1987:LA GIRA 35 ANIVERSARIO DEL MJQ EN EL RIO DE LA PLATA

During the 1960s and early 70s, the band had spent their summers pursuing their own interests, but after more than 20 years of touring with the MJQ, Jackson wanted to develop a solo career, so in July 1974 the group disbanded. All four musicians continued to work—Jackson as a soloist, Lewis teaching at Harvard and the Davis Centre for Performing Arts at City College of New York, Percy Heath forming The Heath Brothers band with siblings Jimmy and Albert ('Tootie'), and pianist Stanley Cowell, Connie Kay freelancing in New York City with, among others, Benny Goodman, and being the house drummer at Eddie Condon's club in Greenwich Village.
In 1981, after seven years of resisting public demand, Milt Jackson relented and the Modern Jazz Quartet was reformed, initially for a reunion concert in Japan, then subsequently on a permanent but more part-time basis, touring and recording into the 1990s. In early 1992, the MJQ's 40th anniversary, Connie Kay suffered a strokewhich kept him out of the group for 15 months; his place was taken by Mickey Roker. He returned to playing in 1993, but died on 30 November, 1994 in New York. Percy Heath's brother, 'Tootie', took over from Kay, but an outsider coming into a close-knit unit after 40 years of playing together was a bridge too far. In addition, Jackson once again wanted to further his solo career, and Percy Heath had tired of life on the road, so the MJQ disbanded for the last time in 1995.
Post-MJQ
After the final break-up of the MJQ, Milt Jackson performed with a number of combos, some of which he fronted. He continued to perform, record and appear at jazz festivals until a few months before his death in New York on 9 October, 1999. Jackson was one of the greatest vibes players of all time, at least on a par with, and arguably greater than the other virtuoso of the instrument—Lionel Hampton. One of the things that distinguishes Jackson from Hampton is the relative speeds of their respective tremolos; Jackson's was only about a third that of Hampton. This enabled him to change the instrument from being principally a percussive one to one with a singing, vocal quality.
John Lewis remained an active musician until his death from liver cancer in New York on 29 March, 2001.
In 1995, Percy Heath more or less retired and devoted his time to fishing. He died in Southampton, New York 28 April, 2005.
Ex-member Kenny Clarke died in Montreuil-sous-Bois, France on 26 January, 1985, and fellow ex-member Ray Brown died in Indianapolis on 2 July, 2002.
And Finally...
Milt Jackson's nickname was 'Bags', a reference to the bags under his eyes that resulted (according to his own witness) from excessive late night partying following his discharge from the Army.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A51260375