Mel Lewis & the Jazz Orchestra live in Imatra 1988

Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra performed in Imatra, eastern Finland, on July 9, 1988. I was 15 years old and listening and watching intently in the front row.

The Imatra Big Band festival was a music festival specializing in big band music and jazz, and it was organized annually from 1983 to 2014. Under the artistic direction of Mr. Hannu Sopanen, many legendary big band leaders visited Imatra, among them the Duke Ellington Orchestra directed by Mercer Ellington (1989), Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Nouveau (1990), Louie Bellson and Rob McConnell & Boss Brass.

This video is a digitized version of my original VHS recording of the broadcasted (1988) Finnish TV program. I have utilized some EQ to remove some loud hiss from the audio, as well as added some reverb to the very dry original mix.

The discussion/interview spots in this video feature Mel Lewis, lead trumpet player Earl Gardner and Finnish trumpet player Simo Salminen. During his years working in the US - 1979-1983 - Salminen (1956-2014) was a member of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and Buddy Rich Big Band. He played in several other top American orchestras, such as Machito's and Eddie Palmieri's, as well as in many studio sessions and Broadway shows. At the time of the Imatra concert, he was the lead trumpet player for the Finnish UMO Jazz Orchestra (www.umo.fi). Simo joins Lewis’ orchestra, playing lead trumpet in the last number, Thad Jones’ Don’t Git Sassy.

Mel Lewis & the Jazz Orchestra
@Imatra Big Band Festival, July 1988

Concert program:
Little Rascal on a Rock (Thad Jones) (0:00-4:13)
Off the Cuff (Jim McNeely) (6:04-16:18)
Born to Be Blue (Mel Tormé/Robert Wells, arr. Maria Schneider)(21:13-25:54)
Don’t Git Sassy (Thad Jones) (28:49-38:34)

PERSONNEL:

saxophone section:
Andy Fusco (lead)
Billy Drewes
Rich Perry
Ralph Lalama
Gary Smulyan

trumpet section:
Earl Gardner (lead)
Glenn Drewes
Bill Pusey
Jim Powell
Simo Salminen (lead on “Don’t Git Sassy”)

trombone section:
John Mosca (lead)
George Moran
Ed Neumeister
Earl McIntyre (bass)
Stephanie Fauber (French horn)

rhythm section:
Kenny Werner, piano
Dennis Irwin, bass
Mel Lewis, drums

vocal soloist on “Born to Be Blue”:
Renée Manning