Vance Thompson

For the last eight years, the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra has been one of jazz's best-kept secrets. Trumpeter, composer, arranger and Maryville native Vance Thompson formed the 17-piece big band in 1999 upon returning to Knoxville from a teaching gig at Chicago's DePaul University, where he received his Master of Music in jazz in 1997. Since forming the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Thompson and company have played jazz festivals throughout Europe and the United States and released four CDs.

Their latest effort, Blues Man From Memphis, is a wonderfully rich, swinging collection of Donald Brown compositions not stylistically dissimilar to the works of Duke Ellington, but possessing a distinctly modern feel. With a collection of renowned musicians and local mainstays such as the aforementioned Brown, Bill Scarlett, Rusty Holloway and Keith Brown, along with guest appearances by leading jazz men Stefon Harris, Greg Tardy and John Clayton, the KJO won't remain a secret for much longer. Knoxville Voice recently visited with Thompson to discuss a trumpet-centric playlist of classic and modern jazz recordings.

Blue Mitchell
“Brother ‘Ball”
From Big Six (1958)

VT: This sounds like Blue Mitchell. (Long silence) Sorry, I haven't heard this — I got kind of caught up in it. Yeah, that [tenor saxophonist] Johnny Griffin, man he can play. He plays so fast, but it's rhythmic. Even his double-time still swings just as hard as most people's eighth notes swing.

KV: But it wasn't just flash for the sake of flash.

VT: Not, it wasn't flash; it was swinging! He was really playing.

Charlie Parker's Reboppers
“Koko”
From The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings (1945)

VT: Boy Dizzy [Gillespie] was burning during this period. Good Lord! Is this “Leap Frog?”

KV: It's “Koko.”

VT: “Koko,” OK, yeah, that's right.

Art Blakey Quintet
“Split Kick”
From A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 (1954)

VT: This is from that Live at Birdland. (Sings along with horn parts) This is the same tune as [jazz standard] “There Will Never Be Another You.” It's called “Split Kick.” I saw [alto saxophonist] Lou Donaldson one time at the Chicago Jazz Festival and, you know like 10,000 people were there or whatever, but as we were leaving later that night he was coming out from the backstage area just as we were walking by there and I had to ask him about [trumpeter] Clifford [Brown].

I didn't know what to say to him because he's Lou Donaldson and who am I? I said, “You're on one of my favorite records with Clifford Brown, A Night at Birdland with Art Blakey,” and I said, “Was that a good night for Clifford, or does he always play like that?” He said, “No, he played like that every single night.” He said, “Out of all the trumpet players that I've played with, most guys, they'd say, ‘I'm good for the first set,' and the second set there were certain tunes that they couldn't play as well.” He said Clifford played like that all night, every night. His technique on the trumpet, I don't think anybody, until Wynton Marsalis, has been able to play the trumpet on that level. Even Freddie [Hubbard], although it's hard to tell because their styles and their vocabularies are so different, but I'm not sure that Freddie even had that same command of the trumpet that Clifford had.

Chet Baker and Art Pepper
“For Miles and Miles”
From Picture of Heath (1956)

VT: I don't have this record. (Listening to trumpet solo). My first guess would be Donald Byrd.

KV: No.

VT: My second guess would be Kenny Dorham.

KV: Not him, either.

VT: It's not either one of them? Okay, let me run it back. (Re-plays trumpet solo). I don't know, is it Chet Baker?