Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra – All My Yesterdays (2016)
DSD128 (.dsf) 1 bit/5,6 MHz | Time – 02:00:55 minutes | 9,6 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 02:00:55 minutes | 2,17 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Artwork: Digital booklet | Genre: Jazz | © 2xHD
This double album marks the first official release of recordings capturing the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in concert at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City in early 1966. The treasure trove of previously unheard live performances from two shows six weeks apart is presented in ahead-of-its-time audiophile quality. George Klabin, a 19-year-old engineer, taped the orchestra direct to two-track, mixing each of the soloists live on the fly. For this package, Klabin transferred and remastered the audio using the original tapes.
This deluxe 2-CD set also includes recordings from March 21, 1966, many of which have never been released before (although some of the recordings were unofficially exploited via a limited bootleg in 2000), and comes with an expansive 92-page book providing rare, previously unpublished photos, historic essays, interviews and memoirs. Contributors include executive producer George Klabin who recorded the original tapes, producer Zev Feldman, associate producer Chris Smith (author of The View from the Back of the Band: The Life and Music of Mel Lewis), longtime Vanguard Jazz Orchestra arranger and pianist Jim McNeely, and trombonist/educator John Mosca. All of the living musicians who played on these recordings contributed to the notes, recounting their personal experiences of the Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. Included are accounts from saxophonists Jerry Dodgion, Eddie Daniels and Marv “Doc” Holladay, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, trombonists Garnett Brown and Tom Macintosh, along with bassist Richard Davis.
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Mel Lewis – Mel Torme at the Crescendo (1957/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 35:58 minutes | 456 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Bethlehem Records
A showcase for Mel Tormé at his best, recorded live in front of an audience, the album solidified the young singer’s standing in the jazz world. Released in 1957, this session was recorded at the Crescendo in Los Angeles, arranged by Tormé’s longtime collaborator, pianist/arranger Marty Paich. These familiar standards are taken to another level on this inspired concert album that sees Tormé backed by a small combo.
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Mel Lewis, Bob Brookmeyer & Clark Terry – Live At The Village Vanguard (Remastered) (1980/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 49:27 minutes | 534 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Gryphon Records
A year after Thad Jones’ decision to end his musical partnership with drummer Mel Lewis, Lewis’ jazz orchestra was changing its sound. Valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer became the big band’s chief arranger for a time, and his charts show the influence of modern classical music while usually still swinging. This hard to find album features the orchestra playing live at their home base (the Village Vanguard), and such soloists as pianist Jim McNeely and Dick Oatts on alto and soprano; flugelhornist Clark Terry, and Brookmeyer himself are featured on the nearly 16-minute “El Co” and “The Fan Club.” Worthwhile if not essential music.
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Mel Lewis with The Jazz Orchestra – Mel Lewis & the Jazz Orchestra Play the Compositions of Herbie Hancock Live in Montreux (1982/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 49:12 minutes | 541 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © MPS
Mel Lewis first teamed up with renowned trumpeter Thad Jones to form the band that later became the legendary Mel Lewis Orchestra. Brimming with some of the best players in the Big Apple, the band quickly found success. They also became the Monday night band at the world’s most famous jazz club, New York’s The Village Vanguard. With Jones’ departure in ’78, Mel took over as leader, shaping the band into “one of the most exciting and innovative big bands ever to grace the jazz scene” (jazz writer Mike Hennessey). This album’s theme is special: pieces by one of the greatest jazz musicians of the last half century, Herbie Hancock, with Bob Mintzer taking on the arranging duties. A quick rundown of who solos: One Finger Snap features John Marshall on trumpet, Lee Robertson’s trombone, and Jim McNeely on piano. Dolphin Dance: Dick Oats alto, John Mosca, trombone. On Wiggle Waggle Richard Perry takes the tenor solo, Jim McNeely the piano, and Carl Gardner the trumpet; the feel is funk with a dash of Latin. With its rich, inventive juxtaposition of French horn, flutes, and horns, the ballad Speak Like A Child is one of Mintzer’s arranging highpoints on the album. Dick Oats takes the emotive soprano solo. Eye Of The Hurricane showcases Gary Pribek’s baritone sax; Joe Lovano’s tenor solo foreshadows his rise to stardom, and Mel gets in his licks with a tempestuous solo. Mike Hennessey calls the music “big band jazz at the highest state of the art” It’s a good call.
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Mel Lewis, Benny Barth, Sonny Payne, Ray Mosca, Armando Peraza – More Drums On Fire (Analog Source Remaster) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 31:48 minutes | 334 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © J. Joes J. Edizioni Musicali
In an era when big band drummers were expected to be showmen who drove their ensembles with aggressive timekeeping and fast, furious fills, Mel Lewis defied the trend and served the music by supporting the band rather than by calling attention to his own playing.
The warm sounds of his “old K’s” and his calf-headed bass and snare drums served as a cushion for the band’s sound, blending with the other instruments rather than cutting through them. As Lewis sat calmly behind a small drumkit that looked more appropriate for a combo than a big band, the hint of a smile was often visible at the corners of his mouth as he led the band with the authority of his time feel, which was all the more impressive by virtue of its understated quality. Indeed, Lewis could swing a band just as hard with brushes as with sticks.
Mel sometimes complained that to most people, “chops” meant “speed.” He could handle fast tempos with no problem, but he was never one for playing blazing fills and solos. For him, “chops” had to do with control of the instrument, a sense of color, and above all, the ability to swing.
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