20 Years At The Village Vanguard [Vinyl]

The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (originally co-led by Thad Jones) celebrated its 20th anniversary with this Atlantic album, one of its very few major-label releases. Although two of Jones' arrangements are on this set ("All of Me" and "Interloper"), the big band had changed quite a bit since his relocation to Sweden in 1978. This 1985 edition is younger, less traditional and less reliant on soloists, although it had some great ones in Joe Lovano, Ralph Lalama and Kenny Werner. A great record by any standards!

Track Listings:
A1. All of Me
A2. Blue Note
A3. Butter
A4. C Jam Blues
B1. Dearly Beloved
B2. Interloper
B3. Alone Together
B4. American Express.

Featuring: Kenny Werner, Dennis Irwin; Earl Gardner, Joe Mosello, Glen Drewes, Jim Powell, Bill Pusey; John Mosca, Ed Neumeister, Douglas Purviance, Earl McIntyre, Stephanie Fauber; Dick Oatts, Ted Nash, Joe Lovano, Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan.