Composition in Context: Lewis and the MJQ, 1952–62

The central compositional vehicle for Lewis’s musical vision during the 1950s was a quartet composed of vibraphone, bass, drums, and piano. Breaking with industry norms, the group set out not under Lewis’s name, but under a title that pointed directly to the innovative style of music the four members were committed to exploring—it was to be a Modern Jazz Quartet in both name and mission. Although the group officially formed in 1952, its origins can be seen to extend back to Lewis’s first major gig on the East Coast. After spending three years in the army—two of which