Ermitage

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Fontessa

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Product type: LP Record

"Fontessa" is considered one of the essential albums by the Modern Jazz Quartet praised for its elegant performances and exquisite compositions. The...

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"Fontessa" is considered one of the essential albums by the Modern Jazz Quartet praised for its elegant performances and exquisite compositions.

The album, released in 1956, contributed significantly to the evolution of jazz and remains a key title in their discography. The self-titled track is a multi-movement suite that showcases the band’s ability to blend diverse musical themes; the album includes noteworthy covers such as “Angel Eyes,” “Willow Weep for Me” and “Over the Rainbow,” all undergoing the exclusive Modern Jazz Quartet treatment with a mix of lush harmonies and sophisticated improvisation.

This release is part of the New Ermitage collection available from January 2024: 18 jazz and soul titles reissued on yellow vinyl with new codes and renewed graphics. Ermitage Distribution are made using as a source exclusively Production Master Tape Archives. Launched in the mid-1980s, Ermitage is an Italy-based independent classical music label, and is also a distributor and re-issue label of music.

Album: The Modern Jazz Quartet - Fontessa
Label: Ermitage - VNL-22696
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Yellow
Country: Europe
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop, Cool Jazz
Year: 2024

Fontessa Limited Edition Yellow 140gr LP Record - Fontessa is a 1956 album by the Modern Jazz Quartet.

This 1956 record marked the beginning of the Modern Jazz Quartet's long and fruitful relationship with Atlantic Records and was one of their most inspired visits to a studio. While there had been excellent bands in the past that created a chamber-jazz genre, such as Red Norvo's trio, John Lewis's vision of a fusion of jazz and classical elements was distinctly original. It's apparent here in the controlled counterpoint of "Versailles," the extended first recording on "Fontessa," with Lewis's spare and precise piano perfectly complementing the looser swing of Milt Jackson's glistening vibraphone sound. The group mingles beautifully around Percy Heath's supple, melodic bass lines and Connie Kay's discrete and gently propulsive beat. Jackson's "Bluesology" and Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody'n You" inspire boppish invention, while the limpidly beautiful standards "Willow Weep for Me" and "Angel Eyes" demonstrate Jackson's ability to shift the mood in a single phrase.

The Modern Jazz Quartet, known for their sophisticated and elegant approach to jazz, consisted of pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Connie Kay. Here are some highlights from the album: "Fontessa" is considered one of the Quartet's essential recordings, praised for its elegance of sound and the sophistication of its compositions. The album reflects their commitment to creating accessible yet artistically ambitious jazz. Jazz critics and aficionados often point to the interplay between Milt Jackson's vibraphone and John Lewis' piano, supported by the solid rhythm section of Percy Heath and Connie Kay. The album's title track, "Fontessa," is a multi-movement suite that showcases the group's ability to seamlessly blend different musical themes; the album includes notable covers such as "Angel Eyes," "Willow Weep for Me," and "Over the Rainbow," all of which feature the Modern Jazz Quartet's unique style. treatment with a blend of lush harmonies and sophisticated improvisation. The album, released in 1956, contributed significantly to the evolution of jazz, demonstrating that it could be a serious and inventive genre, capable of sophisticated expression.

This release is part of the new Yellow Vinyl Collection Hermitage series available online music store and plus 18 new wonderful Jazz and Soul titles reprinted on yellow vinyl with renewed packaging!

Ermitage has been promoting the work of musicians, performers and composers for more than thirty years, Ermitage has for some years been offering with notable success the 180 gram vinyl reissues of jazz classics (with names such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker), classical music (Quartetto Italiano, I Musici and others) and Italian songwriting (Endrigo, Gaber, Jannacci, Tenco).

The label’s first classical music releases were several vinyl records by the legendary Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, which were then followed by many and varied releases on CD with a focus on opera, symphonic and chamber music. But the part that interests us here is Ermitage/Opera Leader Ltd, which is the company’s music distribution and re-issue department. Somehow or other (I’ve yet to find out exactly how – watch this space!), Ermitage’s owner, Gianni Salvioni, managed to negotiate with the relevant labels to acquire the rights to re-release, on 180g vinyl, a raft of seminal jazz albums. This process began in the late 1990s /early 2000s, and resulted in Salvioni amassing an enviable archive of production copies and production masters. Apparently, most of these tapes are ‘flat’, in other words unequalised and uncompressed production copies. From these, he produced Ermitage’s various vinyl releases that are already on the market. The tapes were then subsequently placed in his very well maintained tape archive.

Ermitage’s catalogue includes titles from luminaries such as the aforementioned Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, plus Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Ornette Colman, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, etc.

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