Music: The Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Big Band (Jazz Casual) - Full recital with interview - Data - Links

Posted by Ricardo Marcenaro | Posted in | Posted on 13:24


    



 The Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Big Band
 
 




The Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Big Band - Jazz Casual


Thaddeus Joseph Jones (28 mars 1923 -- 21 août 1986) est un trompettiste, compositeur et chef d'orchestre de jazz américain.

Thad Jones est né à Pontiac (Michigan) dans une famille nombreuse de musiciens (un de ses frères plus âgé est le pianiste Hank Jones et un autre plus jeune le batteur Elvin Jones). Autodidacte, Thad Jones est musicien professionnel dès l'âge de 16 ans. Il joue dans des orchestres de l'U.S. Army pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale de 1943 à 1946.

Après la guerre, Thad Jones poursuit sa carrière et vers 1954, il compose et fait des arrangements pour Count Basie avec lequel il joue. Il reste avec Basie pendant neuf ans. La musique de Jones était d'un style très original qui ne correspondait pas toujours avec le style de l'orchestre de Basie. Au début des années 1960, il devient arrangeur indépendant dans la région de New York.

En 1965, avec le batteur Mel Lewis, il forme le Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. À l'origine le groupe commence par des jam sessions informelles dans les studios de New York puis au célèbre Village Vanguard. Le groupe reçoit un accueil très favorable et Jones continue à le diriger pendant 12 ans. En 1979, ils remportent un Grammy Awards pour l'album Live in Munich. Jones a aussi enseigné au William Paterson College dans le New Jersey.

En 1978 (à la grande surprise de ses collègues de New York), Thad Jones déménage brutalement à Copenhague au Danemark où plusieurs autres musiciens de jazz américains se sont installés. Il forme un nouveau groupe Eclipse, compose pour le big band de la radio danoise et enseigne le jazz au Conservatoire royal de Copenhague.

Une année avant sa mort, Jones revient aux États-Unis pour diriger le Count Basie Orchestra mais il doit s'interrompre en raison de son état de santé. Il retourne alors à Copenhague pour les derniers mois de sa vie. Il est enterré au cimetière Vestre Kirkegard de Copenhague.

Charles Mingus disait de Thad Jones « [...] c'est le plus grand trompettiste que j'ai entendu dans ma vie. » Vers la fin de sa vie, ses arrangements et ses compositions ont occulté ses talents d'instrumentiste.

Sa composition la plus célèbre reste A Child is Born.
 
 Thad Jones 

Jazz Casual - The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd consists of a recording of a Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd appearance from 1963 and a Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra appearance from 1968 that were combined and released as a single DVD video and also as an audio CD. Jazz Casual was a KQED-produced television show of studio performances by major jazz musicians. The same material has also been released in different packages (e.g. a DVD of the Jones/Lewis Orchestra tracks combined with the 1961 appearance of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the 1962 Modern Jazz Quartet appearance and another DVD including all 3 Woody Herman appearances from 1963 and 1964 which were both also part of an 8 DVD complete set of all 28 Jazz Casual TV episodes.)


Track listing

    "Just Blues" – 4:41
    Thad Jones, Introductions – 0:36
    "St.Louis Blues" – 12:18
    Interview With Thad, Mel, Section Leader – 4:07
    "Kids Are Pretty People" – 5:39
    "Don't Get Sassy" – 1:05
    "Molasses" – 6:30
    Interview – 4:43
    "El Toro Grande" – 4:52
    Woody Speaks – 0:21
    "Lonesome Old Town" – 3:42
    Woody Speaks – 0:22
    "That's Where It Is" – 4:06
    "Cousins" – 4:18

Tracks 1-6: Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra
Tracks 7-14: Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd


Personnel

Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra:

    Thad Jones – flugelhorn
    Jerome Richardson – alto saxophone
    Jerry Dodgion – alto saxophone
    Eddie Daniels – tenor saxophone
    Seldon Powell – tenor saxophone
    Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone
    Snooky Young – trumpet
    Richard Williams – trumpet
    Randy Brecker – trumpet
    Danny Moore – trumpet
    Bob Brookmeyer – trombone
    Garnett Brown – trombone
    Jimmy Knepper – trombone
    Benny Powell – trombone
    Roland Hanna – piano
    Richard Davis – bass
    Mel Lewis – drums

Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd:

    Woody Herman – clarinet, saxophone
    Bill Chase – trumpet
    Billy Hunt – trumpet
    Dave Dale – trumpet
    Phil Wilson – trombone
    Henry Southall – trombone
    Kenny Wenzel – trombone
    Sal Nistico – tenor sax
    Carmen Leggio – tenor sax
    Jackie Stevens – tenor sax
    Frank Hittner – baritone sax
    Nat Pierce – piano
    Chuck Andrus – bass
    Jake Hanna – drums


Complete in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_Casual_%E2%80%93_Thad_Jones/Mel_Lewis_Orchestra_and_Woody_Herman_and_His_Swinging_Herd
 
Thad Jones

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis around 1965. The band performed for twelve years in its original incarnation, and included a 1972 tour of the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The band won a 1978 Grammy Award for the album Live in Munich and in 2009 a Grammy Award for the album Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard. The collaboration ended in 1978 with Jones suddenly moving to Copenhagen, Denmark, after which the band became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Since the death of Lewis in 1990 it has been known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. They have maintained a Monday-night residency at the Village Vanguard for four decades.[1]


History

The orchestra started out as a group of all-star studio musicians getting together for midnight practice sessions at any place within walking distance from Jim and Andy's, a bar frequented by New York musicians. They eventually debuted at the Village Vanguard in New York in 1966, and were quickly noticed by jazz insiders for their originality and virtuoso skills.[citation needed]

The band had its own unique style, and tradition along the lines of big band swing, bebop and hard bop. The sound was powerful, fast, intellectual and fun to listen to.[citation needed] Their pieces required a high degree of skill to play.[citation needed] Thad Jones, a trumpeter who toured (and wrote) for the Count Basie Orchestra during the 1950s, led the group, was its main arranger, and was occasionally featured, most often on flugelhorn. Mel Lewis, co-leader, produced a drum style with the band that was unique for big bands.[1] The extent in which he was able to incorporate the loose, open approach of small group playing was a major innovation.[1] His cymbal work added a texture and richness that is one of the hallmarks of the band. Every big band drummer after Lewis has been influenced by him to some degree.[1]

The orchestra was arguably the most influential big band since the swing era.[1] It was also an unusual band; creating new styles, succeeding in an era where big bands were out of favor, and remaining integrated during racially tense periods.[1] The band initially was made of all-stars, but over time endeavored to showcase new talent (e.g. Jon Faddis). Jones's arrangements proved to be highly influential upon modern composers such as Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer (who is also an alumnus), Jim McNeely, Bill Kirchner, Richard DeRosa, Bob Mintzer, Jerry Dodgion, and many others.[1] His songs built upon the innovations previously pioneered by jazz composers such as Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. Since the mid-1980s, the band has been renamed the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, continuing its tradition as the Village Vanguard's house band.[1]


Discography

Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

    Opening Night (recorded 1966, released 2000) Alan Grant Presents
    Presenting Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (1966) Solid State Records
    Presenting Joe Williams and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, The Jazz Orchestra (1966) Solid State
    Live at the Village Vanguard (1967) Solid State
    The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis featuring Miss Ruth Brown (1968) Solid State
    Monday Night (1968) Solid State
    Central Park North (1969) Solid State
    Basle, 1969 (recorded 1969, released 1996) TCB Music
    Consummation (1970) Solid State/Blue Note
    Live in Tokyo (1974) Denon Jazz
    Potpourri (1974) Philadelphia International
    Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and Manuel De Sica (1974) Pausa
    Suite for Pops (1975) Horizon/A&M
    New Life: Dedicated to Max Gordon (1975) A&M
    Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra With Rhoda Scott aka Rhoda Scott in New York with... (1976)
    Live in Munich (1976) Horizon/A&M
    It Only Happens Every Time (1977) EMI Records – with Monica Zetterlund
    Body and Soul aka Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in Europe (1978) West Wind Jazz – Live in Berlin
    A Touch of Class (1978) West Wind Jazz – Live in Warsaw

Video performances

    Jazz Casual – Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra... (recorded 1968) – a 1968 Television appearance

Compilations

    The Blue Note Reissue Series: Thad Jones / Mel Lewis (recorded 1966 - 1970) Blue Note
    The Complete Solid State Recordings of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra (recorded 1966 - 1970) Mosaic Records / Blue Note
    In Europe (2007) ITM
    The Complete (Live in) Poland Concerts 1976 & 1978 (2009) Gambit

Jones and Lewis as guests with other orchestras

    Greetings and Salutations (1975) Town Crier – Jones, Lewis and Jon Faddis with the Swedish Radio Jazz Group, Stockholm
    Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and UMO (1977) RCA Records – Jones and Lewis with the UMO Jazz Orchestra, Helsinki

Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra

    Naturally (1979) Telarc
    Live in Montreux: Mel Lewis Plays Herbie Hancock (1980) MPS Records/ Pausa
    Live at the Village Vanguard, ...Featuring the Music of Bob Brookmeyer (1980)
    Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (1982) Finesse
    20 Years at the Village Vanguard (1985) Atlantic
    Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 1 (1988) Music Masters Jazz
    Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 2 (1988) Music Masters Jazz
    Soft Lights and Hot Music (1988) Music Masters Jazz
    To You: A Tribute to Mel Lewis (1990) Music Masters Jazz

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

    Lickety Split, The Music of Jim McNeely (1997) New World Records
    Thad Jones Legacy, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (1999) New World Records
    Can I Persuade You (2002) Planet Arts
    The Way, Music of Slide Hampton (2004) Planet Arts
    Up From The Skies, Music of Jim McNeely (2006) Planet Arts
    Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard (2008) Planet Arts - double CD
    Forever Lasting Live in Tokyo (2011) Planet Arts – double CD

Alumni

Brass

    Thad Jones
    Eddie Bert
    Luis Bonilla
    Jim Bossy
    Cecil Bridgewater
    Bob Brookmeyer
    Jon Faddis
    Stephen Furtado
    Cliff Heather

   

    Jason Jackson
    Quentin Jackson
    Jack Jeffers
    Virgil Jones
    Jimmy Knepper
    John Mosca
    Ed Neumeister
    Lynn Nicholson

   

    Al Porcino
    Douglas Purviance
    Lew Soloff
    Marvin Stamm
    Julius Watkins
    Scott Wendholt
    Snooky Young

Woodwinds

    Pepper Adams
    Frank Basile
    Ron Bridgewater
    Steve Coleman
    Eddie Daniels
    Jerry Dodgion
    Billy Drewes
    Joe Farrell
    Don Palmer

   

    Frank Foster
    Kenny Garrett
    Billy Harper
    Greg Herbert
    Ralph LaLama
    Joe Lovano
    Lou Marini

   

    Dick Oatts
    Bob Mintzer
    Rich Perry
    Chris Potter
    Jerome Richardson
    Gary Smulyan
    Eddie Xiques
    Joe Henderson

Keyboards

    Roland Hanna
    Hank Jones
    Jim McNeely

   

    Walter Norris
    Harold Danko
    Kenny Werner

   

    Michael Weiss

Bass

    Bob Bowman
    Richard Davis
    Dennis Irwin
    George Mraz
    Rufus Reid
    David Wong

   

Drums

    Mel Lewis
    Tim Horner
    Dennis Mackrel
    John Riley

   

Vocals

    Dee Dee Bridgewater
    Ruth Brown
    Joe Williams

Awards and honors

Grammy award:[2]

    Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance: 2008 (for Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra)
    Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Big Band: 1978 (Live in Munich)

Grammy award nominations:

    Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Big Band: 1967 (Live at the Village Vanguard), 1969 (Central Park North), 1970 (Consummation), 1975 (Potpourri), 1976 (New Life)
    Best Instrumental Arrangement: 1975 ("Living for the City" from Potpourri)

Down Beat magazine

    Critics' Poll winner: Big Band:[3] 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978
    Readers' Poll winner: Big Band:[4] 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977


Complete in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thad_Jones/Mel_Lewis_Orchestra
 
Mel Lewis





Music: The Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Big Band (Jazz Casual) - Full recital with interview - Data - Links



 


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