Thad Jones

Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 - August 21, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.

He was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones). Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen. He served in U.S. Army bands during World War II (1943-46).

After the war, Thad Jones continued his professional music career, eventually winding up with Count Basie in 1954, for whom he arranged, composed, and performed. He stayed with Basie for nine years. Thad achieved critical acclaim during this time, but not for his work with Basie. Much of Jones's music was stylistically original and didn't always fit in with the Basie group which he left in 1963. In the early sixties he became a free lance arranger and performer in the New York area.

In 1965 he and drummer Mel Lewis formed the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. The group initially began with informal late night jam sessions amongst New York's top studio musicians. The group eventually began performing at the Village Vanguard, to wide acclaim, and continued with Jones in the lead for twelve years. In 1979 they won a Grammy Award for their album Live in Munich. Jones also taught at William Paterson College in New Jersey.

In 1978 Thad suddenly moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, (to the great surprise of his New York band mates), where several other American jazz musicians had gone to live. There, he formed a new band Eclipse, composed for The Danish Radio Big Band and taught jazz at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen.

A year before his death, Jones came back to the U.S. to lead the Count Basie Orchestra but had to step down due to ill health. He returned to his home in Copenhagen for the last few months of his life. He died on August 21, 1986 after being hospitalized for months but his cause of death was not published. At the time of his death he had a six year old child, also named Thad Jones, with his wife Lis Jones. He is buried there in the Vestre Kirkegard Cemetery (Western Churchyard Cemetery).

Charles Mingus called Jones "...the greatest trumpet player I've heard in this life." In later years his playing ability was overshadowed by his composing and arranging skills. His best known composition is the standard A Child is Born.

Thad Jones Centennial

by David Demsey
March 7, 2023

On March 28, 2023, the great arranger, bandleader, cornetist, and composer Thad Jones (1923-1986) would have turned 100 years old. As influential as he was during his lifetime, that influence has grown even more pervasive since his death. Thad was a Detroit native, a member of one of the “royal families" of jazz: His brothers were pianist Hank Jones, giant of the jazz scene as well as of the New York City recording studios; and drummer Elvin Jones, ...

Interview

Bruce Jones: Growing Up With Jazz

by La-Faithia White
January 12, 2020

The impact of living in a musical household, witnessing your dad and your uncles jamming in the basement can definitely create a positive and meaningful outlook for a young kid. Stories of growing up jazz come to mind for Bruce Jones, the eldest son of trumpeter, composer, and band leader Thad Jones. Bruce is also the nephew of pianist, arranger, composer and band leader Hank Jones, and nephew of drummer and band leader Elvin Jones. Bruce is the ...

My Blue Note Obsession

Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra: Consummation – 1970

by Marc Davis
January 5, 2017

Blue Note was never home to many big bands, but the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra recorded four albums for the label from 1967-70, and one is a certified classic. Consummation is the musical equivalent of Neapolitan ice cream--three flavors packed into one large container. The album contains three moods: soft and contemplative, sprightly and upbeat, and soulful and funky. Each gets two or three songs, and together they make a tasty treat. The record begins with ...

Album Review

Thad Jones: The Magnificent Thad Jones

Read "The Magnificent Thad Jones" reviewed by Greg Simmons

by Greg Simmons
November 10, 2016

It's all about the swing. Featured in the Count Basie Orchestra, one of the hardest swinging bands ever, Thad Jones had more swing in his little toe then most musicians will ever dream of. Even when he slowed the tempo he still swung, and his second date as a leader for Blue Note Records, The Magnificent Thad Jones, swings more at mid-tempo than almost any record I know. The rhythm on this record is a relentless pendulum: It swings left; ...

Album Review

Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra: All My Yesterdays

Read "All My Yesterdays" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
February 22, 2016

La Resonance Records ha appena pubblicato (in un lussuoso cofanetto di due CD più un libro di 92 pagine), le primissime incisioni della Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, riprese al Village Vanguard il 7 febbraio e il 21 marzo 1966. Sono trascorsi 50 anni dalla nascita della formazione e, agli inizi di febbraio, lo storico club ha festeggiato l'avvenimento con una settimana di concerti della Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, che dopo il decesso dei due fondatori ne rappresenta la continuazione. ...

Album Review

Thad Jones and Mel Lewis: All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard

Read "All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
February 19, 2016

Offering: Live at Temple University (Resonance Records, 2014), Getz/Gilberto '76 (Resonance Records, 2016), Moments in Time (Resonance Records, 2016)...and these are just the most recent (not to forget several Wes Montgomery) releases. Resonance Records steps up (again) and releases what can only be considered the apotheosis of live jazz performance, All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Recordings at the Village Vanguard. Before even considering the music, there is the captured ambiance. Recorded by a then 19-year old amateur ...

My Blue Note Obsession

The Magnificent Thad Jones – Blue Note 1527

by Marc Davis
November 10, 2014

Man does not live by hard bop alone, even on Blue Note. Sometimes, you just got to have a ballad. When you're in the mood, this is the record for you. Thad Jones provides the horn, and he has never been better. Jones is best known as co-leader of the big band that bore his name, but this 1956 recording is his break-out moment as both a small-group leader and trumpeter. And while you may think of Jones ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thad Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Thad Jones' birthday today!

Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923- August 21, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader. He was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones). Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen. He served in U.S. Army bands during World War II (1943-46). After the ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thad Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Thad Jones' birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thad Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Thad Jones' birthday today!

Video / DVD

Thad, Hank and Elvin Jones

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 12, 2020

It's not surprising that Thad Jones, Hank Jones and Elvin Jones were jazz musicians. What is astonishing is that all three were exceptional, each with a distinctive and accomplished playing and recording career. By my count, the three brothers recorded together four times, on Keeping Up With the Joneses (1958), Herb Geller's Gypsy (1959) and Elvin Jones's And Then Again (1965) and Midnight Walk (1966). The first album was their best. Recorded for Metrojazz, an MGM subsidiary, in May 1958, ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thad Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Thad Jones' birthday today!

Video / DVD

Thad Jones: Rehearsal Session

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 27, 2020

In February 1977 (I'm guessing), Thad Jones was rehearsing his orchestra in preparation for a performance with Dexter Gordon as guest soloist. I've narrowed the year to '77 because Gordon returned to the U.S. in 1976 and signed with Columbia and Jones left for Denmark abruptly in 1979. Gordon's famed Homecoming recording was in December '76. Since it's clear from the following video that the date was his birthday, I've narrowed the day to February 27, 1977. Last year, a ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thad Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Thad Jones' birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Thad Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
March 28, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Thad Jones' birthday today!

Video / DVD

Jones & Lewis In Concert

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
November 28, 2017

It occurred to me around mid-afternoon that it would have been a good idea to use the band’s music as a supplement to the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis-Vanguard Orchestra Monday Recommendation. But, from the treasury of Thad & Mel performances on record and video, what to choose? The staff agreed unanimously; the band’s 1969 performance of Thad’s “Central Park North” at a 1969 concert in Denmark. As the featured soloists play, their names on the screen identify them. Everyone in the ...
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