Home » Jazz Musicians » Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is the current title for a band that began life as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966 and has performed continuously ever since. The story is familiar but bears repeating that in 1966 cornetist, composer, arranger, Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis founded a band in New York. Having settled in New York after leaving their respective touring jobs with Basie and Kenton, Thad and Mel along with many of their colleagues needed an outlet for their creative energies and relief from the tedium of the studio work. With a handful of arrangements they approached legendary club owner Max Gordon and were booked at the Village Vanguard for 3 Mondays in February. Critical acclaim, awards and international success followed but in 1979, tired of frequent traveling and the economic uncertainty that even great jazz musicians endure in America, Thad left the band to accept leadership of the Danish Radio Orchestra in Copenhagen. Mel decided to continue the band now billed as Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra and enlisted the talents of his old friend and former band member Bob Brookmeyer who, miraculously was just returning to active playing and composing in New York. The band not only survived but with Brookmeyer’s writing continued the innovation and influence that Thad and Mel had began. Bob moved on to other projects and ultimately also settled in Europe, the new material coming from within the band now. In 1990 the band would endure a terrible blow when Mel Lewis died after a 5 year battle with cancer. For the members, all of whom had been there 5 years and several over 10, losing Mel was a deep family tragedy, for great bands invariably become families. They are also teams; and in this spirit decided to continue the band as a cooperative effort. ( When asked who was “fronting” the band one of the veterans was heard snapping “...the music”.)

So three weeks have become a permanent gig spanning over four decades and another name change; to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Several of the current key members played for Thad, so the original precepts of sound and swinging are proudly held and displayed while the other original precepts of creativity and experimentation are nurtured and encouraged. The Village Vanguard is still a great place to be on a Monday night no matter which side of the bandstand you’re on. The orchestra's recording titled, “The Way—Music of Slide Hampton” won a Grammy in 2004 for “best arrangements for jazz orchestra”. 2006-2007, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra performances in the U.S include the University of Arizona, Michigan State University, Kansas State University, Detroit’s Symphony Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, University of Massachusetts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the summer of 2007 the Vanguard returned to Europe performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, the Imatra Big Band Festival in Finland, the Blue Note Records Festival in Belgium, and also gave performances in Italy and Germany.The orchestra began a yearly commitment to Assisi Jazz, a concert series in Assisi, Italy that incorporates the orchestra's education program “Precepts of Swing”. Upcoming appearances include Clemson University, University of Florida Gainesville, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Shippensburg University and Princeton University. Their 2005 recording, “Up from the Skies” the music of ensemble’s pianist, composer and arranger, Jim McNeely, was nominated for two Grammys including “ best jazz ensemble.” Their last new recording 'Monday Night at The Village Vanguard' receives a Grammy Nomination for the Best Instrumental Arrangement. (Bob Brookmeyer-St. Louis Blues) and a Grammy Award for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble.

Read more

Tags

11
Book Review

50 Years at the Village Vanguard: Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Read "50 Years at the Village Vanguard: Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


50 Years at the Village Vanguard: Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Dave Lisik and Eric Allen 316 Pages ISBN: #9780692808580 SkyDeck 2017 During the heydays of the big bands, people swooned and jitterbugged to the swinging sounds of these large ensembles. Names like Count Basie, Woody Herman, Les Brown, Cab Calloway, Glenn Miller, and Artie Shaw were household names to most folks. Large ballrooms featured the big bands and ...

Album Review

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer

Read "OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Questo disco ci è giunto con un po' di ritardo ma va assolutamente segnalato. È infatti uno dei migliori dischi dell'anno nonchè un omaggio al genio orchestrale di Bob Brookmeyer. Forse non tutti sanno che lo storico trombonista, partner negli anni cinquanta di Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan e Jimmy Giuffre, è stato uno di massimi orchestratori moderni: nel 1966 partecipò alla fondazione della Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, scrivendo decine di partiture, e nel 1990 ne divenne il direttore, quando la ...

8
Album Review

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer

Read "OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer" reviewed by John Ephland


There's a richness, a depth, a density to his varied charts. And the soloists and ensemble passages inside those charts! Such has always been the case with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, then, and now. For real, gliding from the spirit of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, this edition of the VJO now embraces another one of its own: trombonist/composer/arranger/pianist Bob Brookmeyer, with Over Time: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer. And what different sound comes from this grand aggregate of ...

5
Album Review

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer

Read "OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While it may be hard to believe, the reality is that the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is nearing the end of its first half-century together. Formed in 1966 as the Thad Jones -Mel Lewis Orchestra, it continued on after Jones' departure as the Mel Lewis Orchestra, then as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra after Lewis' death in February 1990. During many of those years, the ensemble was enriched by the compositions and arrangements of the renowned Bob Brookmeyer (1929-2011), a master craftsman ...

15
Extended Analysis

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer

Read "The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer extraordinaire Mel Lewis may have given birth to the band that's now known as The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, but the late Bob Brookmeyer gave the group artistic independence at a time when it was sorely needed. When Jones left the fold and departed for Europe at the tail end of the '70s, things could've gone a very different way for this storied outfit: it could've simply carried on as a pretty good ...

185
Album Review

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: Forever Lasting - Live in Tokyo

Read "Forever Lasting - Live in Tokyo" reviewed by Edward Blanco


The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra, the New York big band founded in 1966, loved to tour Japan resulting in its popular 1974 release of Live In Tokyo (Denon). Continuing the tradition of playing Monday nights at New York's Village Vanguard, as well as performing in Japan, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra--as the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra has been known for decades--presents Forever Lasting--Live In Tokyo a double-CD set capturing a recent live recording in Tokyo. Led by ...

880
Profile

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: A Band in the Vanguard

Read "Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: A Band in the Vanguard" reviewed by George Kanzler


Not only is this the 75th anniversary of the Village Vanguard, this month also marks the 44th anniversary of the Monday night residency of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (VJO), begun in 1966 as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Those Monday nights are a very significant part of the Vanguard's legacy as THE premier jazz club in history. Before cornetist, flugelhornist, composer and arranger Jones and drummer Lewis brought their big band into the Vanguard, ...

Read more articles
150

Festival

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Ron Carter to Headline 2011 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Ron Carter to Headline 2011 Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

The Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival has announced that the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (pictured at left) and bassist Ron Carter will be the featured performers for the 2011 GSLJF, which will be held Thursday, April 14 through Saturday, April 16 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. The VJO will headline the concert on Friday, April 15 at the TouPAC, and Carter's trio with pianist Mulgrew Miller and guitarist Russell Malone will be featured on Saturday, April 16. The University of ...

152

Education

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Summer Program in Italy

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Summer Program in Italy

Source: Michael Ricci

THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA SUMMER INTENSIVE WORKSHOP/PERFORMANCE PROGRAM IN ASSISI, ITALY FOR STUDENTS, MUSICIANS AND EDUCATORS The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will be setting up residence in the hills of Assisi this summer from July 10 through July 15 The orchestras summer home will be open to students, musicians and educators from all over the world and will feature a comprehensive schedule of workshops seminars and performances. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Precepts of Swing residency Big band master classes small group ...

160

Performance / Tour

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Performs @ Sopac in New Jersey Nov 10th

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Performs @ Sopac in New Jersey Nov 10th

Source: AMT Public Relations

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra @ South Orange Performing Arts Center (One SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ) Jazz 'n the Hall Seton Hall Arts Council

Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30pm Tickets: $25, $15, $8 This 16-piece modern big band, established by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, began its 42-year old, Monday night tradition at the world-famous Village Vanguard night club. Winner of a 2009 Grammy for best large Jazz ensemble, the Vanguard will take a break from ...

175

Festival

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Summer Residence in Assisi, Italy

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Summer Residence in Assisi, Italy

Source: Michael Ricci

THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA ESTABLISHES SUMMER HOME IN ASSISI, ITALY As many New York Metropolitan area residents retreat to their summer homes, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will be setting up residence in the hills of Assisi. For the past three years the orchestra has been providing performances and workshops in the historic city as part of the Assisi Performing Arts Festival. The annual one week residency, generally scheduled during the second week of July, will become an official event on ...

238

Performance / Tour

Bob Brookmeyer, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra to Play in Columbia on February 18

Bob Brookmeyer, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra to Play in Columbia on February 18

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

StLJN doesn't usually cover happenings in Columbia, MO, because 1) while that town's “We Always Swing" series apparently does an exemplary job of producing jazz events, many of the musicians who perform for that series seem to stop in St. Louis just before or after their Columbia gigs; and 2) it's 100 miles away, and there's quite a lot of music to cover right here in St. Louis.However, there's something special coming up this month in Columbia that ...

260

Event

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra / Bob Brookmeyer

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra / Bob Brookmeyer

Source: All About Jazz

THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA In collaboration with PLANET ARTS, SIXTEEN AS ONE MUSIC INC., and THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, PRESENT

The Monday Night Legacy: Past Present Future

Monday, February 2 through Monday February 9 2009

From February 2 though 9, 2009, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (VJO) will present a special week-long retrospective at the Village Vanguard in New York City. The week will trace the orchestras development from 1965 to the present day and highlight the three major incarnations of the ...

140

Recording

Other Places: Friedwald on the VJO

Other Places: Friedwald on the VJO

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

Not long ago in a Recent Listening in Brief posting, I brushed by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra's new CD. Brevity by no means indicated a lack of enthusiasm for the latest recorded work of that remarkable institution. Will Friedwald, the jazz critic of The New York Sun, is another VJO enthusiast. He attended the band's recent performance at New York's 92nd Street YMCA in the summer concert series overseen by pianist Bill Charlap. Here is some of what he wrote ...

107

Recording

New CD from the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

New CD from the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Source: All About Jazz

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra's new CD Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard On Planet Arts Recordings AVAILABLE NOW AT: PlanetArts.org and vanguardjazzorchestra.com

One of the most enduring jazz ensembles in the history of the art form continues to contribute to the jazz canon and advance the language of music.

Over four decades after the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra's first live recording at the Village Vanguard, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (VJO), the latest incarnation of the original ensemble, recorded ...

96

Performance / Tour

Rob Scheps with Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at Village Vanguard & in Kansas

Rob Scheps with Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at Village Vanguard & in Kansas

Source: All About Jazz


43

Performance / Tour

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra @ The Philadelphia Museum of Art on January 26, 2007

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra @ The Philadelphia Museum of Art on January 26, 2007

Source: All About Jazz

The oldest, most successful big band of jazz's postmodern era, the 16-member Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has been committed to engaging audiences in jazz and related American music experiences. In 1966, trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis, tired of touring and studio work, chose New York's Village Vanguard for a creative escape. They formed a band that performed regularly in the legendary Greenwich Village jazz cellar. Four decades later, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is one of the most innovative big bands ...

JM International
band / ensemble / orchestra

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

OverTime: Music of...

Planet Arts Records
2014

buy

Forever Lasting -...

Planet Arts Records
2011

buy

Monday Night Live at...

Planet Arts Records
2008

buy

Up from the Skies

Planet Arts Records
2006

buy

Vanguard Jazz...

Planet Arts Records
2004

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.