Jim Mcneely

Mel Lewis and The Jazz Orchestra - Naturally (1979) {Telarc CD-83301 rel 1992}
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© 1979, 1992 Telarc | CD-83301
Jazz / Bop / Modern Big Band / Post Bop

This was the first recording by the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, made just a short time after co-leader Thad Jones surprised everyone by suddenly quitting and moving to Europe. Although Jones was gone, the band was still performing his arrangements, and all six of the charts on the set were his; plus, he was the composer of five of the tunes. With such soloists as pianist Jim McNeely, altoist Dick Oatts, trumpeter John Marshall, and the tenors of Bob Rockwell and Richard Perry (along with plenty of tight ensembles), it was clear that the orchestra would live on. Worth searching for.

This is easily Rosnes’ finest recorded achievement and raises the stakes for any who come after her and attempt to do the same thing. The album is a crystalline wonder of tight writing, exceptional playing, and painstaking attention to harmonic detail; it is a tapestry so varied and multidimensional in both conception and execution that it stands in a class by itself.

The slightly unusual date Two Jims and a Zoot features tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims interacting with two guitarists (Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall) while given subtle support by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Osie Johnson. Although the eight selections (none of which caught on as standards) had all been written recently and sometimes display the influence of bossa nova, the quiet performances could pass for 1954 rather than 1964. The cool-toned improvisations and boppish playing have a timeless quality about them although for the time period aspects of this music already sounded a bit old-fashioned.