Customer Reviews

Blues on Bach

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one musical experiment that makes for an enjoyable listen. John Lewis' interpretations of Bach alternate with more traditional MJQ blues/bop numbers. There's not a bad track on the disc, and a few in particular ("Tears for the Children") are quite moving.

My only complaint (and what keeps this album from being a true masterpiece) is that they place Bach and jazz into almost airtight compartments. There is very little if any improvisation on the Bach pieces. And, unfortunately, Lewis plays harpsichord on the Bach selections, which only serves to emphasize the obvious differences between Bach and modern jazz. The use of piano throughout, and the courage to improvise on Bach, would have make this a much more coherent and interesting listen.

Actually my rating would be about 3.5 stars. No, this is not the best MJQ material available. And no, if you're new to MJQ, don't start here -- unless you're coming to them with a classical background.

I like Bach and I like MJQ--so I had to like this one. However, I wish Lewis had done a whole CD with the Bach material and another one with the blues material, expanding each concept to a full CD of material. Each type is worth listening to and in each format Lewis and MJQ had something interesting to say. The alternating track format is, to my ears, jarring -- I'm just getting "into" Lewis doing Bach on harpsicord and we're back to the jazz/blues format. But even that doesn't stop me from enjoying the music--and it is very enjoyable, indeed.

Listening to the Bach tracks with vibes and harpsicord working the theme is good stuff! Lewis' treatment of the Bach themes is very interesting--you'll never miss the basic theme but he manages nice touches to rework and embellish. The blues/jazz tracks are stronger and begin to show what MJQ is all about.

If you're new to MJQ go get a couple others first (Fontessa would be a better starting point). Then, if you're like me and enjoy Bach and MJQ then get this one, its a natural. If you're extending a collection of MJQ then this one is worthwhile mainly because of its uniqueness.

I can't believe I'm the first to sing the praises of this album. It's masterful understatement. It alternates between tracks of beautiful Bach melodies and original blues-inspired tracks. Each is executed perfectly. It is one of the foundations of my collection.

No album by the MJQ is bad, and even their lesser ones have their good moments. This is one of the latter.

Other reviewers have commented on the roles of Lewis and Jackson and jazz vs/plus Bach. Therefore, I'll limit my comments to what I feel is the album's biggest shortcoming - and that is the playing of percussionist Connie Kay on cuts 3, 5 and 9. In these he contributes a high-pitched, insistent accompaniment of bells - mostly of the sleigh bell type. This ceaseless jinglejinglejinglejinglejinglejingle completely overwhelms two of the cuts with its unrelenting, unmodulated insistence, and a similar technique pretty well scuttles another as well.

I like Jackson's playing very much and ditto for the MJQ, but I would say this album is for die-hard fans only.

In fact I found the cuts indicated so annoying every time they played that I finally re-recorded the album onto a CDR disc leaving them out, and combined it with cuts from their "No Sun in Venice," from which I excised two similarly grating cuts where Kay overdoes his bell and triangle routine.

The interweaving of blues into Bach is incredible. What is most gratifying is that Bach is very much present in this very smooth CD. Highly recommend!

I'm a bit surprised to find myself liking this more than most reviewers, for I enjoy playing the CD with regularity. It is true that the "Bach" numbers are hardly "jazz" in the conventional sense, while the others are. But does this really matter? It seems to me that this brilliant and sensitive foursome does equally well in each of the two modes adopted, and - even more importantly - THAT THEY DO NOT JAR. To me, the tracks do offer some sort of unity, by bringing out for one thing the universality of great music, but also for another by implictly stressing how Bach was, in a sense, a precursor to jazz, and how the MJQ, even WITHIN its jazz formulation, plays music Bach would have found totally intelligible, admirable, and congenial. Enjoying this CD requires some lateral thinking! - Joost Daalder

... John Lewis felt an urge to make this recording. I admire pianist Lewis's admiration for JS Bach, and I can imagine that for some MJQ fans such a recording would have been an epiphany. But this performance is a lot more fun to think about than to listen to. Lewis's other recording of Bach -- two CDs of the preludes and fugues, available now on a Japanese label -- are worth hearing as a kind of relaxed cocktail Bach, but this CD is one to skip. Even a three-star rating is a kind of homage to the MJQ, reflecting my many hours of pleasure listening to their other recordings.

What's wrong with it? Well, the tracks based on Bach compositions are just simply ugly to my ears. Lewis plays some sort of harpsichord on them, but he has no idea of harpsichord technique. Whatever it is, his harpsichord has a wretched excuse for timbre, sounding like a galvanized washtub with strings. Milt Jackson exaggerates the 'vibrato' of his vibraphone painfully, and there's a jangling arhythmic clatter behind this already ear-jittering tinkle, which I assume comes from mice dancing on the cymbals or cowbells. If I ever listen to this CD again, it will be with the remote in hand, in order to skip these reverent but misconceived efforts to render Bach as "cool jazz".

The other tracks, cool blues renditions of 'standards' in a succession of keys -- B minor, A minor, C minor, H minor -- are pleasant listening, not the MJQ at their most brilliant but not unworthy of the ensemble.

I bought the CD to replace my vinyl version, which I had not played in years, and I am so pleased to hear again the MJQ's takes on Bach classics alternating with their own compositions. This is a CD that I can listen to over cocktails and dinner as stimulating background music ... or focus on without any distractions to appreciate the artistry of the musicians and arrangements.

If you like the MJQ, this is one of their best albums; Pyramid and Concorde being my other favorites.

This is a pleasant, easy-going listen sparked by some quirks of amusement: "Bach on a marimba?" It's also a nice intellectual experience to hear these musicians share their own original views of a master composer.

In one segment, I was put off by an irritating incessant "ting-ting" in the background which reminds me of the inane bell-ringing background in a casino.

Overall, though, this disc is a keeper, and a versatile piece to share with friends.

Ok, it's not a straight-ahead jazz recording, and there might be something incongruous about playing Bach on the vibes, but this is serious stuff to be taken seriously. Serious and/or classical composers allowed for a certain amount of spontaniety or improvisation in some of their compositions--particularly their concerti. Why not show off the genius of both jazz and classical compositions--especially when they are as well done as they are in the hands of MJQ? I think this is a great recording, and in all probability, one that is under-appreciated.