Jazz Articles about Thad Jones

Thad Jones: Detroit-New York Junction – Blue Note 1513

by Marc Davis
August 11, 2014

Before he became famous as the leader of a big band, Thad Jones was a trumpet player, and a damn good one. In 1956, Jones led his first jazz group. It was a small sextet--unlike his later, more celebrated ensemble, co-led by Mel Lewis. This short album, which chronicles that session, has only five songs and runs just 34 minutes. There are no alternate takes. It's a pleasant album, but not a great one. There is ...

Thad Jones: The Danish Radio Big Band & Eclipse

by Chris Mosey
December 24, 2013

US trumpeter, composer and arranger Thad Jones remains by and large unknown in his homeland but has had a street named after him in Copenhagen. Jones became a household name in the Danish capital as leader of the Danish Radio Big Band from 1976-85. Brother of pianist Hank and drummer Elvin, Thad Jones sought refuge in Denmark after the break-up of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra for whom he penned the monumental Suite for Pops (A&M ...

Heiner Stadler: Tribute to Bird & Monk

by AAJ Italy Staff
May 22, 2013

Quasi ottanta minuti nei quali un sestetto di musicisti da brivido rende omaggio a due geni della musica del novecento. La solita operazione celebrativa così frequente in ambito jazzistico? Niente affatto se a concepire l'idea, realizzarla e curarne gli arrangiamenti è quel talentaccio misconosciuto che risponde al nome di Heiner Stadler. Su queste pagine avevamo già recensito Brains on Fire, sontuoso doppio CD che esaltava le doti di compositore in qualche modo visionario del pianista di origine polacca. Tribute to ...

Thad Jones: The Magnificent Thad Jones

by Greg Simmons
January 6, 2012

Trumpeter Thad Jones' greatest notoriety was as a member and leader of large ensembles, including the Count Basie Orchestra and later the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. But as great as his big band work was, it's a shame he didn't dedicate more time to small combos. He recorded a handful of really first-rate dates for Blue Note in the mid-1950s--chief among them, perhaps, 1956's The Magnificent Thad Jones. It's timeless music that reveals a musician with great chops, fine composing ...

Count Basie: One More Time - Music from the Pen of Quincy Jones

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 1, 2010

L'orchestra di Count Basie è sinonimo di swing, energia, blues e soprattutto è perfetta espressione di quell'umanità allo stesso tempo romantica e brutale che è sinonimo di Jazz. La sua storia è di solito divisa in due fasi, quella della Old Testament Band, illuminata dal genio di Lester Young e alimentata dal blues di Kansas City, e la New Testament, nata nel dopoguerra all'insegna del matrimonio fra i valori di sempre e una nuova arte dell'arrangiamento, che trovò in Neal ...

Various Artists: One More: The Summary - Music of Thad Jones, Vol. 2

by Samuel Chell
December 17, 2006

This tribute to Thad Jones' music is not only equal to Volume One (One More) but eclipses it, proving a worthy candidate for jazz album of the year 2007. One of the differences is Eddie Daniels, whose inviting solo on “Little Pixie" introduces a session that's as free-spirited as it is respectful of its inspirational source.

I can remember when jazz followers marveled at the patience of Jones playing second trumpet night after night in the Count Basie Band, forfeiting ...

Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra: Consummation

by C. Andrew Hovan
June 25, 2002

When it came to progressive big bands during the '60s, few ensembles could boast the kind of staying power and muscle of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. With some of the biggest names in the business as part of the ensemble's regular roster and the uniformly exceptional output of writer Thad Jones, this band was successful at a time when economics were making it hard for even established organizations to stay afloat. Unfortunately, the great legacy of the Thad ...