Listen & tracks
4 of 12 tracks have a preview · 11 works · 56:28
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1 Baden-Baden Ray Brown 4:42
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2 Diggers Rest Brian Brown 4:15
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3 England's Carol John Lewis 6:39
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4 The Golden Striker John Lewis 4:11
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5 Mirjana John Lewis 10:14
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6 Valse Sentimental Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 3:12
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7 Lonely Moments Mary Lou Williams 4:11
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8 Three Windows John Lewis 6:35
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9 Versailles John Lewis 3:17
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10 Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West John Lewis 6:06
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11 Two Bass Hit John Lewis 3:06
Vibraharp and piano share the front line in the spirit of the MJQ, with room for simultaneous improvisation as much as for Lewis's carefully shaped themes.
Beside the Lewis originals sit Brian Brown's Diggers Rest, Mary Lou Williams's Lonely Moments, a Tchaikovsky waltz, and the early Brown–Jackson blowing piece Baden-Baden.
In the artist’s words
The decision to begin performing the music of John Lewis is one that was not taken lightly. First up, there is the concern with the jazz police, whose reaction will no doubt be to regard the playing of many of John's compositions, and in this particular instrumentation, with that derogatory term, "covers" (although people who perform, let's say, Beethoven string quartets don't seem to attract the same labelling). Also, of course, there is the terrifying prospect of having our versions of these and other pieces compared with those of the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ).
Nevertheless, our intense interest, love and respect for John Lewis's music has allowed us to overcome these objections on the grounds that this is music which we love to play, music that we (and others) have never heard the MJQ perform "live", (and never will), and music which was composed specifically for our instrumentation and which deserves to be performed by whomsoever desires to do so, given the jazz musician's on-going desire for self-expression and to spread joy and happiness whilst doing so.
About John Lewis's music, Gunther Schuller (composer, conductor, author and French hornist), has this to say:
"In a very simple, unspectacular way, he (Lewis) combines the romantic and the classical in a judicious blending. His great melodic gift is very much in evidence. John has that rare ability to create a melody which is thoroughly conventional, immediately hummable, sounds as if one had heard it somewhere before, and yet is in fact absolutely original. Above all, his music has that unassailable quality of rightness, for which there is no substitute."
The pieces John Lewis created for the MJQ provided the group with a framework within which there is ample room for improvisation, and thus the aforementioned self-expression. Often though, as with most of the best-written and inspired music, it is the compositions themselves that linger in the ear of the behearer long after the soloists have had their say. The combined influences of European classical music and the essence of the blues in many of his pieces make John Lewis's compositions most satisfying to perform, as is the concept of simultaneous improvisation from the piano and vibraharp very much in the manner of a traditional New Orleans front line going all-out together. Or a Bach two-part invention.
Reviews
So, this delightful album by vibesman Alan Lee and a thoroughly empathetic band is cause for celebration
Lee evokes the classic MJQ sound ... Lee is the most commanding soloist, but Abbott does offer some assured contrapuntal playing in tandem with him, while Rosa and Hendry provide the kind of unobtrusive support that this type of 'chamber jazz' requires
Artists
The Alan Lee/Jo Abbott Jazz Quartet
ensemble
John Lewis
composer
John Aaron Lewis (1920 – 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Brian Brown
composer
Brian Brown (1933–2013) was an Australian jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer and educator whose original music helped define a local improvising voice. From the 1950s he led his own ensembles and later founded improvisation studies at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
composer
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. His ballets, concertos and orchestral works remain among the most widely performed music in the classical repertoire.
Ray Brown
composer
Milt Jackson
composer
Mary Lou Williams
composer
Digital booklet
Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDFPerformers
- The Alan Lee/Jo Abbott Jazz Quartet · ensemble
- Alan Lee · vibraharp
- Jo Abbott · piano
- Ivan Rosa · double bass
- Ben Hendry · drums
Technical credits
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Recording Engineer
Vaughan McAlley
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Editing Engineer
Vaughan McAlley
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Mastering Engineer
Martin Wright
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Venue
Move Records Studio
Details
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 56 minutes 28 seconds
- Release date
- 10 Mar 2006
- Category
- Jazz
- Genre
- Jazz & Improvised
- Musical work copyright
- © 2006 Move Records
- Sound recording copyright
- ℗ 2006 Move Records
- Catalogue
- MD 3303
- EAN
- 9314574330328
More to explore
In Memoriam
In Memoriam centres on John Lewis’s four-hand concert piece of that name, heard here in a world-premiere two-piano version. Martial Solal’s Suite for two pianos is likewise a first recording, framed by shorter works and improvisations from Tony Gould and David Ward-Steinman.
Night Thoughts
During the long still nights of Melbourne’s Covid lockdowns, pianist Len Vorster listened widely and thought hard about what he heard. Those evening ruminations became this programme of fifteen nocturnes and night pieces, from Schumann’s circle to Copland.
Flute Perspectives, Vol. 1
Flautist Derek Jones and pianist Leigh Harrold present this anthology of contemporary Australian flute music, from Sculthorpe’s Torres Strait cycle to solo and duo works by leading local composers.
Miscellany for Flute and Harp
Throughout history composers have been drawn to the flute and harp pairing, from the shepherd’s pan-pipes and Orphean lyre of ancient Arcadia to the French court of Marie-Antoinette and Mozart’s duo concerto for the two instruments.
Original Transcriptions for Piano
Piano transcriptions of rare originality and virtuosity. Australian pianist-composer Cameron Roberts turns orchestral showpieces and intimate songs into a solo-piano tour de force.
Pictures at an Exhibition: Reflected and Refracted
Unique orchestral arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition, Glière’s Coloratura Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, Glinka’s The Nightingale, and two movements from Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons.