VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA - DEC
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra returns to the Village Vanguard for its Monday late set. No individual personnel are listed for this date, but the billed ensemble brings its full big-band format to the room with which it has long been associated. Expect arrangements built to balance the force of a jazz orchestra with space for featured soloists, a defining part of the group’s approach since its earliest days.
New York based, the orchestra began in 1966 as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, initially booked at the Vanguard for three Monday nights before the engagement was extended indefinitely. Following Mel Lewis’s death in 1990, it continued under the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra name. The band describes its weekly residency as “the longest-running steady engagement in the history of jazz,” and says 17 of its 32 albums have received Grammy nominations, including two winners. JazzTimes has called it “one of the world’s most important currently operational big bands,” while the New York Times noted its “celebrated book” of arrangements. All About Jazz praised Jim McNeely’s command of the “harmony, colors, and textures available from a jazz orchestra.”
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.