UNC Jazz Press

(Level V) This piece is constructed around a number of facets of the playing of the late, great drummer Mel Lewis. It begins slowly with a quote from Thad Jones's To You (the last piece Mel ever played with his band). It then turns into a medium, up-tempo romp with a lot of ensemble work. Solo is in tenor 2, moving through a number of keys with a lot of II-V-I's. There is (naturally) a drum solo, featuring an improvised call-and-response section between the drummer and the ensemble. 9 Brass

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JIM McNEELY, known for a number of years as jazz pianist with jazz greats such as Stan Getz, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Phil Woods, Joe Henderson, David Liebman, and his own trio, the last few years have seen McNeely emerge as one of the preeminent jazz composer/arrangers on the scene today. Most recently, he rejoined the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (formerly Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra) as pianist and composer-in-residence. He is one of the primary arrangers for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and his work with the European bands such as the West German Radio Big Band (Cologne), the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, U.M.O. (Helsinki), and the Danish Radio Big Band (Copenhagen) have helped him win international acclaim. Jim is also the Associate Musical Director of the BMI Composers' Workshop. He is resident artist in jazz studies at New York University.