Thad Jones

[Mark Stryker]

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. We used the anniversary and new reissue as a peg for running this long piece. It's adapted from a chapter from my forthcoming book about jazz musicians from Detroit. (The book version will go deeper into Thad's discography as a trumpeter and with the big band, the Detroit period and more.) We were also able to include a streaming track, "Big Dipper," from the Resonance CDs.

http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/2016/02/07/thad-jones-mel-lewis-jazz/79845538/

 

Edited February 7, 2016 by Mark Stryker

[CJ Shearn]

Great article, and the stream of the tune from the new release sounds wonderful!

[Dan Gould]

Very nice piece and what an exciting release coming very soon.

[HutchFan]

Thanks for sharing this, Mark.

I'm looking forward to reading your forthcoming book too!  

[JSngry]

Sweet.

I still wonder what was behind "No Refill", the original incarnation especially. Not the "how", but the "why".

 

That, when taken into consideration as a whole, is some weird, mysterious shit. I've nver seen the original liner notes to see if there's an explanation. Maybe the damn dog knows.

I really think Thad's been under-appreciated because he fell between the cracks in a time where being on either side of them was so crucial. Fortunately, we have history, which when done right, can shine some light down into those cracks and see if there's any survivors.

Shine that light on Thad, and shine it brightly.

[fasstrack]

I hope someone writes a book next. That'd be great...