The Comedy is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in 1960 and 1962 and released on the Atlantic label.

[2] The tracks, which form a suite of seven movements by the Modern Jazz Quartet's pianist and musical director John Lewis, were inspired by characters from Commedia dell'arte, and followed on from his first depiction of the theatrical form on the title track of the 1956 album Fontessa.

"[4] In his book Visions of Jazz, Gary Giddins summarized the reception of the album as follows: The critical response ranged from 'frequently ponderous', with Jackson asked to execute 'some fairly mechanical ideas' (Martin Williams), to 'the Modern Jazz Quartet's greatest single achievement, the peak to which all their preceding work together leads' with 'some of the most astonishing passages' Jackson ever recorded (Max Harrison).

[4] The Allmusic review stated "This is the type of album that led many bop purists to criticize the Modern Jazz Quartet (and John Lewis in particular) for being overly influenced by Western classical music".

[1] All compositions by John Lewis Kenny Clarke, Mickey Roker, Albert Heath