It’s been ages since I blogged a link to a jazz video on YouTube. I did it for a while, but I stopped when it began to feel more like work than just a fun thing to share. In any event, here’s a video I’ve enjoyed enough that I thought it was worth sharing: The Modern Jazz Quartet with classical guitarist Laurindo Almeida playing Jobim’s “One Note Samba”.
If you like the clip, the album to buy is Collaboration by the Modern Jazz Quartet with Laurindo Almeida, which includes a pretty similar performance of One Note Samba. If you want more general recommendations of work by the MJQ, I recommend starting with The 1960 European Concert, which is wonderful. But really, pretty much all of MJQ’s stuff is good: Milt Jackson was an endlessly inventive blues player on vibes, and John Lewis was always interesting and thoughtful on piano.