Django (album)


Django is an album by the Modern Jazz Quartet, first released on 12-inch LP in 1956.

Overview

The actual sessions had taken place in June 1953, December 1954, and January 1955, and were first released on two 10-inch albums, entitled Modern Jazz Quartet and The Modern Jazz Quartet, Vol. 2. The first session took place in New York, but the eventual Hackensack, New Jersey sessions were engineered by Rudy Van Gelder; the whole album was reissued in 2006 as part of the Rudy Van Gelder Remasters collection.
The song "Django" was composed by the group's pianist and musical director, John Lewis. It is one of his best-known compositions, written in memory of the Belgian gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. One other apostrophic tune is "Delauney's Dilemma", a jaunty tribute to the French jazz critic Charles Delaunay. The lengthy "La Ronde Suite", with discrete sections emphasizing each group member's contributions, is in fact a version of the standard "Two Bass Hit", written by Lewis for Dizzy Gillespie and covered by, among others, Miles Davis on Milestones. Gillespie's own tune, "One Bass Hit", is also included as a feature for bassist Percy Heath.
Vibraphonist Milt "Bags" Jackson can be heard grunting and humming throughout the quieter numbers, which include covers of the Gershwins' "But Not For Me" and the Vernon Duke standard "Autumn In New York".

Reception

Writing for All About Jazz, Douglas Payne described Django as "classic jazz in construction and execution" and said it was "the place to begin appreciating the many and great virtues of one of jazz's finest aggregates". AllMusic's Lindsay Planer wrote that "In terms of seminal Modern Jazz Quartet entries, it is hard to exceed the variety of styles and performances gathered on Django."

Track listing

  1. "Django" – 7:03
  2. "One Bass Hit" – 2:59
  3. "La Ronde Suite" – 9:38
  4. "The Queen's Fancy" – 3:12
  5. "Delauney's Dilemma" – 4:01
  6. "Autumn In New York" – 3:40
  7. "But Not for Me" – 3:44
  8. "Milano" – 4:23

    Personnel