John Aaron Lewis (May 3, 1920 – March 29, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger, best known as the founder and musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Early life

John Lewis was born in La Grange, Illinois, and after his parents' divorce moved with his mother, a trained singer, to Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was two months old. She died from peritonitis when he was four and he was raised by his grandmother and great-grandmother.

He began learning classical music and piano at the age of seven. Even though he learned piano by playing the classics, he was exposed to jazz from an early age because his aunt loved to dance and he would listen to the music she played. he then studied at the University of New Mexico, and double majored in anthropology and music. Eventually, he decided not to pursue anthropology because he was advised that careers from degrees in the subject did not pay well. Lewis moved to New York in 1945 Lewis composed, arranged and played piano for the band from 1946 until 1948 after the band made a concert tour of Europe. From when he returned to the U.S. in 1948 through 1949, Lewis joined Davis's nonet For the Birth of the Cool sessions, Lewis arranged "S'il Vous Plait", "Rouge", "Move" and "Budo". and they frequently played their own short sets when the brass and reeds needed a break or even when Gillespie's band was not playing. The small band received a lot of positive recognition and it led to the foursome forming a full-time working group, which they initially called the Milt Jackson Quartet in 1951 but in 1952 renamed the Modern Jazz Quartet. While Lewis wanted the MJQ to have more improvisational freedom, he also wanted to incorporate some classical elements and arrangements into his compositions. Lewis assumed the role of musical director from the start, It is commonly thought that "John Lewis, for reasons of his contributions to the band, was apparently the first among the equals". Lewis's compositions for The Modern Jazz Quartet developed a "neoclassical style" Lewis believed that it was important to dress the way that they came across in their music: polished, elegant and unique. Gunther Schuller for High Fidelity Magazine wrote: <blockquote>It will not come as a surprise that the Quartet's growth has followed a line parallel to Lewis' own development as a composer. A study of his compositions from the early "Afternoon in Paris" to such recent pieces as "La Cantatrice" and "Piazza Navona" shows an increasing technical mastery and stylistic broadening. The wonder of his music is that the various influences upon his work—whether they be the fugal masterpieces of Bach, the folk-tinged music of Bartók, the clearly defined textures of Stravinsky's "Agon", or the deeply felt blues atmosphere that permeates all his music—these have all become synthesized into a thoroughly homogeneous personal idiom. That is why Lewis' music, though not radical in any sense, always sounds fresh and individual.</blockquote>

During the same time period, Lewis held various other positions as well, including head of faculty for the summer sessions held at the Lenox School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts from 1957 to 1960, and "he formed the cooperative big band Orchestra U.S.A., which performed and recorded Third Stream compositions (1962–65)". Furthermore, Lewis was also commissioned to compose the score to the 1957 film Sait-On Jamais, and his later film work included the scores to Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), A Milanese Story (1962), and Derek Jarman's version of The Tempest (1979), for which he wrote some cues. His score to Odds Against Tomorrow was released on both an original soundtrack album (UA 5061) and an interpretation album by the MJQ in 1959.

The MJQ disbanded in 1974 because Jackson felt that the band was not getting enough money for the level of prestige the quartet had in the music scene. During this break, Lewis taught at the City College of New York and at Harvard University. While in Japan, Lewis also collaborated with Hank Jones and Marian McPartland, with whom he performed piano recitals on various occasions.

In the 1990s, Lewis partook of various musical ventures, including participating in the Re-birth of the Cool sessions with Gerry Mulligan in 1992, Lewis performed a final concert at Lincoln Center in New York City in January 2001.

Death and personal life

Lewis died in New York City on March 29, 2001, as a result of prostate cancer.

Music

Style and influence

Leonard Feather's opinion of Lewis's work is representative of many other knowledgeable jazz listeners and critics: "Completely self-sufficient and self-confident, he knows exactly what he wants from his musicians, his writing and his career and he achieves it with an unusual quiet firmness of manner, coupled with modesty and a complete indifference to critical reaction." Lewis was not only this way with his music, but his personality exemplified these same qualities. played with a tone quality that made listeners and critics feel as though every note was deliberate. Schuller remembered of Lewis at his memorial service that "he had a deep concern for every detail, every nuance in the essentials of music".</blockquote>

It is considered, however, that Lewis was successful in exemplifying, in his arrangements and compositions, this skill that he admired. Because of his classical training, in addition to his exposure to bebop, Lewis was able to combine the two disparate musical styles and refine jazz so that there was a "sheathing of bop's pointed anger in exchange for concert hall respectability".

Lewis was also influenced by the improvisations of Lester Young on the saxophone.

In the early 1980s, Lewis's influence came from the pianists he enjoyed listening to: Art Tatum, Hank Jones and Oscar Peterson. he is also considered to be one of the more conservative players. On the piano, his improvisational style was primarily quiet and gentle and understated. This was how he approached his solos as well. He proved in his solos that taking a "simple and straightforward... approach to a melody could... put [musicians] in touch with such complexities of feeling", Francis Davis comments: "I think too, that the same conservative lust for simplicity of forms that draws Lewis to the Renaissance and the Baroque draws him inevitably to the blues, another form of music permitting endless variation only within the logic of rigid boundaries".

His compositions were influenced by 18th-century melodies and harmonies, and incorporating classical instrumentation.

|-

| 1979<!-- –05–03-->

| Piano Play House

| Toshiba

| 1979

| With Hank Jones, George Duvivier (bass), Shelly Manne (drums)

|-

| 1981<!-- –08–26, –27-->

|Duo

| Toshiba EMI/Eastworld

| 1981

| with Lew Tabackin

|-

| 1982<!-- –05–25, –26-->

| Kansas City Breaks

| Finesse

| 1982

|

|-

| 1982<!-- –11–04, –05-->

| Slavic Smile

| RVC/Baystate

| 1983

| As The New Quartet (with Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Marc Johnson (bass), Connie Kay (drums))

|-

| 1984<!-- –01, –09-->

| J.S. Bach Preludes and Fugues from the Well-tempered Clavier Book 1

| Philips

| 1985

| With Joel Lester (violin), Lois Martin (viola), Howard Collins (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass)

|-

| 1986?

| The Bridge Game aka J.S. Bach Preludes and Fugues from the Well-tempered Clavier Book 1, Vol. 2

| Philips

| 1986

| With Joel Lester (violin), Lois Martin and Scott Nickrenz (viola), Howard Collins (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass)

|-

| 1987?

| The Chess Game Part 1

| Philips

| 1987

| With Mirjana Lewis (harpsichord); based on J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations

|-

| 1987<!-- –04–20 – –24-->

| The Chess Game Part 2

| Philips

| 1987

| With Mirjana Lewis (harpsichord); based on J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations

|-

| 1988<!-- –08–22 – –26-->

| J.S. Bach Preludes and Fugues from the Well-tempered Clavier Book 1, Vol. 3

| Philips

| 1989

| With Howard Collins (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass)

|-

| 1989<!-- –12–04 – –08-->

| J.S. Bach Preludes and Fugues from the Well-tempered Clavier Book 1, Vol. 4

| Philips

| 1990

| With Anahid Ajemian (violin), Robert Dan (viola), Howard Collins (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass)

|-

| 1990<!-- –09–10 – –12-->

| Private Concert

| EmArcy

| 1991

| Solo piano; in concert

|-

| 1999<!-- –01–12 – –15-->

| Evolution

| Atlantic

| 1999

| Solo piano

|-

| 2000

| Evolution II

| Atlantic

| 2001

|Six tracks quartet with Howard Collins (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass), Lewis Nash (drums); four tracks quartet with Howard Alden (guitar), George Mraz (bass), Nash (drums)

|}

As a member

Modern Jazz Quartet

  • Wizard of the Vibes (Blue Note, 1952)
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet (Prestige, 1953)
  • Milt Jackson Quintet (Prestige, 1954)
  • Concorde (Prestige, 1955)
  • Django (Prestige, 1956)
  • Fontessa (Atlantic, 1956)
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn (Atlantic, 1957)
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet (Atlantic, 1957)
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio at the Opera House (Verve, 1957)
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice (Atlantic, 1958) – film score
  • Lost Tapes: Germany 1956–1958 (Jazzhaus, 1956–1958 [2013])
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn Volume 2 (Atlantic, 1959)
  • Music from Odds Against Tomorrow (United Artists, 1959) – film score
  • Third Stream Music (Atlantic, 1960)
  • Pyramid (Atlantic, 1960)
  • European Concert (Atlantic, 1960)
  • Dedicated to Connie (Atlantic, 1960 [1995])
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra (Atlantic, 1960)
  • The Comedy (1962, Atlantic 1390)
  • Lonely Woman (Atlantic, 1962)
  • A Quartet is a Quartet is a Quartet (1963, Atlantic 1420)
  • Collaboration (Atlantic, 1964) – with Laurindo Almeida
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (Atlantic, 1964–65)
  • Jazz Dialogue (Atlantic, 1965) with the All-Star Jazz Band
  • Concert in Japan '66 (Atlantic [Japan], 1966)
  • Blues at Carnegie Hall (Atlantic, 1966)
  • Place Vendôme (Philips, 1966) – with The Swingle Singers
  • Under the Jasmin Tree (Apple, 1968)
  • Space (Apple, 1969)
  • Plastic Dreams (Atlantic, 1971)
  • The Only Recorded Performance of Paul Desmond With The Modern Jazz Quartet (Finesse/Columbia, 1971 [1981]) – with Paul Desmond
  • The Legendary Profile (Atlantic, 1972)
  • In Memoriam (Little David, 1973)
  • Blues on Bach (Atlantic, 1973)
  • The Last Concert (Atlantic, 1974)
  • Reunion at Budokan 1981 (Pablo, 1981)
  • Together Again: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival '82 (Pablo, 1982)
  • Echoes (Pablo, 1984)
  • Topsy: This One's for Basie (Pablo, 1985)
  • Three Windows (Atlantic, 1987)
  • For Ellington (East-West, 1988)
  • MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (Atlantic, 1992–93)

As sideman

With Dizzy Gillespie

  • The Bop Session (Sonet, 1975) – also with Sonny Stitt, Hank Jones, Percy Heath and Max Roach
  • The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Bluebird, 1995) – rec. 1937–1949

With Charlie Parker

  • "Parker's Mood" (1948)
  • "Blues for Alice" (1951)
  • The Magnificent Charlie Parker (Clef, 1955) – rec. 1951–1953
  • The Genius of Charlie Parker (Savoy, 1956) – rec. 1945–1958

With others

  • Clifford Brown, Memorial Album (Blue Note, 1956) – rec. 1953
  • Ruth Brown, Ruth Brown (Atlantic, 1957)
  • Benny Carter, Central City Sketches (MusicMasters, 1987)
  • Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool (Capitol Jazz, 1957) – rec. 1948–1950
  • Milt Jackson, Ballads & Blues (Atlantic, 1956)
  • J. J. Johnson, Stitt Plays Bird (Atlantic, 1964)
  • Joe Newman, I Feel Like a Newman (Storyville, 1956)
  • Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins at Music Inn (MetroJazz, 1958)
  • Sonny Stitt, Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell/J. J. Johnson (Prestige, 1956) – rec. 1949
  • Barney Wilen, Jazz Sur Seine (Philips, 2000) – rec. 1958

Contributions

  • Orchestra U.S.A. (Colpix, 1963) – leader
  • Bill Evans: A Tribute (Palo Alto, 1982) – performs "I'll Remember April"
  • The Jazztet and John Lewis (Argo, 1961) – as composer and arranger

Notes

References

Further reading

  • JAZCLASS – John Lewis and the MJQ
  • Lewis interviewed by Bill Quinn in the Howard University Jazz Oral History Project