Customer Reviews

Thad Jones Legacy

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This CD a must have for anyone who is even remotely curious about Thad's music. It is also a must have for anyone who wants to know what top New York musicians are capable of when they play together regularly: this is what a great New York band sounds like. Not only will this CD please lovers of Thad's music, but audiophiles will be pleanty happy with the disk's "HDCD" format that offers very, very high resolution of sound, no mater what kind of CD player you have.

It started out as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra; then Thad left and it became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra; then Mel passed away and it became the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Whatever the name, whoever the musicians were and are, this was and is one of the great ensembles in jazz history. The memory and inspiration of the multi-talented Thad Jones (musician, composer & arranger) remains at the heart of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra which continues on to this day playing Monday nights at NYC's famed Village Vanguard. This recording is a wonderful tribute to Thad! All of the incarnations of the "Jazz Orchestra" have featured stimulating compositions and arrangements which would be interesting all on their own even without a single improvised solo. But add those thrilling solos by first rate musicians and you have dynamic music indeed. Whatever name the "Jazz Orchestra" went by their music is always hightly recommended.

What Thad took from Basie was a swing feel that I can't describe without using profanity. What he added was incredibly intricate, difficult, and sophisticated harmonies and counter-melodies. In many ways, Thad Jones was the next logical, intelligent step in big band arrangement after Duke Ellington. They both packed so much music into their arrangements that one more note would have broken the swing camel's back. It is difficult to find a clear well played Thad Jones/Mel Lewis album. This one is definitely one of the great ones. Mel Lewis was also, in my opinion, one of the greatest jazz drummers of all times. If you want to know what swing is and how to set up a big band hit, listen to Mel. Buy this album and listen to it.

Thad's incredibly bodacious voicings and alternative instrumentation blends a unique sound that can't be touched by any other big band. The Master is not only an incredible trumpet player, but more an arranger extrodinare.