Lickety Split: The Music of Jim McNeely

Lickety Split: The Music of Jim McNeely

ASIN: B0000030KA

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is an outstanding contemporary big band, a Monday-night institution at the Village Vanguard that's a direct continuation of the aggregation first co-led by the late Thad Jones and Mel Lewis. It's a labor of love for some of New York's finest players, and pianist Jim McNeely is a longtime member. He has a facility with big-band writing that's rare, balancing complex sectional play, polyrhythms, and rich voicings with a dedicated sense of swing and the ability to set off solos with his backdrops. The band is clearly stimulated by the thoughtful--truly orchestral--charts. Boppish lines, like "Extra Credit," are executed with the ease and celerity of a quintet, while the sections blend perfectly on the sonorous chords of "In the Wee Small Hours." --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Extra Credit
Thad
In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning
Lickety Split
Absolution
Sticks
Reflection
Mel

Amazon.com

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is an outstanding contemporary big band, a Monday-night institution at the Village Vanguard that's a direct continuation of the aggregation first co-led by the late Thad Jones and Mel Lewis. It's a labor of love for some of New York's finest players, and pianist Jim McNeely is a longtime member. He has a facility with big-band writing that's rare, balancing complex sectional play, polyrhythms, and rich voicings with a dedicated sense of swing and the ability to set off solos with his backdrops. The band is clearly stimulated by the thoughtful--truly orchestral--charts. Boppish lines, like "Extra Credit," are executed with the ease and celerity of a quintet, while the sections blend perfectly on the sonorous chords of "In the Wee Small Hours." --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

New insights into the Big Band.......2000-01-10

McNeely is one of several "young" composer/arrangers breathing new life into the big band. McNeely's works on this album show the many facets of a great composer, from witty to serious to cerebral. Check out the liner notes to the title track, "Lickety Split", which say "This piece is the result of a 'What if?' proposition. What if the baritone saxophone player in James Brown's band started to o.d. on Woody Shaw, Sun Ra, and Witold Lutoslawski?" You get the picture? The Vanguard Band is one of the finest groups together and they bring a great loose swing to McNeely's difficult(!) tunes. A pleasure!

great soloists and arranging.......1999-03-11

this is worth more than the price of admission so check this out for some great arranging and terrific compositions, wonderful soloists in the best tradition of this band. leading edge as far as i'm concerned.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music