Thad Jones

Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 - August 21, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter. Thad Jones Source:Downbeat magazine This work is copyrighted. ... Thad Jones Source:Downbeat magazine This work is copyrighted. ... Jump to: navigation, search March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... Jump to: navigation, search The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the tuba, euphonium, trombone, sousaphone, and french horn. ...

He was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones). Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen. He served in U.S. Army bands during World War II (1943-46). Pontiac is a city located in Oakland County, Michigan. ... Born July 31, 1918 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Hank Jones grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, where he studied piano at an early age and came under the influence of Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, and Art Tatum. ... Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 - May 18, 2004) was a jazz drummer. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ...

After the war, Thad Jones continued his professional music career, eventually winding up with Count Basie in 1954, for whom he arranged, composed, and performed. He stayed with the Count for nine years. Thad achieved critical acclaim during this time, but not for his work with Basie. Much of Jones' music was stylistically original and didn't always fit in with the Basie group. In the early sixties he became a free lance arranger and performer in the New York area. Jump to: navigation, search Count Basie at the piano William Count Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was a jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader. ... New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ...

Between 1963 and 1967 he and Mel Lewis formed the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. The group initially began with informal jam sessions amongst New York's top studio musicians, generally after midnight and within walking distance of their favorite bar, Jim and Andy's. The group eventually began performing, to wide acclaim, and continued with Jones in the lead for twelve years. As with all the musicians in the group, it was a part time gig. In 1979 they won a Grammy Award for their album Live in Munich. Mel Lewis (May 10, 1929 - February 2, 1990) was a drummer, Jazz musician and band leader. ... The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band was a Jazz Big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis around 1965. ... The 21st Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. ...

In 1978 Thad moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, (suddenly, and to the great surprise of his New York band mates), where several other American jazz musicians had gone to live. There, he formed a new band Eclipse, composed for The Danish Radio Big Band and taught jazz at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen. Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, and the name of the municipality (Danish, kommune) in which it resides. ...

A year before his death, Jones came back to the U.S. to lead the Count Basie Orchestra but had to step down due to ill health. He returned to his home in Copenhagen for the last few months of his life. He is buried there in the Vestre Kirkegard Cemetery (Western Churchyard Cemetery).

Thad Jones was an improvisational genius and, according to Charles Mingus, "...the greatest trumpet player I've heard in this life." In later years his playing ability was overshadowed by his composing and arranging skills. His best known composition is the standard A Child is Born. Charles Mingus Stamp issued by the USPS on September 16, 1995. ...