by Scott Yanow
The Manhattan Jazz Quintet was an unusual group in that they very rarely performed as a unit in the United States (much less Manhattan) but were a major hit in Japan, both for their recordings and occasional tours. Comprised of leader-pianist David Matthews, trumpeter Lew Soloff, tenor-saxophonist George Young, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve Gadd, the band (which emphasized straightahead hard bop swinging) first came together in 1983 at the suggestion of the King label and the top Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal. To everyones surprise, its first recording (simply called Manhattan Jazz Quintet) became such a big seller that it was awarded Swing Journals annual 1984 Gold Disk Award as the #1 album in Japan. Several years later the group broke up when Gome and Gadd needed more time to pursue their individual projects but this MJQ had recorded reunions in 1990 (which found John Scofield guesting on a few selections) and 1993. Each of the musicians has since been quite successful in their own careers. The Manhattan Jazz Quintet recorded primarily for King in Japan (those dates were mostly made available domestically by Projazz) although they had their two later recordings cut for the Sweet Basil label, two of their very few projects that actually took place in Manhattan!