The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965.[1] The band performed for twelve years in its original incarnation, including a 1972 tour of the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The band won a Grammy Award for the album Live in Munich and in 2009 for the album Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard. The collaboration ended in 1978 with Jones suddenly moving to Copenhagen, Denmark, after which the band became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Since the death of Lewis in 1990 it has been known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. They have maintained a Monday-night residency at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York for five decades.[2]

Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
OriginNew York City
GenresJazz
Years active1965–present
LabelsSolid State/RCA, A&M, Pausa, Telarc, Atlantic, New World, Planet Arts, Resonance
Associated actsMel Lewis, Thad Jones, Max Gordon, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, John Mosca
Websitewww.vanguardjazzorchestra.com

History

Thad Jones played trumpet and cornet. His older brother was Hank Jones, a jazz pianist, and his younger brother was Elvin Jones, a jazz drummer. Thad Jones had worked as a professional since he was 16, when he played with Hank. After leaving the military in 1946, he performed with territory bands and later with Charles Mingus. From 1954–1963, he was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra, for whom he composed and arranged.[3]

Mel Lewis, a jazz drummer, had been playing in big bands since he was 15, first with Boyd Raeburn, then Alvino Rey, Stan Kenton, Terry Gibbs, and Gerald Wilson. In 1961, he toured the Soviet Union with veteran big band leader Benny Goodman.[4] After Lewis moved to New York City, he met Thad Jones and started the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra at the end of 1965. Beginning in February 1966, the band played every Monday night at the Village Vanguard.[3] Since Lewis's death in 1990, the band has been called the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, continuing its tradition as the Village Vanguard's house band.

The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra was arguably the most influential big band since the swing era. Lewis brought a loose, small group style of drumming into the structure of a big band. His cymbal work became a hallmark of the Jones/Lewis Orchestra. Jones's arrangements influenced later, large-ensemble composers, such as Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, and Bob Mintzer. The Jones/Lewis Orchestra was an unusual band, creating new styles, succeeding in an era when big bands were unpopular and remaining integrated during racially tense periods.[2]

The band's members included Bill Berry, Billy Harper, Bob Brookmeyer, Danny Stiles, Eddie Daniels, George Mraz, Hank Jones, Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Jimmy Knepper, Joe Farrell, Jon Faddis, Marvin Stamm, Pepper Adams, Quentin Jackson, Richard Davis, Richard Williams, Roland Hanna, and Snooky Young.[5]

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

  • Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra[6]
Year Nominee / work Award Result
1967 Live At The Village Vanguard (album) Best instrumental Jazz Performance, Big Band Nominated
1969 Central Park North (album) Nominated
1970 Consummation (album) Nominated
1975 Potpourri (album) Nominated
1976 New Life (album) Nominated
1978 Live In Munich (album) Won
1979 Naturally (album) Nominated
1980 Bob Brookmeyer - Composer/Arranger (album) Nominated
1982 Make Me Smile & Other New Works by Bob Brookmeyer (album) Nominated
1986 20 Years At The Village Vanguard (album) Nominated
1989 The Definitive Thad Jones (album) Nominated
1990 The Definitive Thad Jones (Volume 2: Live from the Village Vanguard) (album) Nominated
  • The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra[7]
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2002 Can I Persuade You? (album) Best instrumental Jazz Performance, Big Band Nominated
2004 The Way: Music Of Slide Hampton (album) Nominated
2006 Up From The Skies: Music Of Jim McNeely (album) Nominated
2008 Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard (album) Won
2014 OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer (album) Nominated

From DownBeat

Year Music
publication
won
1972 Down Beat Readers' Poll-Big Band of the year
1973
1974 Critics' Poll-Big Band of the year
Readers' Poll-Big Band of the year
1975 Critics' Poll-Big Band of the year
Readers' Poll-Big Band of the year
1976 Critics' Poll-Big Band of the year
Readers' Poll-Big Band of the year
1977 Critics' Poll-Big Band of the year
Readers' Poll-Big Band of the year
1978 Critics' Poll-Big Band of the year

Discography

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra

  • Naturally (Telarc, 1979)
  • Play the Compositions of Herbie Hancock (Live in Montreux) (MPS 1980; Pausa, 1982)
  • Bob Brookmeyer - Composer/Arranger (Recorded in Concert at the Village Vanguard, February 1980 (Gryphon, 1980)
  • Make Me Smile & Other New Works by Bob Brookmeyer (aka Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra...Featuring the Music of Bob Brookmeyer) [live] (Finesse/CBS, 1982; Red Baron/CBS, 1993)
  • 20 Years at the Village Vanguard (Atlantic, 1985)
  • Soft Lights and Hot Music (Musicmasters, 1988)
  • The Definitive Thad Jones (Musicmasters, 1989)
  • The Definitive Thad Jones (Volume 2: Live from the Village Vanguard) (Musicmasters, 1990)
  • To You: A Tribute to Mel Lewis (Musicmasters, 1991)

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

  • Lickety Split: Music of Jim McNeely (New World, 1997)
  • Thad Jones Legacy (New World, 1999)
  • Can I Persuade You? (Planet Arts, 2002)
  • The Way: Music of Slide Hampton (Planet Arts, 2004)
  • Up from the Skies: Music of Jim McNeely (Planet Arts, 2006)
  • Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard (Planet Arts, 2008) - 2CD
  • Forever Lasting: Live in Tokyo (Planet Arts, 2011) - 2CD
  • OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer (Planet Arts, 2014)

Alumni

Lead trumpet
Trumpets
Lead trombone
Trombones
Bass trombone
French horn
  • Stephanie Fauber (1979–1991)
Saxophones
Guitar
  • Sam Herman (1966–1968)
Piano

References

  1. Lisik/Allen. 50 Years at the Village Vanguard:Thad Jone, Mel Lewis and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Sky Deck Music, 2017. pp. 8-9
  2. Wong, Herb. The Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Education Journal, Nov./Dec. 2003, Vol. 36, #3, pp. 42-46.
  3. Yanow, Scott. "Thad Jones | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  4. Yanow, Scott. "Mel Lewis | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  5. Yanow, Scott. "Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  6. Official awards results for Grammy.com
  7. Official awards results for Grammy.com
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