Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Thad Jones and Mel Lewis: All My Yesterdays: The Debut ...

6

Thad Jones and Mel Lewis: All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard

By

Sign in to view read count
Thad Jones and Mel Lewis: All My Yesterdays:  The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard
Offering: Live at Temple University (Resonance Records, 2014), Getz/Gilberto '76 (Resonance Records, 2016), Moments in Time (Resonance Records, 2016)...and these are just the most recent (not to forget several Wes Montgomery) releases. Resonance Records steps up (again) and releases what can only be considered the apotheosis of live jazz performance, All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard.

Before even considering the music, there is the captured ambiance. Recorded by a then 19-year old amateur engineer, George Klaban, the period technology may be lacking by today's standards. Maybe even Klaban's amateur status could call things into question. However, the results provide the listener with a very intimate listening experience that only lacks the smell of just-lit Lucky Strikes and Cutty Sark on the rocks. Klaban's gig pack included a Crown Professional two- Track stereo tape recorder, an Ampex four-input mixer and six mics (Neumann U67, Bayer and AKG professional mics and an Electro Voice 654 Dynamic, the last used for the bass). Klaban details that he placed one mic each for the reeds, trombones, and trumpets, the fourth for the bass, the fifth for the piano and the last for the leader, Thad Jones.

The result of this alchemic paradigm is a presence, not in the audience, but up over the middle of the band looking (hearing) down (a physical impossibility given the compressed confines of the Village Vanguard). Nonetheless, the sound and atmosphere is electrically charged and immediate. The sound is spacious enough to get up and walk around in, passing through all of the sections. It is musical arrangement as subatomic metaphor...each musical element interacting with and against one another to produce a compounded product of rare substance and beauty. It is immediately evident that there is something special taking place.

Queue up the first performance of the Thad Jones composition and arrangement "Back Bone" and listen. Alto saxophonist Jerry Dodgion spits out an unaccompanied blues chorus of spurred on with shouts and encouragement from the band with Thad Jones himself anticipating the entry of the whole band with a grand, "Yeah!" This is unbridled joy in music making. Evidence of Bill Basie is all over the charts, in both the riffing and solos. Altoist Jerome Richardson introduces "Little Dipper" twice and pianist (and Thad Jones' brother) Hank Jones channel the spirit of the still living Count Basie. This is, simply, what live music is all about: invention, spontaneity, improvisation, and spring freshness. Hear from where all big band since has come.

Track Listing

CD1: Back Bone; All My Yesterdays; Big Dipper; Mornin’ Reverend; The Little Pixie; Big Dipper (alternate take). CD2: Low Down; Lover Man; Ah, That’s Freedom; don’t Ever Leave Me; Willow Weep For Me; Mean What You Say; Once Around; Polka dots and Moonbeams; Mornin’ Reverend; All My Yesterdays; Back Bone.

Personnel

Thad Jones
trumpet

CD1: Back Bone; All My Yesterdays; Big Dipper; Mornin’ Reverend; The Little Pixie; Big Dipper (alternate take). CD2: Low Down; Lover Man; Ah, That’s Freedom; don’t Ever Leave Me; Willow Weep For Me; Mean What You Say; Once Around; Polka dots and Moonbeams; Mornin’ Reverend; All My Yesterdays; Back Bone.

Album information

Title: All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Resonance Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
View events near New York City
Jazz Near New York City
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.