | 12/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was origially released as 2 separate LPs in 1961/62 and one of my favourite doubles in the early '70's. It is the MJQ at their best when they were seamlessly blending John Lewis' superb arrangments with sublime improvisation. The bonus is a brilliant recording - even better then the studio albums of the time, thanks to Gosta Wiholm. You might find the piano sound to be tad dry but that is John as he made heavy use of the damper pedal to contrast with Milt's resonance. The bass and drums are superbly present with excellent cymbal definition. And the Vidraharp - 'Odds Against Tomorrow' - aaah!
While the cd sound repro is excellent the tracks needed rearranging for a coherent single CD. The two albums were presented like two sets - they actually seem to be selected from two separate concerts, probably at the same venue. If you do copies for personal use here's my recommended track reorder (the set list is incomplete on Amazon) - also if you know how to edit audio files - delete the blank audio lead ins/outs and then use 0 sec track gaps:
1.Django (John Lewis) 5.32
2.Bluesology (Milt Jackson) 4.39
3.I Should Care (Cahn, Stordahl, Weston) 5.33
4.La Rhonde (John Lewis) 3.07
5.I Remember Clifford (Benny Golson) 5.15
6.Festival Sketch (John Lewis) 4.41
7.Odds Against Tommorrow (John Lewis) 6.57
8.Pyramid (Blues For Junior) (Ray Brown) 8.45
9.It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (Duke Ellington) 5.36
10. Skating in Central Park (John Lewis, Judy Spence) 6.05
11. The Cylinder (Milt Jackson) 6.20
12. I'll Remember April (De Paul, Raye, Johnson) 4.53
13. Vendome (John Lewis) 2.45
14. `Round Midnight (Cootie Williams, Thelonious Monk) 3.46
15. Bag's Groove (Milt Jackson) 5.14
The reult is one of the best (musically and sonically) Jazz concerts ever recorded - indispensible for any Jazz fan.
"
Greatest MJQ recording
Oldnslow | Seattle, Washington USA | 04/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have loved this live double CD European Concert recording from 1960 Stockholm ever since it was first issued. It remains the high point of the MJQ in my opinion. Great songs, fantastic playing by everyone , with especially exuberant playing by the normally reserved John Lewis. The pleasure is greatly enhanced by one of the most incredible recordings of a live concert you will ever hear. The fidelity is simply fantastic, and by far the best of any MJQ recording I have heard, irrespective of the time period it was recorded. While I have not heard this reissue, snap it up while you can. I have an expensive Japanese import version of this concert and this two-fer reissue is the first reappearance of this famous concert in many years. If the remastering is as good as even the old LP this has to be the reissue of the year."
It's Great, but There's Something Missing
CurtJazz | Charlotte, NC | 04/03/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The European Concert LPs were arguably the MJQ's greatest live recordings and its great to see them again on a domestic release CD (there was a version briefly available around 10 years ago on Joel Dorn's Label M) The quartet was in outstanding form and the recording sounds as a clean and fresh as something recorded in the 21st Century. It contains their best version of the classic "Django" and many other outstanding performances, such as "The Cylinder", "Skating in Central Park" and a fantastic "Bags' Groove".
So why not five stars, you ask? If you're familiar with the original LP's, you'll remember that between many of the selections, there were some low key, but interesting expository introductions by Lewis and Jackson. (I especially loved the ones prior to "The Cylinder" and "Skating..."). Unfortunately, those intros have all been sacrificed to the record company's desire to squeeze all the music onto a single mid-priced disc. To some listeners, these are minor omissions; to others, these deletions will be as outrageous as if they had lopped a few songs off the CD. That's a matter of personal preference of course, but at least consider yourself forewarned. The music is outstanding and it sounds great, but this is NOT what Atlantic Records originally released."
