The Mike Booth Quintet and the Thad Jones Project

The Mike Booth Quintet and the Thad Jones Project at The Gables Tavern is proudly hosted by the Auckland Jazz and Blues Club.

Although Thad Jones is probably best known for his big band writing (Count Basie Orchestra and The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band), his compositions lose nothing in the quintet setting. The tunes remain elegant and gutsy in that Soul/Blues way, and are definitely toe tapping.

Mike first performed this tribute project in the Netherlands in 2006 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Thad's passing (1986) and again with this quintet at the Gables last year. The quintet will also perform at the Tauranga Jazz Festival this Easter.

Thad Jones was an outstanding trumpeter – some say as good as Dizzy Gillespie. On both Cornet and Trumpet he was always harmonically adventurous and had pretty much his own approach. In later years his playing ability was overshadowed by his composing and arranging skills (his best known composition is the perfectly balanced standard "A Child is Born") and his big band arranging style was unique.

Together with Ab Schaap, Mike has transcribed the Big Band arrangements to quintet trying to maintain that sense of style which is counterbalanced by the catchy, often gospel tinged tunes like Aint Nuthin’ Nu; Tip Toe; Kids Are Pretty People; The Groove Merchant; Interloper; It Only Happens Everytime; Speaking Of Sounds; Little Pumpkin; and A Child Is Born.

Mike Booth - trumpet and flugelhorn
Steve Sherriff - tenor sax
Phil Broadhurst - piano
Craig Williams - double bass
Barry Young - drums

Event listed by Jono Tan

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