John Lewis was the pianist for the legendary MJQ - Modern Jazz Quartet - that is to say, among the 'tastiest', coolest and most elegant of jazz pianists; and in this album he plays JS Bach's preludes and fugues with some genre-appropriate improvization, sometimes sparingly accompanied by bass, drums, violin, guitar etc. It makes for wonderful background music for working on the computer - or an excellent introduction to Bach's keyboard music.
(The effect is broadly much like Jacques Loussier - who I would also recommend - but better; since Lewis was a great musician, Loussier merely a very fine one.)
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I had the pleasure of seeing the MJQ twice in the mid to late 1980s. The first time was at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA. The second when they played in Boston opposite the Handel and Hayden Society. It was fascinating to observe the H & H Society musicians as they watched the MJQ perform, they were in awe of Lewis, Jackson, and Heath (Connie Kay had fallen ill and could not perform). True originals in their approach to music.
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