Vinyl Vault — John Lewis “P.O.V”

As pianist and principal composer for the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Lewis was involved in dozens of MJQ albums. But he also recorded many albums under his own name as well. Next time on the Vinyl Vault we’ll hear one from 1975 entitled “P.O.V.” released on the Columbia label.

On “P.O.V.,” Lewis continued to explore the Third Stream or the blending of classical music with jazz. For this album, Lewis assembled a jazz trio augmented by a trio of classical musicians. Besides Lewis on piano and harpsichord, Richard Davis appeared on bass and Mel Lewis on drums. They were joined by Harold Jones on flute, Gerald Tarack on violin and Fortunato Arico on cello.

Lewis composed all the tunes on the album. Many begin with Lewis joined by the three classical players to set a tone and mood which then slides into some gentle and tasteful swing as the rhythm section enters.

Check out John Lewis’ point of view, as he saw it in 1975, on the Vinyl Vault with Geoff Anderson, Tuesday, August 22 at 8:30 pm on The Night Beat on KUVO JAZZ.

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