Modern Jazz Quartet founder dies

Miles Davis played alongside Lewis

The founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Lewis, has died at the age of 80.

The renowned pianist and composer was suffering from prostate cancer.

The Modern Jazz Quartet, with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bass player Percy Heath and percussionist Connie Kay, played to packed houses from the 1950s to the early 1990s.

Charlie Parker was an admirer of the pianist

It was Lewis who ordered the musicians to wear tuxedos at every performance to create a sophisticated ensemble.

Born in Illinois, the Lewis family moved to New Mexico where a seven-year-old John took up the piano.

He went on to work with Dizzy Gillespie in 1946, touring in Europe and composing the bebop standard Toccata for Trumpet for the horn player.

He also played alongside Charlie Parker and Miles Davies before creating MJQ.

The first recording was released in 1952.

His final release, entitled Evolution II demonstrated his extensive influence on the jazz scene.

The classically-trained pianist never turned his back on his roots, taking on Bach with fellow musicians Ben Webster, Charles Mingus and Stan Getz.

Lewis leaves a wife, Mirjana, and a son and daughter, Sasha and Nina, and three grandchildren.

New York Times critic Adam Shatz classed Lewis' compositions as "music that's utterly at peace with itself".