Thad Jones - Detroit-New York Junction

Groove Junction

Detroit-New York Junction is a session recorded in 1956, remastered 50 years later by Rudy Van Gelder. The players involved are Thad Jones (brother of Elvin, who plays drums on several Blue Note and other jazz recordings) on trumpet, Billy Mitchell on tenor saxophone, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Oscar Pettiford on bass, and Shadow Wilson on drums. This is music that falls in between bebop and hard bop, with excellent performances by all the musicians involved. Three of the songs are Thad Jones originals, "Tariff", "Scratch", and "Zec". "Scratch" and "Zec" are both real burners, "Scratch" in particular allowing each musician to show off. "Tariff" and "Blue Room" are both boppish as well, but a little more laid back. All boast a solid groove and the musicianship is exemplary. Perhaps the highlight of the set is the rendition of "Little Girl Blue". Thad Jones's tone on this ballad is simply gorgeous, full-bodied and alluring, backed only by subtle touches of guitar and bass. This album as a whole is an excellent addition to any jazz collection. February 25, 2008

The sound of excellence.

The title to this review refers to the incredibly melodic lines Thad played here. His trumpet style was extremely light and melodic and he was perfectly in control of his bebop chops. The sound of excellence. Overall his playing was very balanced of great artistic quality and fully entertaining. This session from 1956 is quite good. The presence of Tommy Flanagan e Kenny Burrell are welcome. Their solos are great, equal in value and in their Jazz relevance to what Thad himself played here. Among the tunes I point out the excellent standard "Little girl blue" which Thad played here with an incredible tone, stating the melody with impressive naturality and giving it true life. Unfortunatly this tune lasts only a couple of minutes. I'd be glad to hear a fuller rendition of this tune that I really love ... But the other songs are the most interesting in the end and the ones that give the session its particular light quality. I'm talking about the opener, "Scratch", "Tariff" and "Zec" all original lines from Thad's pen. They're more bebop than hard bop. They are melodic and challenging. But the sense of lightness won't go away even if Thad choose to play faster tempos and more adventurous lines like in the last tune "Zec". Thad was near Clifford Brown's style. Very technical and very lyrical at the same time. His sound bright, full and absolutly spectacular. Very balanced in his musical choices, for an overall sound that was ... the sound of excellence. March 26, 2007

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