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Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer
by John Ephland
There's a richness, a depth, a density to his varied charts. And the soloists and ensemble passages inside those charts! Such has always been the case with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, then, and now. For real, gliding from the spirit of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, this edition of the VJO now embraces another one of ...
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer
by Jack Bowers
While it may be hard to believe, the reality is that the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is nearing the end of its first half-century together. Formed in 1966 as the Thad Jones -Mel Lewis Orchestra, it continued on after Jones' departure as the Mel Lewis Orchestra, then as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra after Lewis' death in February ...
Trombone x 4 (x 4)
by Alberto Bazzurro
Che ci sia un trombone a guidare la cosiddetta front line di un gruppo jazz, ammettiamolo, non è merce poi così usuale. Ci fa quindi piacere, amando particolarmente il suono rotondo, pieno, evocativo dello strumento, legare uno con l'altro quattro album che praticano tale formula, incisi e pubblicati nel giro di pochi mesi, tra la fine ...
I Nuovi Protagonisti dell'Orchestrazione - 1: Darcy James Argue - Ryan Truesdell - Orrin Evans
by Angelo Leonardi
Dopo la morte di Gil Evans e Thad Jones nella seconda metà degli anni ottanta e la progressiva uscita di scena di George Russell, il ruolo del compositore/orchestratore nel jazz ha sofferto di un gap generazionale. Meno marcato di quanto è apparso pubblicamente ma comunque consistente. Anche se negli anni novanta già operavano figure del calibro ...
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer
by Dan Bilawsky
Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer extraordinaire Mel Lewis may have given birth to the band that's now known as The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, but the late Bob Brookmeyer gave the group artistic independence at a time when it was sorely needed. When Jones left the fold and departed for Europe at the tail ...
Mel Lewis: 'Got'cha'
Yesterday I told you about Trigger Alpert's fabulous first leadership album in October 1956. Today, it's drummer Mel Lewis's turn. His first album under his own name was Got'cha, recorded for the San Francisco Jazz label in November 1956. Prior to '56, drummer Lewis was a big-band guy, starting with Ray Anthony's band in 1949. He ...
Thad Jones: Detroit-New York Junction – Blue Note 1513
by Marc Davis
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 ...
Emil Viklicky & George Mraz: Mraz & Viklicky: Together Again
by Ian Patterson
In European jazz the assimilation of folkloric influences has become commonplace as the American vernacular--or more specifically the Great American Songbook--exerts less of a hold. Czech musicians pianist Emil Viklický and bassist George Mraz's collaborations on Morava (Fantasy/Milestone 2001)--with drummer Billy Hart and singer Zuzana Lapcikova--and Moravian Gems (Cube-Métier 2007) with singer/violinist Iva Bittova and drummer ...
Gerard D'Angelo: Who's Kidding Who?
by DanMichael Reyes
The old adage about those who can do and those who can't teach doesn't fit nicely into any music tradition. If this fallacy were to hold true, then it would be best for music history books to write off Joseph Haydn for taking on pupils--Beethoven being one of the more famous ones. That old idiom penned ...
Mark Sherman: Truth Of Who I Am
by DanMichael Reyes
Vibraphonist Mark Sherman likes using the term consummate to describe musicians and colleagues that he's played with. While it would be difficult to speak to every notable musician that Sherman's played for and ask about their opinion about Juilliard graduate and professor, it is safe to assume that they would also describe Sherman as a consummate ...
