In 1975 and 1977, cornetist/arranger
Thad Jones and drummer
Mel Lewis traveled to Sweden and recorded with the Swedish Radio Jazz Group. The first five selections on this eight-tune CD (which are from 1975) also include
the Jones/Lewis Orchestra's first trumpeter,
Jon Faddis, who takes one solo and helps out the ensembles. Otherwise, the musicians are mostly obscure (although trumpeter
Al Porcino is on the second date and guitarist
Rune Gustafsson and altoist
Arne Domnerus have achieved some fame) and the set not overly distinctive. The real stars of the CD are
Jones' arrangements, his compositions (six of the eight numbers, including "The Waltz You Swang for Me," and a 13 1/2 minute version of "Greetings and Salutations," and "My Centennial"), and the expertly played ensembles, which sometimes fool one into thinking that this is the
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. ~ Scott Yanow