Vintage Orchestra - Smack Dab in the Middle (The Vocal Side of Thad Jones) GAYA MUSIC PRODUCTION 2017

The new recording by the Vintage Orchestra takes on quite a rare repertoire : the vocal music composed by the great trumpet player and composer Thad Jones. The instrumental music composed and arranged for his own big band is known all over the world and has been recorded and played by so many different bands, but Jones’ arrangements for a lead singer from 1965 to 1968 have never been recorded since, nor have the music charts been edited.

In order to play this music we asked Dominique Mandin, Stéphane Guillaume, François Biensan, Jon Boutellier and Erick Poirier to make transcriptions, not to copy the originals but mostly to create new interpretations of this repertoire for a band which has been working on Thad Jones’ music for the last 15 years. Denise King, internationally acclaimed American singer, and Walter Ricci, a very talented young singer, are the ideal voices for this laid aside repertoire, supported by the Vintage Orchestra.This new international project by The Vintage Orchestra is both daring and unexpected.

01. Get Out Of My Life (3:23)

02. Evil En Man Blues (3:35)

03. Yes Sir That's My Babe (3:35)

04. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (3:02)

05. Come Sunday (3:04)

06. Bye Bye Blackbird (2:35)

07. Smack Dab In The Middle (3:57)

08. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (2:50)

09. Fine Brown Frame (3:22)

10. Hallelujah, I Love Her So (2:47)

11. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town (4:13)

12. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (2:57)

The Band:

Saxophones: Dominique Mandin / Olivier Zanot / Thomas Savy / David Sauzay / Jean-François Devèze

Trumpets: Erick Poirier / Lorenz Rainer / Fabien Mary / Julien Ecrepont

Trombones: Michael Ballue, Bastien Ballaz, Jerry Edwards, Martin Berlugue

Piano: Florent Gac

Bass: Yoni Zelnik

Drums: Andrea Michelutti

Guest vocalists: Denise King & Walter Ricci