1993 · Album
Let's Play the Music of Thad Jones
Recorded 1993 · Enja · Produced by Not specified
Flanagan Honors a Composer's Gift
A consistently swinging and tasteful salute to Thad Jones, a very talented composer.
In 1993, Tommy Flanagan entered the studio with Jesper Lundgaard on bass and Lewis Nash on drums to record a full program of Thad Jones compositions. The three-piece format was ideal for what Flanagan wanted to do here: explore Jones's writing without arrangement baggage, letting the melodies breathe and the rhythm section respond in real time. Jones had written hundreds of pieces across his career—some famous, some overlooked—and Flanagan chose a mix of both, suggesting a pianist who knew the catalog well enough to avoid the obvious choices.
What makes this record work is its restraint. Flanagan doesn't showboat; he plays Jones's themes straight, then takes solos that fit the tune rather than dominate it. Lundgaard and Nash lock in tightly, giving each piece room to develop without pushing. There's no filler here, no tracks that feel obligatory. The swinging tempo choices and Flanagan's touch at the keyboard keep things buoyant without sacrificing the compositional substance underneath.
By this point in his career, Flanagan had earned the right to make exactly the album he wanted, and this record shows a pianist still engaged with the material, still discovering things in familiar forms. It's a reminder that a good standard can be played straight and still hold your attention—and that paying tribute to another musician's writing, done with this kind of care, is its own kind of originality.
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