Artist: Thad Jones
Genre(s):
Jazz
Discography:
Detroit-New York Junction
Year: 2005
Tracks: 5
Thad Jones
Year: 1991
Tracks: 1
A harmonically advanced trumpeter/cornetist with a distinctive effectual and a talented arranger/composer, Thad Jones (the jr. brother of Hank and older brother of Elvin) had a very fat calling. Self-taught on trumpet, he started playing professionally when he was 16 with Hank Jones and Sonny Stitt. After serving in the military (1943-46), Jones worked in soil bands in the Midwest. During 1950-53 he performed regularly with Billy Mitchell's little Phoebe in Detroit and he made a few recordings with Charles Mingus (1954-55). Jones became well-known during his long period of time (1954-63) with Count Basie's Orchestra, taking a "Crop up Goes the Weasel" chorus on "April in Paris" and sharing solo duties with Joe Newman. While with Basie, Jones had the chance to write some arrangements and he became a busy mercenary author subsequently 1963. He united the staff of CBS, co-led a little Phoebe with Pepper Adams and near the end of 1965 organized a magnanimous band with drummer Mel Lewis that from February 1966 on played Monday nights at the Village Vanguard. During the succeeding x the orchestra (although always a part-time occasion) became noted and gave Jones an way out for his writing. He composed one standard ("A Child Is Born") along with many fine pieces including "Fingers," "Small Pixie" and "Tiptoe." Among the sidemen in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (which started out as an all-star group and later on featured younger players) were trumpeters Bill Berry, Danny Stiles, Richard Williams, Marvin Stamm, Snooky Young, and Jon Faddis, trombonists Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Knepper and Quentin Jackson, the reeds of Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Eddie Daniels, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams and Billy Harper, pianists Hank Jones, and Roland Hanna, and bassists Richard Davis and George Mraz. In 1978 Jones surprised Lewis by suddenly departure the band and moving to Denmark, an action mechanism he never explained. He wrote for a wireless orchestra and light-emitting diode his possess group called Eclipse. In late 1984 Jones took over the leadership of the Count Basie Orchestra but inside a year high-risk health forced him to retire. Thad Jones recorded as a drawing card for Debut (1954-55), Blue Note, Period, United Artists, Roulette, Milestone, Solid State, Artists House, A&M and Metronome and many of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra's charles Herbert Best recordings have been reissued on a five-CD Mosaic box determine.
Guy Marchand
