Collectables
1964
Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
About This Album
The Modern Jazz Quartet, a group legendary for it's feats during their heyday in the cool bop period of jazz music, shares with the listener a brilliant effort encompassing their impression of composer George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." Acclaimed by Encyclopedia Britannica as "the greatest American musical drama ever written," The Modern Jazz Quartet perform it at the highest level of creative flair to pay homage to a marvel of composition with the utmost degree of sincerity and respect. This is a piece that Gershwin took a full 11 months to compose and nine months to orchestrate, all based on the initial inspiration from a drama written by playwright Dorothy Heyward. Opening up the score is Gershwin's dazzling and seductive tune "Summertime," a landslide mark of musical brilliance. So daring and stylish do the quartet seem, that they bring quite a sense of dynamics and energy to the performance. The percussive textures of Connie Kay on drums and Percy Heath on bass blend in beautifully with the lush dual sound of John Lewis on piano and Milt Jackson on the vibraharp. The second tune, "Bess, You Is My Women," is an up-tempo delight of soaring swing, with a combination of dashing walking basslines and sweetly decorated melody chops.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 5)

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