track 1. Whisper Not:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 2. Quiet Sip:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 3. Ballad Medley:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 4. Cat Meets Chick:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 5. Bird Song:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 6. Jumping For Jane:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 7. Mad Thad:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 1. Whisper Not:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 2. Quiet Sip:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 3. Ballad Medley:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 4. Cat Meets Chick:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 5. Bird Song:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 6. Jumping For Jane:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
track 7. Mad Thad:
trumpet - THAD JONES
in New York
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Mad Thad "...the solid music on this LP just goes to prove that Jones never seems to get the accolades as a trumpeter that he deserves for his solo recordings..."
Period Records
producer - Leonard Feather |
| Leonard Feather's Original 1957 LP Liner Notes: _____"...No blood brothers ever got along this well!..." was one critic's comment, a reasonably typical reaction when our last Thad Jones LP, (SPL-1210) entitled "The Jones Boys" (featuring Thad Jones (bio) with five other completely unrelated Joneses), reached the ears of musicians, experts, and fans. It was a natural consequence, therefore, when we brought most of the same Jones boys back together again for a happy reunion - only this time there were a few extra added non-Jones attractions. _____As before, six Joneses were involved (including Quincy Jones, who took a non-playing role in the first session, conducting the combo in two of his own arrangements). A new Jones was added in the person of Thad Jones' young brother, Elvin Jones (bio). A comparative newcomer on the New York scene, Elvin Jones has been heard most of the past year with J.J. Johnson's quintet and is already the subject of excited predictions among drummers and modern jazzmen in general. _____Three of the five "intruders", like Thad Jones himself and bassist Eddie Jones, draw their regular paychecks as members of The Count Basie Orchestra: they are Frank Foster, Frank Wess, and Henry Coker. Tommy Flanagan, who played piano on the second session, is a Detroiter who works with Elvin Jones in the J.J. Johnson group. Doug Watkins, also a member of the flowering Detroit school of jazz, was heard with The Messengers and more recently with Horace Silver's combo. _____The complete personnels are as follows: "Jumping for Jane", "Mad Thad", "Whisper Not": recorded in New York City 12/24/56 with Thad Jones, trumpet; Frank Foster, tenor sax; Jimmy Jones, piano; Jo Jones, drums; Doug Watkins, bass. _____"Cat Meets Chick", "Quiet Sip": recorded 1/6/57 with Thad Jones, trumpet; Frank Wess, tenor sax and flute; Henry Coker, trombone; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Elvin Jones, drums; Eddie Jones, bass. "Bird Song": same, without Henry Coker. _____"Jumping for Jane" is an early bop theme which I used some years ago on a Coleman Hawkins - Fats Navarro date. Starting with two bars each of A-flat and G, it turns out to be in E-flat, its changes providing an interesting challenge for the soloists. Frank Foster's two choruses move in the confident style he has displayed so effectively in The Count Basie Band; _____The next tune was an untitled original that Thad Jones brought in; I called it "Bird Song" for the obvious reason that it sounded like something Charlie Parker might have written and has much of the rhythmic charm of some of Bird's originals. It's played gently, with Thad Jones muted, both for the ensemble and for his three choruses of solo horn that follow. Frank Wess, too, has three choruses that are perfectly suited to the mood of the tune, as are Tommy Flanagan's following two. Eddie Jones's bass solo is partly walked and partly ad-fibbed. Elvin Jones then takes the solo spotlight for a chorus, followed by another in which he trades fours with Thad Jones and Frank Wess, leading into the closing ensemble. _____"Mad Thad" is the Quincy Jones original that provided the title for our album. The theme is played first in unison, then with Frank Foster playing a second line. Jimmy Jones's solo is followed by two choruses each from Frank Foster and Thad Jones and one from Jo Jones, the distinguished Basie alumnus whose drumming still gases 'Basieites' and 'non-Basieites', past and present. _____"Cat Meets Chick" opens with Thad Jones, muted, adlibbing on the changes accompanied only by the walking bass of Eddie Jones. The second chorus has him freewheeling around the theme, which is played in unison by trombone and tenor, after which a series of solos offers first Tommy Flanagan, next Henry Coker and Frank Wess splitting one, and then Thad Jones again, leading into a reprise of the theme in which he once more noodles around behind the ensemble. This one seems to get a particularly relaxed groove. _____"Whisper Not" is perhaps the outstanding item of the present set. A simple and delightful melody, it was written by Benny Golson, tenor saxophonist with the Dizzy Gillespie band, and arranged for this date by Quincy Jones. Its wistful flavor is well brought out in an ensemble for which Thad Jones is suitably muted. Frank Foster sounds almost "Ben Websterish" on his eloquent solo; Thad Jones' chorus is followed by sixteen bars of beautiful chording by Jimmy Jones before the ensemble returns. _____"Quiet Sip", written and arranged by Thad Jones himself, is the only item in the set that uses three-horn voicing in the exposition of the theme. The tempo is moderate, the time extended to almost nine minutes as Henry Coker's trombone leads off a fine array of solos. Frank Wess switches here to flute, the instrument on which he was recently voted "Greatest Ever" in the Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz "Musicians' Musicians" Poll; his two choruses here are an ample illustration of the qualities that earned him this acknowledgment from his fellow artists. After Tommy Flanagan's chorus, Thad Jones takes over for three, once again in complete command of the horn and never at a loss for ideas or for sensitive delineation of the tune's harmonic pattern. The rhythm section walks a chorus before the theme comes back. _____A closing warning: the title "Mad Thad", is used strictly in the idiomatic musicians' sense of the term; for Thad Jones, as any jazz-wise listener can plainly observe, is crazy like a fox. (...original 1957 LP liner notes from Leonard Feather...)
_____After serving in the military (1943-46), Thad Jones worked in territory bands in the Midwest. During 1950-53 he performed regularly with Billy Mitchell's quintet in Detroit and he made a few recordings with Charles Mingus (1954-55). Thad Jones became well-known during his long period (1954-63) with Count Basie's Orchestra, taking a "Pop Goes the Weasel" chorus on "April in Paris" and sharing solo duties with Joe Newman. _____During the next decade the orchestra (although always a part-time affair) became famous and gave Thad Jones an outlet for his writing. He composed one standard ("A Child Is Born") along with many fine pieces including "Fingers", "Little Pixie" and "Tiptoe". Among the sidemen in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (which started out as an all-star group and later on featured younger players) were trumpeters Bill Berry, Danny Stiles, Richard Williams, Marvin Stamm, Snooky Young, and Jon Faddis, trombonists Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Knepper and Quentin Jackson, the reeds of Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Eddie Daniels, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams and Billy Harper, pianists Hank Jones, and Roland Hanna, and bassists Richard Davis and George Mraz. _____In 1978 Thad Jones surprised Mel Lewis by suddenly leaving the band and moving to Denmark, an action he never explained. He wrote for a radio orchestra and led his own group called Eclipse. _____In late 1984 Thad Jones took over the leadership of The Count Basie Orchestra but within a year bad health forced him to retire. Thad Jones recorded as a leader for Debut® (1954-55), Blue Note®, Period®, United Artists®, Roulette®, Milestone®, Solid State®, Artists House®, A&M® and Metronome® and many of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra's best recordings have been reissued on a five-CD Mosaic® box set. (...from Scott Yanow...)
Elvin Jones: a bio ______After stints with J.J. Johnson (1956-57), Donald Byrd (1958), Tyree Glenn and Harry "Sweets" Edison, Elvin Jones became an important member of John Coltrane's Quartet, pushing the innovative saxophonist to remarkable heights and appearing on most of his best recordings. When John Coltrane added Rashied Ali to his band in late 1965 as second drummer, Elvin Jones was not pleased and he soon departed. He went on a European tour with The Duke Ellington Orchestra and then started leading his own groups which in the 1990s became known as Elvin Jones's Jazz Machine. Among his sidemen have been saxophonists Frank Foster, Joe Farrell, George Coleman, Pepper Adams, Dave Liebman, Pat LaBarbera, Steve Grossman, Andrew White, Ravi Coltrane and Sonny Fortune, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, pianists Dollar Brand and Willie Pickens, keyboardist Jan Hammer and bassists Richard Davis, Jimmy Garrison, Wilbur Little and Gene Perla among others. Elvin Jones has recorded as a leader for many labels including Atlantic®, Riverside®, Impulse®, Blue Note®, Enja®, PM®, Vanguard®, Honey Dew®, Denon®, Storyville®, Evidence® and Landmark®. (...from Scott Yanow...)
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