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25-459: Thad Jones professionally played two instruments, the trumpet and cornet. His older brother was Hank Jones , a jazz pianist, and his younger brother was Elvin Jones , a jazz drummer. Thad Jones had worked as a professional since he was 16, when he played with Hank. After leaving the military in 1946, he performed with territory bands and later with Charles Mingus . From 1954–1963, he was a member of

50-690: A 1978 Grammy Award for their album Live in Munich . Jones taught at William Paterson College in New Jersey, which is now the site of the Thad Jones Archive, containing pencil scores and vintage photos as part of the Living Jazz Archives. In January 1979, Thad suddenly moved to Copenhagen , Denmark (to the great surprise of his New York bandmates), where several other U.S. jazz musicians had gone to live. There he became

75-441: A Baptist deacon and lumber inspector, bought a three-story brick home. One of seven children, Jones was raised in a musical family. His mother Olivia Jones sang; his two older sisters studied piano; and his two younger brothers— Thad , a trumpeter, and Elvin , a drummer—also became prominent jazz musicians. He studied piano at an early age and came under the influence of Earl Hines , Fats Waller , Teddy Wilson , and Art Tatum . By

100-474: A solo piano recording issued in Japan under the title Round Midnight (2006), and as a side man on Joe Lovano 's Joyous Encounter (2005). Jones made his debut on Lineage Records, recording with Frank Wess and with the guitarist Eddie Diehl, but also appeared on West of 5th (2006) with Jimmy Cobb and Christian McBride on Chesky Records . He also accompanied Diana Krall for "Dream a Little Dream of Me" on

125-640: The Count Basie Orchestra , for whom he composed and arranged. Mel Lewis, a jazz drummer, had been playing in big bands since he was 15, first with Boyd Raeburn , then Alvino Rey , Stan Kenton , Terry Gibbs , and Gerald Wilson . In 1961, he toured the Soviet Union with veteran big band leader Benny Goodman . After Lewis moved to New York City, he met Thad Jones and started the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra at

150-704: The Now's the Time album, recorded in December 1952, with Teddy Kotick on bass and Max Roach on drums. Engagements with Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman followed, and recordings with artists such as Lester Young , Cannonball Adderley , and Wes Montgomery , in addition to being for a time, "house pianist" on the Savoy label. From 1959 through 1975 Jones was staff pianist for CBS studios. This included backing guests such as Frank Sinatra on The Ed Sullivan Show . He played

175-852: The Oscar Peterson Trio. In June 2005, Jones was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music at 20th anniversary of jazz education at the Umbria Jazz Festival , in Perugia , Italy. Hank Jones lived in Cresskill, NJ , upstate New York and in Manhattan. He died at a Calvary Hospital Hospice in The Bronx , New York, on May 16, 2010, survived by his wife Theodosia. Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986)

200-673: The University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments. Jones recorded more than 60 albums under his own name, and countless others as a sideman , including Cannonball Adderley 's celebrated album Somethin' Else . On May 19, 1962, he played piano as actress Marilyn Monroe sang her famous " Happy Birthday, Mr. President " song to then U.S. president John F. Kennedy . Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi , Henry "Hank" Jones moved to Pontiac, Michigan , where his father, Henry Jones Sr.,

225-661: The Basie Orchestra in 1963 to become a freelance arranger and musician in New York City . In 1965, he and drummer Mel Lewis formed the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra . The group started with informal late-night jam sessions among New York's top studio musicians. They began performing at the Village Vanguard in February 1966, to wide acclaim, and continued with Jones in the lead for 12 years. They won

250-584: The Great Jazz Trio. The group took this name in 1976, by which time Jones had already begun working at the Village Vanguard with its original members, Ron Carter and Tony Williams (it was Buster Williams rather than Carter, however, who took part in the trio's first recording session in 1976); by 1980 Jones' sidemen were Eddie Gómez and Al Foster , and in 1982 Jimmy Cobb replaced Foster. The trio also recorded with other all-star personnel, such as Art Farmer , Benny Golson , and Nancy Wilson . In

275-620: The U.S. Military School of Music and working with area bands in Des Moines and Oklahoma City , Jones became a member of the Count Basie Orchestra in May 1954. He was featured as a soloist on such well-known tunes as " April in Paris ", "Shiny Stockings", and "Corner Pocket". However, his main contribution to Basie's organization was nearly two dozen arrangements and compositions, which included "The Deacon", "H.R.H." (Her Royal Highness – in honor of

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300-743: The U.S. to take over the leadership of the Count Basie Orchestra, upon his former leader's death. Jones fronted the Basie band on numerous tours, also writing arrangements for recordings and performances with vocalist Caterina Valente and the Manhattan Transfer , but had to step down due to ill health. He returned to his home in Copenhagen for the last few months of his life, and died of cancer on August 20, 1986, aged 63, at Herlev Hospital. In later years, his playing ability

325-574: The age of 13, Jones was performing locally in Michigan and Ohio . While playing with territory bands in Grand Rapids and Lansing in 1944, he met Lucky Thompson , who invited Jones to work in New York City at the Onyx Club with Hot Lips Page . In New York City, Jones regularly listened to leading bop musicians, and was inspired to master the new style. While practicing and studying

350-760: The album compilation, We all Love Ella (Verve 2007). He is one of the musicians who test and talk about the piano in the documentary Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 , released in November 2007. In early 2000, the Hank Jones Quartet accompanied jazz singer Salena Jones at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho , and in 2006 at the Monterey Jazz Festival with both jazz singer Roberta Gambarini and

375-585: The band comprised trombonists Bjarne Thanning and Ture Larsen, trumpeter Lars Togeby, altoists Ole Thøger and Michael Hove, tenor saxophonist Bent Jædig , and bassist Jesper Lundgaard . Jones further composed for the Danish Radio Big Band and taught jazz at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen. He studied composition formally during this period, and also took up the valve trombone. In February 1985, Jones returned to

400-606: The band's command performance in London), "Counter Block", and lesser known tracks such as "Speaking of Sounds". His hymn-like ballad "To You" was performed by the Basie band combined with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in their only recording together, and the recording Dance Along With Basie contains nearly an entire album of Jones's uncredited arrangements of standard tunes. In 1959, Jones played cornet on Thelonious Monk 's 5 by Monk by 5 album. Jones left

425-591: The early 1980s Jones held a residency as a solo pianist at the Cafe Ziegfeld and made a tour of Japan, where he performed and recorded with George Duvivier and Sonny Stitt . Jones' versatility was more in evidence with the passage of time. He collaborated on recordings of Afro-pop with an ensemble from Mali and on an album of spirituals, hymns and folksongs with Charlie Haden called Steal Away (1995). Among his later recordings are For My Father (2005), with bassist George Mraz and drummer Dennis Mackrel ,

450-553: The end of 1965. Beginning in February 1966, the band played every Monday night at the Village Vanguard. Since Lewis's death in 1990, the band has been called the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, continuing its tradition as the Village Vanguard's house band. The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra was arguably the most influential big band since the swing era. Lewis brought a loose, small group style of drumming into

475-563: The leader of The Danish Radio Big Band , and married a Danish woman, Lis. Jones transformed the Danish Radio Big Band into one of the world's best. The result can be heard on a live-recording from the Montmartre in Copenhagen. In July 1979, Jones formed a new big band, Eclipse, with which he recorded a live album, Eclipse . Several Americans were on the album: pianist Horace Parlan , baritonist Sahib Shihab , trumpeter Tim Hagans , and trombonist/vocalist Richard B. Boone . The rest of

500-705: The music he worked with John Kirby , Howard McGhee , Coleman Hawkins , Andy Kirk , and Billy Eckstine . In autumn 1947, he began touring in Norman Granz 's Jazz at the Philharmonic package, and from 1948 to 1953 he was accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald , and accompanying her in England in the fall of 1948, developed a harmonic facility of extraordinary taste and sophistication. During this period he also made several historically important recordings with Charlie Parker , which included " The Song Is You ", from

525-627: The piano accompaniment to Marilyn Monroe as she sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962. By the late 1970s, his involvement as pianist and conductor with the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin' (based on the music of Fats Waller ) had informed a wider audience of his unique qualities as a musician. During the late 1970s and the 1980s, Jones continued to record prolifically, as an unaccompanied soloist, in duos with other pianists (including John Lewis and Tommy Flanagan ), and with various small ensembles, most notably

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550-1050: The structure of a big band. His cymbal work became a hallmark of the Jones/Lewis Orchestra. Jones's arrangements influenced later, large-ensemble composers, such as Maria Schneider , Bob Brookmeyer , Jim McNeely , and Bob Mintzer . The Jones/Lewis Orchestra was an unusual band, creating new styles, succeeding in an era when big bands were unpopular and remaining integrated during racially tense periods. The band's members included Bill Berry , Billy Harper , Bob Brookmeyer, Danny Stiles , Eddie Daniels , George Mraz , Hank Jones, Jerome Richardson , Jerry Dodgion , Jimmy Knepper , Joe Farrell , Jon Faddis , Marvin Stamm , Pepper Adams , Quentin Jackson , Richard Davis , Richard Williams , Roland Hanna , and Snooky Young . Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010)

575-695: Was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts . On April 13, 2009,

600-586: Was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan , to Henry and Olivia Jones, a musical family of 10 (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones ). A self-taught musician, Thad began performing professionally at the age of 16. He served in U.S. Army bands during World War II (1943–1946). After his military service, which included an association with

625-445: Was diminished due to a lip injury, but his composing and arranging skills blossomed. His best-known composition is the standard " A Child Is Born ". At the time of his death, Jones had a six-year-old son, also named Thad (Thaddeus Joseph William Jones), with his wife, Lis Jones. He had a daughter Thedia and a son Bruce in the U.S. Jones was buried in Copenhagen's Vestre Kirkegård Cemetery (Western Churchyard Cemetery). Thad Jones has

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