If you’re looking for music to complement a classy evening of dinner with family or friends, you can’t do much better than set the mood with the music of the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). Established in 1952, MJQ grew out of the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band from 1946 to 1948 to present a brand of jazz influenced by classical music, cool jazz, blues and bebop.

For most of its history the MJQ consisted of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy Heath (double bass), and Connie Kay (drums). Under Lewis’s direction, they carved their own niche by specializing in elegant, restrained music that used sophisticated counterpoint inspired by baroque music, yet retained a strong blues feel. Noted for their elegant presentation, they were one of the first small jazz combos to perform in concert halls rather than nightclubs. MJQ made their last released recordings in 1992 and 1993, after which it operated on a semi-active basis until it disbanded permanently in 1997.

Here’s a compilation video of some of MJQ’s jazz pieces.