This is, with "Fontessa", the most celebrated of the original MJQ recordings, and rightly so. When it first appeared it was, like that great record, a huge hit on the jazz scene and beyond, and the fact that it appealed to one's parents is in no sense a reason for thinking it anything less than inspiring. "Django", in particular, is just one of those inexhaustible delights in jazz that always sound satisfying, with Percy Heath on bass driving his instrument in amazing melodious fashion, while John Lewis and Milt Jackson both produce totally convincing and beautiful solos - and boy, did they swing, even though those who like their music only loud don't hear that. To say that these men produced "vignettes" is only half true; certainly they were highly disciplined and eschewed "big" effects, but their very subtlety enhanced - did not reduce - the vitality and intensity of their powerful music. Always a joy to listen to, and therefore unhesitatingly recommended. - Joost Daalder