JAZZ REVIEW : Modern Quartet Skips Fusion and Scores With an Old Formula

Where is the modern in the Modern Jazz Quartet?

They play jazz--no doubt on that score; and they are a quartet. How modern they are remains subject to question, as the quartet made clear at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena.

Fortunately, pianist John Lewis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson, once looked on as young radicals in the revolutionary bop band of Dizzy Gillespie, have proved beyond question that modernity is not an essential component of their music; on the contrary, their aim in recent years has been the conservation of qualities all too scarce in the wake of the fusion era.

The values they hold dear are best represented by their collection of tributes to Duke Ellington, which took up most of Sunday’s program. In addition to arrangements inspired by Ellington works of the 1930s and early ‘40s, there were two original tributes: Lewis’ “For Ellington,” with its sublime evocation of the Duke’s quasi-gospel mood in his later years, and Jackson’s “Maestro E.K.E.,” a languidly effective theme with easy interplay by Jackson, Lewis and bassist Percy Heath.

“Ko-Ko,” a minor blues, one of the all-time Ellington masterpieces, came to life vividly with an often exact duplication of the original recording. Another partial blues, “Sepia Panorama,” similarly managed to capture with the four men what Ellington had expressed through a 15-piece orchestra.

The only flaw in a generally inspired afternoon was the occasionally colorless drumming of Connie Kay, whose tendency to underplay now and then weakens the impact. On the slower works, however, notably the exquisite “Django” (played as an encore), all four men achieved the magic blend that established this group back in the early 1950s.

Jazz is sometimes called the sound of surprise. What emerges at a Modern Jazz Quartet concert is geared not to surprise but to subtlety, serenity and sensitivity. The formula still works as well as it did in the formative days when this group provided an invaluable alternative in the already hectic world of jazz.