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Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra: The Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 1
Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra: The Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 1
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Good things get better with time, and The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra is without a doubt the greatest contemporary big band in existence. The band originated in December 1965 and flourished for 13 years under the loving care of Mel and his coleader Thad Jones. Jones was as original a writer as he was a cornetist, and during his time with Lewis they recorded many influential albums, toured the world, and gave big band jazz a new sound. When Thad left in 1978, the band's future seemed uncertain -- but not to Mel, who kept things going by making subtle changes in the band's approach to performance, and by bringing his old friend and charter member of the band, Bob Brockmeyer, to help find a new direction. What resulted was a decade's worth of new and often brilliant music, penned by Brockmeyer, by talented newcomers like Jim McNeely, and, most recently, by band members Ted Nash and Ken Werner. The veteran writers Bill Finegan and Mike Abene have also supplemented the book in recent years.
Although Thad Jones (who passed away in 1986) had left the big band that he co-led with drummer Mel Lewis back in 1979, some of his charts remained in the orchestra's book. On the first of two CDs taken from an engagement at the Village Vanguard (a third CD, Soft Lights and Hot Music, is also from these dates), Lewis leads his men through five Jones arrangements, including "Quietude," "Three in One" (which is 13 minutes long),and the 15-minute stomper "Little Pixie." The soloists include baritonist Gary Smulyan, both Joe Lovano and Ralph Lalama on tenors, altoists Ted Nash and Dick Oatts, trumpeter Glenn Drewes, and pianist Kenny Werner. Recommended as a particularly strong example of the Mel Lewis Orchestra.
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