Knoxville Jazz Orchestra

When trumpeter, arranger and composer Vance Thompson called the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra’s first rehearsal in August of 1999, he had no way of knowing the extent to which this experience would shape the next two decades of his life. Thompson had just returned home to East Tennessee after a four year stint in Chicago, and was anxious to find a way to continue writing for and playing in a pro-caliber big band. Bands of this type had been plentiful in Chicago, but there was no such outlet in Knoxville at the time.

“When I looked around and thought about the players that were in the area, I realized we had enough guys to have a high quality band,” said Thompson. “I started making calls to see who was interested, and everyone on my A-list said yes.”

By the end of the group’s first rehearsal, it was clear that the band had potential. A weekly rehearsal schedule was established, and soon they were playing in public and attracting attention.

The band quickly became a laboratory for Thompson’s writing. Keith Brown, who doubled as the KJO’s drummer and the director of the University of Tennessee’s jazz big band, commissioned Thompson to write arrangements of six Donald Brown compositions. Those charts became fodder for the band’s first recording (The Music of Donald Brown) in 2000, and the recording was used to secure 2001 performance slots at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne and the Ezcarary Jazz Festival in Spain.

The trip to Europe was a success and the experience imbued everyone in the band with a sense of ownership. It was a not, however, a sustainable business model. Traveling with a seventeen-piece band was impractical for a variety of reasons and focusing entirely on original repertoire would not allow the band to perform often enough locally to gain much traction.

In early 2002, the group’s focus shifted toward growing an audience for jazz in East Tennessee. The band formed a non-profit organization to support them financially and expanded their activities. They began inviting acclaimed musicians to Knoxville to perform with the band to maximize the buzz surrounding each event. They started a youth orchestra for high school students to encourage interest in younger musicians and their families. They sponsored public jam sessions and began several small group concert series to diversify the types of music available to local audiences and to create additional performing opportunities for regional musicians.

Twenty years later, the band and the organization are going strong. The concert calendar includes more than fifty events per year, ranging from free outdoor concerts during the summer to ticketed events at venues large and small. The youth orchestra program has expanded to two bands, one for high school and one for middle school, serving students from across the region. And the list of prominent guests who have appeared with the band includes Hank Jones, Monty Alexander, Mulgrew Miller, Eric Reed, James Moody, James Carter, Jimmy Heath, Christian McBride, Bill Frisell, Michael Dease, Wycliffe Gordon, Sean Jones, Terrell Stafford, Dafnis Prieto, Jeff Hamilton, Herlin Riley, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Porter, Carmen Bradford, Jazzmeia Horn and many others.

The orchestra has also released a number of acclaimed recordings of their own unique repertoire along the way, including Blues Man from Memphis (2007) featuring pianist and composer Donald Brown, bassist John Clayton, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and saxophonist Gregory Tardy. The recording received heavy national airplay and rave reviews from critics around the world. In 2012, the group released a holiday- themed recording entitled Christmas Time is Here featuring Tardy again on tenor, Tim Green on alto saxophone and Hammond B-3 organist Dan Trudell. It earned four stars in DownBeat and was featured on NPR’s A Blog Supreme as one of the top five holiday releases of the year.

This latest release, The Road Less Traveled, was recorded in celebration of the band’s twentieth anniversary and represents a culmination of everything the band has accomplished. The music, all arranged and/or orchestrated by Vance Thompson, spans the group’s entire history. Back Down in Lu Easy Anna comes from the original batch of arrangements back in 1999, while The Road Less Traveled and The Peacocks were written in 2019.

The featured soloists each have a unique connection to the band and make notable contributions to the music. Pianist Eric Reed provided three arrangements and plays on six tracks including Rhythm-a-ning, Grew’s Tune, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, Back Down in Lu Easy Anna, Ask Me Now and Monk’s Mood. To say that his playing inspires the band would be an understatement. He sings, soars and sighs by turn, ever swinging, always tasteful and oh so exciting to listen to.

Carmen Bradford, the long-time vocalist for the Count Basie Orchestra, gives a performance for the ages on Jimmy Rowles’ The Peacocks. Her interpretation is full of subtle shifts in color and nuance, making a difficult melody sound utterly effortless. She shifts gears entirely for At Last, offering a soulful interpretation of the tune with the authenticity that only a blues master can deliver.

Trombonist Michael Dease contributes solos on the ballad The Peacocks and an up-tempo arrangement of Dizzy’s Woody’n You. His solo on the former is as warm, lyrical and gorgeous as can be, and he burns on the latter with jaw-dropping virtuosity, harmonic brilliance and infectious swing. Guitarist Mike Seal is the perfect complement to What the World Needs Now, the Tennessee Waltz and Tumbling Tumbleweeds, supplying a perfect blend of jazz sensibilities and down-home twang. Saxophonist Greg Tardy, a regular member of the band since 2010 when he relocated to Knoxville to join the University of Tennessee School of Music faculty, is as compelling as ever. He solos on six tracks and never fails to bring the fire, playing with a passion, intensity and precision that only the best of the best can achieve.

Knoxville, Tennessee may not be the first place that fans think of for high quality jazz, but The Road Less Traveled proves that great things can come from unexpected places. The KJO has been thriving off the beaten path for two decades, and if this latest recording is any indication, they will be thriving for many more to come. Show less