Legendary Vanguard Jazz Orchestra to celebrate Thad Jones at Truman State show
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A golden opportunity and an important part of modern jazz history awaits enthusiasts Saturday, Feb. 25, when the 15-piece Vanguard Jazz Orchestra makes its first Show-Me State appearance in 14 years, performing a free concert in Baldwin Auditorium on the Truman State University campus.
The storied ensemble, which has held court weekly on Monday nights since 1965 at its namesake Greenwich Village haunt — jazz’s most famous basement — serves as the centerpiece of Truman State’s 54th annual Upsilon Phi Jazz Festival.
The performance portends to be well worth the 90-minute drive from Columbia. And, let’s face it, though the school suggests securing tickets in advance, the price of admission is certainly affordable. Which is to say, there’s really no excuse not to spend a bit of cash on gas and check out Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
As for repertoire, that’s the 300-plus selection question, for that’s how many compositions Douglas Purviance, the ensemble’s bass trombonist and orchestra manager, says “the book” houses. Reached via email and text, if anyone has a handle on the compositions VJO performs, it would be Purviance, who has been a member for the last four decades.
Purviance says the Truman concert will largely serve as “a salute to Thad Jones’ 100th birthday,“ and that even those unfamiliar with the music can enjoy the performance, that people just need to feel the rhythm and, in essence, travel along with it.
Trumpeter, flugelhorn player, composer and arranger, Jones was born March 28, 1923. The youngest of the three famed Detroit jazz luminary Jones brothers, his siblings were pianist Hank Jones and drummer Elvin Jones.
According to the VJO website, the orchestra launched when Jones and drummer Mel Lewis performed a collection of the trumpeter’s new compositions at that time, pieces that he originally penned for the Count Basie Band. However, Basie decided the selections in question were simply “too progressive for the band.”
The creation of the Jones-Lewis orchestra provided the musical partnership with the perfect outlet. The ensemble’s early works evoke the decided ascension of the so-called “modern big band” — a large ensemble that visually resembles their Big Band era counterparts but musically, with their more complex and challenging charts, represent a discernible change in approach.
“The band emphasized a small group within the big band concept,” notes commentary on the website, adding Jones’ and Lewis’ approach allowed members, which have always included numerous top musicians of the day, to stretch solos, resulting in much lengthier selections that were previously thought of as big band arrangements.
Personnel set to appear in concert next week include five saxophonists: Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry, Ralph LaLama and Frank Basile, each a bandleader in their own right. Nick Marchione, who appeared with the band in 2009 when they played at the Missouri Theatre, leads the trumpet section. Purviance is one of four trombonists and the rhythm section is anchored by John Riley, the tremendous veteran drummer.
Jones moved to Denmark in 1979. Lewis stayed stateside and re-named the group the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. The drummer died in 1990; four years earlier, his former partner also succumbed to cancer. At that point, band members, while still interpreting many of Jones’ pieces, made the decision to have the group’s name more directly reflect the venue’s name where they held forth weekly.
In this, Jones' centennial birth year, the combined total of the band’s Monday-night performances at the Village Vanguard under its varied names is estimated to be around 2,700. More than half of the group’s discography — 17 of 32 — are Grammy-nominated or Grammy winners.
When I asked Purviance how the orchestra keeps things fresh week after week, he responded without hesitation, almost gleefully so.
“We never repeat programs — which keeps things interesting for the players.”
Purviance also made sure to mention his physical location on the bandstand — middle row, center of the horns/reeds — continues to be a source of joy, a strategically fantastic space to occupy.
“Sitting in the middle of the complex harmony is a wonderful place to hear genius at work.”
Purviance often uses the word “legacy” when speaking of Jones' remarkable musical contribution, what continues to be a treasure for not only VJO, but also many others to mine. For instance, Jones composed the remarkable ballad “A Child Is Born,” which is perhaps his most famous piece and has long been considered a modern jazz standard.
There have been and continue to be a lot of jazz centennials; the “teens” and “twenties” produced an array of jazz giants and cornerstones such as Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald and Dexter Gordon. Jones certainly deserves to be included among the jazz pillars.
“The Thad Jones Centennial Project” provides VJO with a tremendous musical outlet. Next month, the group tours Scandinavia; later in the year, they’re headed to Portugal and Morocco. Purviance sounds as excitable as one might imagine he did when he first joined the band and everything was new.
After that, the band intends to record a second “Live at the Village Vanguard” session which likely will include, Purviance says, some of Jones’ never-recorded and “rejected” Basie titles.
“What makes VJO so special is the size and quality of our arrangements. We have hundreds of arrangements. The spontaneous nature of calling a different set every time we perform keeps it interesting,” he said.
Finishing with an exclamation mark, the orchestra manager concludes, “The fact that we perform in the world's greatest jazz club every Monday night doesn’t hurt either!”
The Feb. 25 performance is at 7:30 p.m. in Baldwin Auditorium on the Truman State campus in Kirksville. Reserve free tickets by calling 660-785-4133 or visiting https://lyceum.truman.edu/.
Jon W. Poses is executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Reach him at jazznbsbl@socket.net.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Don't miss rare Vanguard Jazz Orchestra appearance in Missouri
