Search results for "Thad Jones"

Thad Jones & Mel Lewis: Big Dipper (Rating: 91/100) posted in Music January 13, 08

This track is the first tune played on the first night of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, a Monday night tradition...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD

Whenever I step inside the Village Vanguard, I am always struck by a déjà vu sense of the awe-inspiring amounts of ...

Joe Williams: Night Time is the Right Time (to be with the One You Love) (Rating: 96/100) posted in Music March 31, 09

Evaluating the relative merits of Joe Williams' recorded tracks with Count Basie in the '50's, as compared to those h...

Thad Jones & Mel Lewis: Tiptoe (Rating: 90/100) posted in Music November 09, 07

Thad Jones was arguably the most consistently interesting big band arranger of the 1960s and 1970s, and “Tiptoe” is o...

Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Big Band: Little Pixie (Rating: 90/100) posted in Music October 30, 08

Sure, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band occasionally entered the electric/fusion world with funk-groove experiments: ...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: MODERN BIG BANDS

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Count Basie: Speaking of Sounds (Rating: 90/100) posted in Music January 27, 09

One of four fine Thad Jones originals from an album in which all the material was written by current or former Basie ...

Thelonious Monk: Jackie-ing (Rating: 95/100) posted in Music August 14, 08

The 1950s and '60s were a time when many jazz giants walked the earth, but there was also an abundance of distinctive...

Ben Webster & Joe Zawinul: Frog Legs (Rating: 90/100) posted in Music March 05, 09

Though the pairing of Ben Webster and Joe Zawinul may at first seem odd, the two were friends and for awhile roommate...

Count Basie: Counter Block (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music March 27, 08

This performance by the Basie band took place during a late-night gig at a Disc Jockeys of America convention on May ...

This track review is included in: DESERT ISLAND DOZENS: PETER ERSKINE

In the music world, but especially in the jazz world, everyone wants to know what everybody else is listening to. So ...

Count Basie: Half Moon Street (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music August 21, 08

The concept behind this album was to feature original pieces by several current members (as of 1958) and one former m...

Charles Mingus: Stormy Weather (1954) (Rating: 86/100) posted in Music November 22, 07

Until the late 1940s, John LaPorta coulda been a contender. That's when he hooked up with Lennie Tristano. Talk about...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: STORMY WEATHER

Ethel Waters induced "Stormy Weather" in 1933 at the Cotton Club, an oasis of prosperity in Depression- era Harlem wh...

Herbie Hancock: Riot (Rating: 98/100) posted in Music March 15, 09

This was Herbie Hancock's second-to-last album for Blue Note Records, and man is it good. "Riot" opens with lush orch...

Herbie Hancock: The Sorcerer (Rating: 95/100) posted in Music March 15, 09

Though most people are aware that the renowned Miles Davis quintet of the 1960s recorded this Herbie Hancock song, th...

Count Basie: April in Paris (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music October 26, 07

It’s almost May in Paris by the time the song concludes. Basie leads his band through two fake endings until finally...

Count Basie: Li'l Darlin' (Rating: 98/100) posted in Music November 11, 07

The “New Testament” Basie band that began during the 1950s retained all the buoyant swing of the early group from the...

Herbie Hancock: Speak Like a Child (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music November 26, 07

Every new release from Herbie Hancock during the 1960s seemed to chart an exciting step forward. On his Speak Like a...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: TWELVE ESSENTIAL HERBIE HANCOCK PERFORMANCES

When Miles Davis hired Herbie Hancock (along with Ron Carter and Tony Williams) in 1963, few fans believed that this ...

Herbie Hancock: Riot (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music March 20, 09

I love “Riot” from Speak Like a Child, and I also like a song from that record called “First Trip.” In fact, every tu...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: URI CAINE SELECTS 12 ESSENTIAL HERBIE HANCOCK TRACKS

Few jazz-related artists are busier these days than pianist-composer Uri Caine, whose international career transpires...

Louis Armstrong: This Black Cat Has 9 Lives (Rating: 81/100) posted in Music August 13, 09

Talk about sloganeering. On one of the weirdest straightforward jazz recordings of all time, Louis "Pops" Armstrong ...

Louis Armstrong: What a Wonderful World (Rating: 70/100) posted in Music August 13, 09

Major label executives, producers and (quite possibly) Washington insiders envisioned a new direction for Louis Armst...

Sonny Rollins (featuring Elvin Jones): A Night in Tunisia (Rating: 95/100) posted in Music August 02, 08

In the late 1940s and early '50s, a young Elvin Jones performed on a handful of impressive recording sessions, includ...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: ESSENTIAL ELVIN JONES

     Elvin Jones, artwork by Michael Symonds While Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes...

Charlie Haden & Hank Jones: Wade in the Water (Rating: 85/100) posted in Music July 30, 08

Hank Jones's father was a minister who was suspicious of jazz as the Devil's music. Clearly his sons Elvin, Thad and...

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