Thad Jones Mel Lewis - Consummation (8 tracks) +Album Reviews

A Big Band Masterpiece

08/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis big band was the harmonic and natural successor to the Count Basie band. With some of the best players of their era, its members included Joe Farrell, Jerome Richardson, Dee Dee Bridgewater (who often sang because her husband played sax in the band), Pepper Adams, Snooky Young...need I continue? Yes! How about Sir Roland Hanna, one of the great piano player/composers? I consider this album one of the best and most overlooked jazz albums of all time. As a sax player, all I can say is if you like big band jazz or Count Basie, you will love this album. It is a musicians' and audience favorite.PS-One of the most beautiful jazz ballads ever written and covered by many jazz players is on this album: A Child Is Born."

For people who think they don't like jazz...

Manuel | California | 08/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"have obviously never heard this incredible album! I've listened to a good number of big bands over the years and as of now the one founded by the two-headed monster known as Thad Jones & Mel Lewis remains the most intriging and arguably the finest from ANY era for that matter. Jones honestly doesn't get enough credit for his extremely inventive compositions and arrangements, both of which continue to push the limits of what a big band can truly do when in the hands of a certified master like him. Mel Lewis is also very much underrated in his ability to apply the proper groove to whatever it is the band may be playing at any given moment (not to mention him being funkier than the average jazz drummer back in the day). Many highlights abound on this 1970 landmark release, most notably "Tiptoe", "A Child Is Born", "Fingers", and the title track. It's a shame most jazz music being made today often fails to reach the same inspired level of musicianship and creativity one would find here. So I advise you to add this gem to your collection if you truly have any sense at all. Never know when classic stuff like this will go out-of-print again."

Some of the greatest arrangements of all time

Manuel | 10/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've waited a long time to see this finally re-released. I had already went through two vinyl pressings of this masterpiece and was left with only a cassette for every day use. Although much of this has been on other cd compilations, having everything in the original order and in a new re-master is wonderful. This is among the very, very, best big band jazz albums ever made. The arrangements are absolutely first rate, and the performances are incrediblely tight, tasteful, and exciting. Do yourself an enormous favor and BUY THIS!"

Love ballad

Claire E. Grover | Bountiful, Utah United States | 11/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A Child is Born is possibly the most beautiful and haunting love ballad in jazz history. I fell in love with it in a University music theory class and am excited to find a good recording of it now. What a catch this is!"

Big band, big sound, big time CD!

Eric C. Sedensky | Madison, AL, US | 06/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recently purchased Consummation together with Sun Ra's The Magic City, and being in the mood for some good big band music, I put on TMC, thinking it was going to be similar to Jazz in Silhouette. Unfortunately, it was not, so knowing that Thad's work with Mel Lewis is "true" big band, I quickly switched out TMC with this CD. Hearing it for the first time, I was disappointed - for about a minute and a half or two minutes - as this CD starts off very slow, with lots of musical "discussions" between a couple of horns that isn't so exciting, and plods along with a groaning bass and dragging rhythm. And then, just as you think you maybe need to go find another big band CD, you sense that horn interplay, with "piano de minimus" and dragging bass start to build, and you keep listening, and it builds some more, and you keep listening, and then, all of a sudden, it just explodes in a torrent of brass instruments announcing they are done fooling around and will heretofore commence jamming. And from there, the CD is everything anybody could ever want in a big band, swing band, jazz sound. As a fan of big band, I've heard my share, and I can say with some authority that this is one of the best. The musicianship of Thad, Mel, and the assembled orchestra is first rate, and Thad's compositions, both the songs themselves and the complex orchestral arrangements used to execute them, are easily among the best you will hear anywhere. I especially love the opening track, Dedication, which just rips it up after the initial tension building intro, but other songs, notably A Child is Born and Tiptoe, also use the large orchestra to great effect, producing subtleties in sound, melody, harmony and rhythm that you can only get with a lot of members working the same tune at the same time. The word stunning comes to mind. Then of course there is Us and Ahunk Ahunk, where the big band does the blues to equally amazing effect. Yep, stunning. The other great feature of this recording, which lends itself to a broader more discriminating audience, is the technological execution. There's none of the muddy, "one microphone for four instruments" kind of recording. Each instrument or section shines on its own and is perfectly balanced and blended with the rest of the orchestra. None of the intricacies of the song are lost and the listener is not only challenged with listening for the synergy of the instruments, he or she is also rewarded with actually being able to hear and feel that synergy, together with the timbres of the individual instruments and the idiosyncrasies of the individual musicians. As they blend into a cohesive image of modern big band music, all that is then required of the listener is to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. All in all, this is everything I want in a big band sound and experience, and it has earned itself a prominent place in my current music rotation. Fans of traditional jazz, swing, and big band, this CD was made for you!"

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CD Reviews

	Thad Jones, Mel Lewis Consummation Genres: Jazz, Pop Track Listings (8) - Disc #1 Dedication It Only Happens Every Time Tiptoe A Child Is Born Us Ahunk Ahunk Fingers Consummation
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