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• Listen to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
• View A Performance of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
  
• Village Vanguard Night Club

 

JOIN THE FRIENDS OF THE BROOKS CENTER

May 6th, 2008 - June 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm - We ask you to take a moment to consider your part in our pursuit of excellence as we prepare for our Learn More...

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WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory

June 7th, 2008 - June 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm - A collaboration between the Clemson’s Department of Performing Arts and the Generous Company, a non- Learn More...

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WordBRIDGE • New Play Development: Past, Present and Future in the United States

June 10th, 2008 at 4:30 pm - As part of WordBRIDGE a panel discussion on the development of new plays in the United States is pla Learn More...

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WordBRIDGE • Workshop/Lecture with Crosby Hunt

June 11th, 2008 at 4:30 pm - As part of WordBRIDGE Crosby Hunt will lead a workshop/lecture on storytelling. Hunt is a theatre p Learn More...

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WordBRIDGE • Presents Daniel Stein in "TIMEPIECE"

June 13th, 2008 at 8:00 pm - As a part of WordBRIDGE, Daniel Stein will perform his one-man mime movement work "Timepiece," a wor Learn More...

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The Spirit of Jazz Trumpeter Thad Jones and Drummer Mel Lewis Lives on in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

As individual musicians, trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer
Mel Lewis were no rank amateurs. Their talents were legendary,
having performed with the likes of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton. But when combined, the Jones/Lewis partnership formed the heart and soul of one of the most innovative big bands in jazz history. The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, a band that toured the world in the late 1960s, played some of the most progressive big band charts since the swing era. That legacy continues today in the form of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will perform at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts at Clemson University on Tuesday, September 11.

In 1966, Jones and Lewis founded a band in New York, having settled in the city after leaving their respective touring
gigs with the Count Basie and Stan Kenton bands. Jones and Lewis,
along with a few of their colleagues, needed a creative outlet and relief from the tedium of studio work. With a handful of arrangements, they approached Max Gordon, owner of the famed Village Vanguard nightclub, who booked them to perform for three Monday night performances in February. Critical acclaim, awards, and international success followed.

“This band started out in much the same way that most great jazz collaborations start,” explained Richard Goodstein, a Clemson University jazz historian. “A group of all-star musicians were gathering for late night jam and practice sessions. They realized that they had a good thing and formed a band. Under the leadership of Jones and Lewis, the band was quickly noticed by jazz insiders for its original sound and virtuoso skills.”

The band had its own unique style, along the lines of big band swing, bebop, and hardbop. The sound was powerful, fast, intellectual, and fun.

Thad Jones, an improvisational genius on the trumpet, led the group. Mel Lewis, co-leader, produced a drum style that was unique for big bands. His cymbal work added a texture and richness that is one of the hallmarks of the band.

“Some critics claim that the Thad Jones and Mel Lewis band was the most influential big band since the swing era,” said Goodstein. The group, noted for creating new styles, succeeded at a time when big bands were out of favor, and remained integrated during the racially tense 60s and 70s.

Among the band’s 12 recordings are Presenting Thad Jones: Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (1966), Central Park North (1969), Basle (1969), Consummation (1970), Potpourri (1974), and Live in Munich (1976).

The band performed for 12 years in its original form. It toured the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War and won a Grammy Award in 1979 for the album Live in Munich. The collaboration ended in 1978 with Jones suddenly moving to Denmark, after which the band became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.

Since the death of Lewis in 1990, the band has been known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Trombonist John Moscha serves as director, saxophonist Dick Otts serves as artistic director, and pianist Jim McNeely as composer-in-residence. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has maintained a Monday-night residency at the Village Vanguard for four decades.