Performance · Other credits
Thad Jones
real name Thaddeus Joseph Jones
American jazz trumpeter
Pontiac, United States · 1923-03-28 – 1986-08-20
Thad Jones is credited on 4,263 releases across 826 albums tracked on Gatefold, active 1954–2026 — the collector-built map of who actually made the music.
4,263
Credits
826
Albums
8
Decades active
248
In collections
Biography
Showing the Discogs bio
American trumpeter, cornetist, flugelhorn player, composer, and arranger.
Born March 28, 1923, in Pontiac, Michigan, USA; died of cancer on August, 21, 1986, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
His elder brother was pianist Hank Jones, and his younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones.
He performed in Arcadia Club Band at age sixteen; 1941 performed in Connie Connell's band; served in U.S. Army 1943-1946; worked with the band of Charles Young (circa 1946-1948); led his own quintet in Detroit; worked in the bands of Candy Johnson and Jimmy Taylor; performed at Blue Bird Inn, Detroit 1952-1954; joined Count Basie in 1954 and performed with Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop; left the Basie Orchestra and in 1963 worked briefly as a CBS staff arranger; co-led Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra (1965-1978); led the Danish Radio Big Band and taught at the Royal Conservatory; 1980 taught Jazz Seminar in Barcelona, Spain; rejoined the (now posthumous 'ghost') Basie Orchestra in 1985.
Bio from Discogs
Credited work
4,263 releases · 826 albums · active 1954–2026
- Performance · 6,577
- Other credits · 273
- Engineering · 6
- Production · 1
Studios: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey · A&R Studios · Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey · Newport Jazz Festival
Discography
Records they worked on — most-collected first.

Genius + Soul = Jazz
1961

One
1974

Inner City Blues
1971

Speak Like A Child
1968

Basie (E = MC²)
1958

Monk's Greatest Hits
1969

Legrand Jazz
1958

The Smithsonian Collection Of Classic Jazz
1973

God Bless The Child
1971

First Time! The Count Meets The Duke
1962

Sinatra - Basie: An Historic Musical First
1962

The Jazz Experiments Of Charlie Mingus
1957

The Magnificent Thad Jones
1956

The Cat
1964

Magic Touch
1985

Yusef Lateef's Detroit Latitude 42° 30' Longitude 83°
1969

5 By Monk By 5
1959

Big Band And Quartet In Concert
1964

See You At The Fair
1964

April In Paris
1957

East Coasting
1957

Quintessence
1977

Quintet / Sextet
1956

Spirit Sensitive
1979
Frequent collaborators
- Various
- Count Basie
- Count Basie And His Orchestra
- Count Basie & His Orchestra
- Joe Williams
- Thelonious Monk
- Sarah Vaughan
- Herbie Hancock
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