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This is exactly the Claude Thornhill I wanted

Steve Frazier | Seattle | 11/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always wanted to own some Claude Thornhill but never found the CD I wanted until I spotted this gem.



Thornhill is an interesting figure in the history of jazz because he is best known as an arranger and as a band-leader who provided a home for two other musican/arrangers from the late 40's and onward -- Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan.



Gil Evans was the arranger who is perhaps best known for arranging the charts for several collaborations with Miles Davis in the late 50's and early 60's: Miles Ahead, Sketches of Spain, Porgy and Bess, and Quiet Nights. Gerry Mulligan was a well known figure in the "cool" jazz movement of the 50's (and played for many years after that). Together, Gil Evans, Miles Davis and Gerry Mulligan were the driving forces between the "Birth of the Cool" sessions that were some landmark recordings of the late 40's.



So - back to Thornhill. He started as an arranger and then led a band prior to taking a break during WWII. After WWII he formed a band with lots of talented sidemen (e.g., Lee Konitz) and provided a home for Gil Evans and later Gerry Mulligan to write arrangements.



Big bands were struggling to survive after WWII, and Thornhill's book of arrangements was a blend of traditional big band sounds, interesting arrangements that included instrumentation like French Horns and Tubas, and songs that were adaptations of bebop classics like "Donna Lee." You also get to hear the Thornhill arrangement of "Jeru," a song that was also part of the "Birth of the Cool" sessions.



I have always wanted some Thornhill but never wanted to wade through his other stuff by other arrangers -- all I wanted was the Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan arrangements, and here it is!



Great arrangements; great package of liner notes and music; a very interesting step forward in the history of jazz. Listen carefully and you'll hear arrangements, instrumentation and song choice that way beyond what most big bands were doing in the 40's -- there's a real attempt to incorporate the sounds of bebop and a foreshadowing of the "cool" jazz of the 50's. Very unusual in a big band setting."