THE place to be on Monday nights for jazz fans, NYC with the VJO….
VJO Live at the Village Vanguard – Centennial: The Music of Thad Jones – BCM+D Records – 2 CD – 61:00/ 63:43 – 2024 – ****1/2
(Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: Dick Oatts – artistic director & alto sax; Bily Drewes – alto sax; Rich Perry – tenor sax; Ralph LaLama – tenor sax; Gary Smulyan – baritone sax; John Chudobo – trumpet; Brian Pareschi – trumpet; Terell Stafford – trumpet; Scott Wendholt – trumpet; Dion Tucker – trombone; Jason Jackson – trombone; Robert Edwards- trombone – Douglas Purviance – bass trombone; Adam Birnbaum – piano; David Wong – bass; John Riley – drums)
Now inching up to their sixth decade, The Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, has had a standing Monday night gig at the iconic Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City. Except for an hiatus due to COVID-19, this group has entertained big band enthusiasts on consecutive Monday nights for a run (now exceeding 2700+), that surely has never been done by any other jazz group in any venue.
The group was co-founded in 1966, by drummer Mel Lewis, and trumpeter, Thad Jones. At the cozy Vanguard club, on Mondays, the cream of the crop of the Big Apple’s jazz talent could play charts from both its leaders, and band members. Since Monday night is usually “dark” at clubs, those that were not already on tour, could “set aside egos” and play challenging music just for the joy of it. (Note-I had a chance in the last decade to experience the groups’ talents, and it will be a night I will never forget…)
Just a small sampling of the orchestra’s prior membership include Billy Harper, Bob Brookmeyer, Hank Jones, Jerome Richardson, Jon Faddis, Pepper Adams, Richard Davis, Roland Hanna, and Snooky Young.
Just released on BCM+D Records is a magnificent 2 CD set, recorded at the Vanguard on Feb. 7-8, 2024, honoring the centennial of the birth of co-founder, Thad Jones, (who passed away in 1986). Of the 18 tracks on this set, all but three were composed by Thad.
It was appropriate that the live recording took place in February, as it was the anniversary week going back to 1966. During that month, each year, the orchestra plays a full week, instead of just on Mondays.
The group’s place in jazz history is storied, as it continues to blend the sophistication of Duke Ellington’s best orchestras, with the power and drive of Count Basie’s prime groups. As would be expected of a group of this caliber, the arrangements are “tight” and the group swings hard. Those lucky enough to cram into the tight confines of the Vanguard (out of town jazz tourists from around the world flock there), are there to see jazz royalty.
The orchestra has so many pieces in “their book” that each evening’s sets can be unique, which the group’s members must appreciate, as on Mondays they are there to hang out with their contemporaries, and not likely just to split a 17 way payday. Strictly, the joy of performing, is the prime reason.
As an introduction to the this group, this new recording is a great way to feel the “in the room ambiance” of a Monday night VJO gig. The set list is a blend that goes back to their founding. Standouts include “A Child is Born,” which may be Thad’s most well known composition. Here it benefits from Terell Stafford’s luscious trumpet, backed by some of the saxophonists, switching to flutes.
On “61st and Rich’it,” baritone sax stalwart, Gary Smulyan, steps into the shoes of prior member, Pepper Adams, to play against the muted trumpets. “Back Bone” goes all the way back to the debut of the orchestra. The present artistic director, veteran altoist, Dick Oatts, takes the opening solo, in a bebop vein, before the brass kicks in, and pianist, Adam Birnbaum, has his say.
Other winning numbers include, “Blues in a Minute,” which channels the Basie band’s drive, the classic chestnut, “All of Me,” from Marks and Simons, that shows the “put on a grin” easy going swing of an era gone by. Then there is the closer, “Don’t Get Sassy,” where five members get solos (two trumpets, tenor sax, and piano).
As evidenced by adoring audiences, a “good time was had by all.” For the rest of us, this mighty fine new release can give us a bit of the magic that the VJO brings every Monday night. You can count on that…
—Jeff Krow
VJO Live at the Village Vanguard – Centennial: The Music of Thad Jones
Tracklist:
Disc 1:
Interloper,
Antigua,
Blues in a Minute,
61st and Rich’it,
A Child is Born,
Tow Away Zone
Disc 2:
Back Bone,
My Centennial,
All of Me
Once Around,
Easy Livin’,
Don’t Get Sassy
