Blues on Bach
Blues on Bach | ||||
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Studio album by Modern Jazz Quartet | ||||
Released | 1974 | |||
Recorded | November 26–27, 1973 | |||
Studio | Atlantic Recording Studios, New York City | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 41:27 | |||
Label | Atlantic QD 1652 | |||
Producer | Nesuhi Ertegun | |||
Modern Jazz Quartet chronology | ||||
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Milt Jackson chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blues on Bach is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet recorded in 1973 and released on the Atlantic label.[4] The album includes five John Lewis arrangements of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, interspersed with four original blues pieces "on" [the name] "Bach"—in keys (and with titles) that spell out in order the name B-A-C-H.
The five pieces arranged from Bach originals are: "Regret?" from chorale prelude "The Old Year Has Now Passed Away"; "Rise Up in the Morning" from the 140th cantata "Sleepers Wake"; "Precious Joy" from the 147th cantata "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"; "Don't Stop This Train" from the fugue by Johann Peter Kellner BWV Anh. 180 wrongly attributed to Bach;[5] and "Tears from the Children" from the Prelude 8 in E-flat minor from Book I of "The Well-Tempered Clavier".
For the four blues pieces, the "spelling" of the titles follows the system Bach and his German contemporaries used, in which the letter B indicates B-flat, and the letter H is B-natural. So, the four blues pieces that spell the name B-A-C-H are in the keys of B-flat (major), A (minor), C (minor) and B (major).
Reception
The Allmusic review stated "This album has an interesting concept, alternating four original blues with five adaptations of melodies [sic] from classical works by Bach. The Modern Jazz Quartet had long been quite adept in both areas, and despite a certain lack of variety on this set (alternating back and forth between the two styles somewhat predictably), the music is largely enjoyable".[1]
Track listing
- "Regret?" (based on Bach) – 2:04
- "Blues in B Flat" (John Lewis) – 4:56
- "Rise Up in the Morning" (Bach) – 3:28
- "Blues in A Minor" (Lewis) – 7:53
- "Precious Joy" (Bach) – 3:12
- "Blues in C Minor" (Milt Jackson) – 7:58
- "Don't Stop This Train" (Bach) – 1:45
- "Blues in H (B)" (Jackson) – 5:46
- "Tears from the Children" (Bach) – 4:25
Personnel
- Milt Jackson – vibraphone
- John Lewis – piano, harpsichord
- Percy Heath – bass
- Connie Kay – drums
References
- ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed June 1, 2012
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008) The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th edition). Penguin. p. 1015
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 143. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Modern Jazz Quartet discography accessed June 1, 2012
- ^ Stephen A. Crist, "Bach as Modern Jazz", in Bach Reworked, edited by Linda Buch, University of Illinois Press, 2020
- v
- t
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Kenny Clarke, Mickey Roker, Albert Heath
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release,except where indicated.
albums
- Wizard of the Vibes (as Milt Jackson Quartet, 1952)
- 1953: An Exceptional Encounter (and Ben Webster, 1953)
- Django (1953–55)
- Concorde (1955)
- Fontessa (1956)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn (1956)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice (1957)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet (1957)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio at the Opera House (1957)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn Volume 2 (with Sonny Rollins, 1958)
- Pyramid (1959–60)
- Music from Odds Against Tomorrow/Patterns (1959)
- European Concert (1960)
- Dedicated to Connie (1960 [1995])
- The Comedy (1960–62)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra (1960)
- Lonely Woman (1962)
- The Sheriff (1963)
- Collaboration (and Laurindo Almeida, 1964)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1964–65)
- Jazz Dialogue (1965)
- Blues at Carnegie Hall (1966)
- Place Vendôme (and The Swingle Singers, 1966)
- Live at the Lighthouse (1967)
- Under the Jasmin Tree (1967)
- Space (1969)
- Plastic Dreams (1971)
- The Legendary Profile (1972)
- In Memoriam (1973)
- Blues on Bach (1973)
- The Complete Last Concert (1974 [1988])
- Reunion at Budokan 1981 (1981)
- Together Again: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival '82 (1982)
- Echoes (1984)
- Topsy: This One's for Basie (1985)
- Three Windows (1987)
- For Ellington (1988)
- MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (1992–1993)