This CD edition contains John Lewis' complete 1959 album "Improvised Meditations and Excursions," in which the pianist abandoned his typical MJQ lineup to play relaxed trio pieces. Further tracks featuring John Lewis' piano as the primary instrument in trio and duet formats (which was a rarity for him) have been added as a bonus.
Tracklisting:
01. Nows The Time 3:48
02. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 4:53
03. Delaunays Dilemma 4:28
04. Love Me 5:04
05. Yesterdays 6:20
06. How Long Has This Been Going On 5:50
07. September Song 6:12
08. Little Girl Blue 4:30*
09. D&E 4:19*
10. I Cant Get Started 3:32*
11. Skylark 3:06*
12. I Should Care 4:52*
13. I Remember Clifford 3:30*
14. Harlequin 5:16*
15. Two Lyric Pieces 10:55*
A) Pierrot
B) Colombine
Total time: 76:25 min.
Tracks #1-7, from the original Atlantic album
"Improvised Meditations and Excursions" (1313)
(*) Bonus tracks not on the original album
Personnel on #1-7:
John Lewis (piano), George Duvivier (bass on #1-3), Percy Heath (bass on #4-7), and Connie Kay (drums).
New York, May 7 (#4-7) & May 8 (#1-3), 1959
Personnel on tracks #8-9:
John Lewis (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Conie Kay (drums).
Recorded in New York, on February 21, 1957
Personnel on tracks #10-11:
John Lewis (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Chico Hamilton (drums), Jim Hal (guitar) on 11 only.
Recorded in Los Angeles, on February 10, 1956
Personnel on tracks #12-13:
John Lewis (piano), George Duvivier (bass), Conie Kay (drums).
Recorded in New York, on July 29, 1960
Personnel on tracks #14-15:
John Lewis (piano), Conie Kay (drums, on 14 only), Jim Hal (guitar on 15 only).
Recorded in Lenox, Massachusetts, August 24, 1957
Original album supervised by Nesuhi Ertegun
Engineered by Earle Brown, Frank Abbey
Cover photography by Lee Friedlander
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Review:
"The emphasis on this fine LP is on John Lewis' piano playing. Taking time off from the Modern Jazz Quartet and his orchestral writing, Lewis performs five standards plus two of his originals ("Delaunay's Dilemma" and "Love Me") in a trio with drummer Connie Kay and either George Duvivier or Percy Heath on bass. A master at playing blues, Lewis' versatility and solid sense of swing can be heard on such songs as his two originals as well as "Now's the Time," "Yesterdays," and "September Song."
Scott Yanow -All Music Guide
