Still in ORIGINAL SHRINK-WRAP (opened). Vinyl plays with occasional light-crackles (play-graded). Cover looks great; a couple creases near edges; no scuffing (front/back); surface impressions near top-right on front where section shrink is missing. Inner-sleeve is original (generic white). Spine is easy-to-read with very mild-wear. Minor shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge; some wear to corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and a few divots. (Not a cut-out.)
On the Album In Memoriam, recorded a year before the start of their hiatus, the Modern Jazz Quartet was accompanied by an orchestra conducted by Maurice Peress. Pianist John Lewis wrote the title composition in tribute to Walter Keller, his piano teacher at the University of New Mexico. He composed Jazz Ostinato around 1960 during the third stream era; it is based on three ostinato figures, the third of which he said was originally conceived as backing "for an Ornette Coleman – Eric Dolphy approach". Furthermore, the piece contains homages to Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky, prompting Lewis to comment that it "also plays a part in the memorium". The group had previously recorded the adagio from "Concierto de Aranjuez" with the guitarist Laurindo Almeida on their 1964 album Collaboration.