Thad is certainly one of the great writers for jazz orchestra...
He, with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band Pioneered a whole style of big band playing ('Thad Jones quarter notes'): HARD, balls-to-the-wall, groovy arrangements...
kick-ass charts:
- A Child Is Born
- The entire New Life Suite (especially Greetings & Salutations and Cherry Juice)
- Groove Merchant
- TipToe (holy frig, the trombone soli kills!)
...It's nice to have more jazz awareness on here! Which charts did you play?
See also: Early Bob Brookmeyer (wrote a lot for the Thad band, awesomeness like
Nasty Dance and
Make Me Smile); Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band (dubbed the European Thad Jones, Francy wrote some killer stuff, and had a great band); Rob McConnell (The Boss Brass - a Canadian band, similarly hard-hitting charts, though slightly more polished)