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The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was one of those rare outfits that didn’t have a nominal leader, all four of its members being formally equal.

For most of its life it comprised Milt Jackson on vibraphone, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Connie Kay on drums.

This album opens with Jackson’s “Ralph’s New Blues” and closes with the title track, composed by Lewis, with four pop music standards thrown in between them. Lewis and Jackson share the bulk of the solo spotlight, as they did in most of MJQ’s work.

But Jackson dazzles in a way that Lewis, even with his superb musicianship, doesn’t. Heath and Kay are very strongly in evidence in their support, which amply shows their virtuosity.

On the fast-paced “I’ll Remember April”, Jackson and Lewis follow up a ripping solo each with a series of brief exchanges punctuated occasionally by Kay. The brisk-paced “Concorde” has another variation, opening with a solo bass intro into which the drums make an entry before Lewis takes the theme.

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