About

Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". He has reinvigorated the big-band genre through his harmonically rich arrangements and compositions for pianist and bandleader William “Count” Basie’s mid-fifties orchestra, and the groundbreaking ensemble he co-led with for a dozen years with drummer Mel Lewis. Universally admired by musical peers for his charts, bassist Charles Mingus once called Jones “the greatest trumpet player I’ve heard in this life.” Trumpeter Tom Harrell said Jones’s imaginative tone was “like Louis Armstrong on acid.”

The Magnificent Thad Jones is widely regarded as the greatest small group recording of the trumpeter and composer’s career. Following his Blue Note debut Detroit – New York Junction in March 1956, Jones returned to the studio in July to record this supremely swinging date with Billy Mitchell on tenor saxophone, Barry Harris on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Max Roach on drums. The album opens with an iconic performance of “April In Paris,” a reprise of the famous version featuring Jones that the Count Basie Orchestra had cut the previous year, complete with the trumpeter’s sly “Pop Goes The Weasel” quote. Other highlights of the set include two Jones originals—the laid-back “Billie-Doo” and lightly swinging “Thedia”—as well as the stunning ballad “If Someone Had Told Me.”
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This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is mono, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

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Label: Blue Note / UMe
Series: Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Mono, 180g
Country: Worldwide
Reissued: 2024 / Original Release: 1956
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop

File under: Blue Note Records
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