2. music
  3. 135792-79

Thad Jones

While listening to Pandora in the backgroud...this killer trumpet playing caught my attention.  I walked over to the player to see that it was the Thelonius Monk album 'Five By Monk Five'.  I looked up the album on Wikipedia to see what musicians were on the session. It listed Thad Jones as the trumpeter.  He was killing it.  I'm 65 years old and have been listening to jazz for 46 years and have never heard any music by Thad Jones.   I'd seen his name a few times over the decades while reading about jazz, but nothing ever stood out.  I retrieved the album on Napster and played it.  Excellent album.  Cat can play.

Can anyone recommend any Thad Jones recordings that you think are some of his best work?

On a trivia note, .....pianist Hank Jones and drummer Elvin Jones are his brothers.
128x128mitch4t
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
The Jones brothers Hank, Thad and Elvin were one of the great families of jazz along with,
Heath brothers,  Percy, Jimmy and Albert.
Montgomery brothers,  Wes, Buddy and Monk.
Charles 
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t OP
1,611 posts
 
Charles1dad, I work from home and have jazz in the background all day.  I've listened to jazz all my adult life...a lot.  I've heard a LOT of jazz.  In the beginning my only exposure to jazz was jazz radio.  If the DJ's didn't play it, I didn't hear it.  No one played Thad Jones.  My other exposure is from music recommended by friends.  No one recommended Thad Jones.  In the mean time I own over 4,000 albums (vinyl & cd combined), I listen to a paid subscription of Napster and Pandora.  I have access to more music than I can ever listen to in a lifetime.  There is SO MUCH great jazz out there and only so many hours in a day.  There are still many great jazz artists's music that I've never heard.  Thanks to Pandora, and the bottomless reservoir of jazz that's been recorded throughout history, I'll still be discovering new jazz recordings for the rest of my life.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
8,012 posts
 

mitch4t,

I hear what you're saying. I've been a jazz fan for about 9 years, and more casually before that, but I don't have a clear view of the landscape and the history as I do with rock, so I depend on random discoveries and the recommendations of others. Thanks for the heads up guys. It's always great to make a new discovery.  

alexatpos
1,217 posts
 
Just a few clicks away....

https://forum.audiogon.com/search/index?utf8=✓&query=thad+jones
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Mitch,
 Yes I truly understand your point.  No matter how much jazz music listening and exposure there's still someone new to discover.  I have a pretty good size collection of jazz recordings but not as large as yours.

You are so right in that there's so much recorded jazz you could live two lifetimes and yet would be unable to hear it all. I've been a devout jazz listener 30 years and attend live jazz venues quite regularly. This experience of hearing the musicians live has profoundly impacted how I judge/choose audio components😊.

Since the topic is regarding a renowned jazz trumpeter,  are you familiar with Trumpeters Lee Morgan,  Kenny Dorham or Fats Navarro? I listen to a lot of Miles and Chet Baker. 
Charles 
More to discover