Label:
Apple Records – ST 3353
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Stereo, Album / Country: US / Released: 1969
Style:
Bop, Cool Jazz, Improvisation
Recorded and
released on the Apple label, December 12, 1967.
Recording
first Published 1968.
Design
[Sleeve Designed By] – Alan Aldridge
Liner
Notes – Bob Dawbarn
Manufactured
By Apple Records Inc., Hollywood and Vine Streets, Hollywood, Calif
All
compositions by John Lewis
A1
- The Blue Necklace . . . . . . . . . . 4:59
A2
- Three Little Feelings (Part I) . . . . . . . . . . 3:56
A3
- Three Little Feelings (Part II) . . . . . . . . . . 4:59
A4
- Three Little Feelings (Part III) . . . . . . . . . . 5:18
B1
– Exposure . . . . . . . . . . 9:28
B2
- The Jasmin Tree . . . . . . . . . . 5:22
Personnel:
Milt
Jackson – vibraphone
John
Lewis – piano
Percy
Heath – bass
Connie
Kay – drums
Almost a decade further on from that and the world of the MJQ collided, beautifully and briefly, with that of The Beatles. One quartet consisted of super cool jazz improvisers, the other boundary-breaking pop polymaths.
Before
they separated, the MJQ clocked up 22 years together, an unprecedented timespan
for an original four-piece, of any genre. The split came in 1974, after the
memorable Last Concert at the Lincoln Centre in New York City. But the group
reconvened in 1981 and issued its final recording in 1993.
Album
"The Jasmin Tree" was originally released in 1968, followed by
"Space" in 1969. Both shine brightly in the Quartet's extensive catalogue,
not just for their brilliantly understated melodic statements, their fluid,
organic jazz, but for the era-defining psychedelic artwork that adorned their
sleeves, and the fact that they appeared on Apple. The vast majority of the
MJQ’s albums appeared under the aegis of the US music industry giant and jazz
trailblazer that was Atlantic Records.
Although
The Beatles once famously sang that they had no kick against modern jazz, they
couldn’t honestly claim to be responsible for bringing about the MJQ's
two-album secondment to Apple. In fact, the instigator of this short but happy
union was the first Head of Apple Records, the fondly remembered Ron Kass. Ron
was the seasoned American record company professional head-hunted from Liberty
Records. He was also the biggest jazz fan at Apple’s HQ, 3 Savile Row in
London. "I loved Ron, he was exactly what we needed,” recalls Peter Asher,
Apple's Head of A&R at the time. “He was knowledgeable, he knew the state
of the business. He had the smooth American suit-and-tie thing going, which was
what we thought Apple had to have in order to interface with the business world
and the Capitol (EMI) world. We liked him, he understood us.”
Peter
continues: "The Modern Jazz Quartet came to Apple because Ron Kass was
very friendly with Monte Kay, their manager. And Ron said, ‘Wouldn't it be cool
for the MJQ to do an album on Apple?’ Ron's pitch was that it would make them a
lot of new fans, as some Beatles fans would listen to the MJQ just because it
was on Apple, and Monte really liked the idea...."
A
more unlikely match of artists and label you will rarely find -- the dignified,
classically influenced, indelibly Afro-American Modern Jazz Quartet and the
Beatles' Apple Corps, Ltd. But Apple in its Rocking '60s heyday was one of the
most daringly eclectic labels on the scene, and as the sole jazz act on the
roster, the MJQ was given complete artistic freedom, with no electric guitars
or period psychedelia apart from the misleading cover art. The program is more
or less standard, poised, painstakingly structured, gently swinging MJQ fare,
the group's contrapuntal interplay as telepathic as ever. The most distinctive
of John Lewis' compositions is the revolving minor-key theme of "Three
Little Feelings, Pt. 1" (part of a three-movement suite), while "The
Blue Necklace" has a bell going off like that of a cash register, and Milt
Jackson is clearly in his element on the gospel-ish "The Jasmin
Tree." An extremely rare LP even when it was in print -- the Beatles' rock
audience ignored it, and MJQ's fans couldn't find it.
_
Review by Richard S. Ginell
If
you find it, buy this album!
THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET – Under The Jasmin Tree (LP-1969)
ReplyDeleteVinyl Rip-FLAC+Artwork
1fichier:
https://1fichier.com/?qv881joc8m
Very mellow. Thank you, Vitko, for this rare Apple.
ReplyDeleteVery rare. Thanks Vitko.
ReplyDeleteGood of you to share some classic mainstream.
ReplyDeleteThank you vitko.
As a kid, I was a huge Beatles fan, to the point that I would take their collective hands (The Beatles/Apple) and let them lead me wherever they wanted to go. I didn’t come across this or the next MJQ on Apple until later when I knew who they were (any chance of Space being posted?). However, I’d pick up anything I could find, including all the avant stuff like Harrison’s Electronic Sound and the Lennon/Ono albums. At 13, I had no idea who John Tchicai or John Stevens were when I saw their names listed on Life with The Lions, No.2, but I sure found out later!
ReplyDelete"Space" I will not publish as a post, but I can make a link for you.
DeleteI'd really appriciate that Vitko. That's a nice one too. And that you for reminding us of all the great music there is out there
ReplyDelete*sigh*, I meant to say Thank you. Even spell check doesn't help!
ReplyDeleteHi rev.b,
Deletehere is a link for MJQ/Space:
http://www4.zippyshare.com/v/0jmF2bQe/file.html
Thanks, Vitko, for providing the Apple recordings of the MJQ in toto.
DeleteSo very kind of you. Guess what I'll be listening to this weekend! thx agn.
ReplyDeleteb
Thanks so much for all the great music! I have the LP, badly worn after all these years, and it is just great.
ReplyDelete- inamorata
Thanks! great work, vinyl rips just somehow sound better..
ReplyDeleteam I being really thick here ..how do I download this thanks
ReplyDeleteVery simple:
Deletea) first click on the DOWNLOAD button (Télécharger)
b) it will be opened a new window for advertising
c) close this window
d) re-click on the DOWNLOAD button (Télécharger)
and the download will start.
Maravilloso, muchas gracias Vitko¡
ReplyDeletehola, vitko, sería posible resubir este disco por favor ?
ReplyDeleteen el pais donde vivo los archivos fichier estan prohibidos desde hace varios años,
saludos cordiales
ricardo