Peter Friedman

Ken, I am in complete agreement. When I see an album by a musician with ALL originals, and with no track record as a composer, I am highly unlikely to be interested in wanting to aquire that recording. A good friend who was a fine jazz piano player once said to me that only a limited number of people have the "composer gene".

Dvorak - String Quartet No.11, Op.61 and Mozart - Piano Concerto No.15, K.450

A good one!

Brahms - Violin Concerto Op.77

Here are some other Big Bands active in that period. Rob McConnell Boss Brass Nat Pierce / Frank Capp Big band Blue Wisp Big Band Tom Talbert Big Band

Junior Mance Live at The Top with David "Fathead" Newman

Op.64/5 "The Lark" & Op.64/6

Back in 1976, My wife, young son and I had the opportunity to spend a month in Oslo, Norway. One day when walking around town I saw a poster indicating that the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was coming to Oslo for 2 nights. We were able to get someone to watch our son, and my wife and I attended the concert the first night. The music was thrilling, and Pepper Adams especially played some amazing solos. I was so happy to be there that evening that I decided to come back for the second night concert, though this time I came alone as my wife stayed home with our son. Though I had seen the Thad & Mel Band a few times previously, at the Village Vanguard in NYC and also in Rochester, getting to see them in Norway was an unexpected and wonderful surprise.

The Thad Jones Quartet played a gig in a club in Rochester, New York while I was living there. Can't recall the date but the personnel may give a clue. He had Harold Danko on piano, and I don't remember the bass player and drummer. Wish I could remember if Mel was the drummer. But I do know that during the evening, tenor player Rich Perry showed up and sat in with the quartet. I believe that Rich Perry had only fairly recently joined the Thad & Mel Orchestra. He came in from New York City just so he could play with Thad in that small group setting. The music was very good, but I am sorry that most details of that evening have faded from my memory.

Horace Parlan's Blue Note recordings are very good. His albums below on Steeplechase are also favorites of mine. Arrival (Trio/Quintet) Idrees Sulieman, Bent Jaedig, Hugo Rasmussen, Ed Thigpen Frankly Speaking (Quintet) Frank Foster, Frank Strozier, Lisle Atkinson, Al Harewood Glad I Found You (Quintet) Thad Jones, Eddie Harris, Jesper Lundgaard, Aage Tanggaard Musically Yours (Solo Piano) The Maestro (Solo Piano) No Blues (Trio) Wilber Little, Dannie Richmond Blue Parlan (Trio) Wilber Little, Dannie Richmond Like Someone In Love (Trio) Jesper Lundgaard, Dannie Richmond Hi-Fly (Trio) Doug Raney, Wilber Little

Schubert - Piano Sonata D.840 "Reliquie" and Mozart - Symphony No.40, K.550