The Modern Jazz Quartet - Live At The Lighthouse (1985)

Tracklist:

01. The Spiritual (Lewis) - 6:08
02. Baseball (Lewis) - 4:09
03. The Shadow of Your Smile (Mandel-Webster) - 5:40
04. Intima (Prohaska) - 4:23
05. Novamo (Jackson) - 6:08
06. For Someone I Love (Jackson) - 5:12
07. What's New (Haggart) - 6:24

John Lewis - piano
Milt Jackson - vibes
Percy Heath - bass
Connie Kay - drums

This fairly obscure LP by the Modern Jazz Quartet features fresh material and improvisations that are both swinging and creative. Pianist John Lewis' "The Spiritual" and "Baseball," along with vibraphonist Milt Jackson's "Novamo" and "For Someone I Love," comprise half the program, and it is Jackson's influence that seems to be the weightier one here. Jackson and the MJQ always rose to the challenge of a crowd. There are also excellent ballad renditions of "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "What's New." The bluesier side of the band is what's mostly on display here, and the MJQ plays up to its usual level. None of the classic group's recordings should be passed by.