Originally released four years ago on the small Vertical Jazz label, the existence of The Classical Jazz Quartet play Bach was unknown to the majority of the jazz public and, as a result, the album failed to make the impact it deserved. However, following the highly positive critical and commercial response to the release of The Classical Jazz Quartet play Rachmaninov earlier this year, this important milestone in jazz is set to be given a new lease of life as it is re-released in re-mastered form on Kind of Blue.

The music of Bach provides the perfect framework for this group to display their balance of emotion and technical precision. Kenny Barron is in typically inspired form and the quartet mingle beautifully around Ron Carter’s supple, melodic bass lines and Lewis Nash’s discrete and gently propulsive beat. On play Bach, the band’s interpretation of "Jesu, joy of man’s desiring" demonstrates their ability to shift mood in a single phrase and their arrangement of the ‘Brandenburg concerto #2’ is full of energy and creativity.

The Classical Jazz Quartet has been compared to the renowned Modern Jazz Quartet and it is true that both groups bring the influence of classical music and chamber groups to jazz improvisation, appealing to jazz and classical music fans alike. The CJQ has, however, maintained a strongly classical repertoire, and will continue to do so – distinguishing them from the MJQ even amidst the parallels of the two groups’ musicianship. The Classical Jazz Quartet will go down in history as one of the foremost jazz ensembles ever.