AOTW: Thad Jones & Mel Lewis - Live In Munich (SP-724)

[Captain Bacardi]

Thad Jones & Mel Lewis
Live In Munich
A&M/Horizon SP-724

Released 1977

Format: Vinyl, CD, 8-Track

Produced by John Snyder

Songs:

1. 1. Mach II (Rhoda Scott) 8:15
   2. A' That's Freedom (Hank Jones) 8:54
   3. Mornin' Reverend (Thad Jones) 5:31
   4. Come Sunday (Duke Ellington) 5:07
   5. Central Park North (Thad Jones) 16:00
   
   All compositions arranged by Thad Jones

Musicians:
Thad Jones - Cornet and Flugelhorn
Mel Lewis - Drums
Jerry Dodgion - Flute, Alto and Soprano Saxophones
Eddie Xiques - Flute, Alto and Soprano Saxophones
Gregory Herbert - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute
Larry Schneider - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute
Pepper Adams - Baritone Saxophone
John Mosca - Trombone
Billy Campbell - Trombone
Earl McIntire - Bass Trombone
Clifford Adams - Trombone
Al Porcino - Trumpet
Lynn Nicholson - Trumpet
Earl Gardner - Trumpet
Frank Gordon - Trumpet
Harold Danko - Acoustic Piano
Bob Bowman - Acoustic Bass


Recorded September 9, 1976 at the Domicile Club, Munich, Germany by Scholzen Hans Peter and Heiner Friesz for Dieter Dierks Studios, Colognes, Germany

Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Recording Studios, Hollywood, California

Art Direction: Roland Young
Graphic Design: Stan Evenson and Phil Shima
Front Cover: Uli Boerge (Illustration), Leonard Konopelski (Calligraphy)

Liner notes by Ed Beach


Capt. Bacardi

 

[jimac51]

This being a live album,and a farly short one(for a live jazz date) at that,one can't help but thinking what a "Complete A&M Years" box by Mosaic(who have done the Solid State era of the band and a BlueNote/UA/Roulette box of Thad's small group '50s recordings)would bring with the complete concert from this date.The mystery to me is "Mach II",written by organist Rhoda Scott,who recorded an album with the Jones/Lewis group during the same year. That Scott LP is one of the few "holy grail" albums I'm looking for to complete my Jones/Lewis library. I don't get to see much live music but a few weeks ago I saw a cool show with ties to this music. Lehigh University,situated in nearby Bethlehem,Pa.,has a group called the New York Repertory Orchestra led by Bill Warfield. They perform arrangements of all kinds of big band jazz and finally they had a Jones/Lewis night. This is a labor of love for thes musicians,most of them professional New York musicians but the "gig" era that the original members of the Jones/Lewis players came from is long gone. Many of these guys seem to be teaching,as does Warfield at Lehigh. The sparse crowd of 50 or so(including Warfield's students)were treated to expert readings of some pretty heavy duty charts by Thad. The highlight for me,as I was hoping,was that there was someone with true ties to the original band. Sure enough,Ed Xiques was lead Alto and was exciting to watch. Afterwards,he was very appreciative of my interest in his playing for the band-though I am not a musician,just a fan. Of note in his comments was that he had played some these charts before joing the band(1972-1978?)and noticed on his first night at the Vanguard what Thad was doing since the inception of the band in 1966. Co-founder and drummer Mel Lewis was the missing ingredient in the versions he had done before. Thad wrote everything with Mel in mind and is all made sense to Ed once he was in the group. BTW,John Mosca and Earl Gardner,heard on the 1976 Munich recording, are still members of the band,now known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. They have been there for almost 30 years. In 2006 the band turns 40 and to lead up to that date 2005 is supposed to celebrate the band's origins by focusing on Thad's original charts. Earl also has almost 20 years in the Saturday Night Live band. Mac

 

[Captain Bacardi]

This is an interesting live date from the Jones/Lewis band. "Mach II" is just a swinging affair, with Harold Danko's piano and Jerry Dodgion's soprano sax solos keeping the pace. It's a trombonist's delight on "A' That's Freedom", with Billy Campbell taking the solo. I love the trombone soli section on this! Thad plays a gorgeous cornet solo on "Come Sunday". I guess the only downer on this album is Mel Lewis's drum solo on "Central Park North" - it just doesn't go anywhere and really puts me to sleep. Still, a fairly solid outing. 3-and-a-half stars from me.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I just found out that this album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band in 1978.



Capt. Bacardi