Contents
Foreword: “Uncle Mel,” by John Mosca
Preface
Chapter 1. Born a Drummer
Chapter 2. Mel Meets New York City
Chapter 3. Brookmeyer and Kenton’s Initial Offer
Chapter 4. Kenton Presents Mel Lewis
Chapter 5. Contemporary Concepts and Thad Jones
Chapter 6. Life in Los Angeles
Chapter 7. Terry Gibbs and “The Tailor”
Chapter 8. Webster and Mulligan
Chapter 9. Mel’s New Cymbal and Europe with Dizzy
Chapter 10. The Soviet Union and a Move East
Chapter 11. Back in the Big Apple
Chapter 12. Thad and Mel Get Their Opening
Chapter 13. Opening Night at the Village Vanguard
Chapter 14. The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and Solid State
Chapter 15. Thad and Mel Hit the Road, and the Road Hits Back
Chapter 16. The Youth Movement
Chapter 17. Ten Years at the Village Vanguard / The Road Family
Chapter 18. Thad Leaves for Denmark
Chapter 19. Mel Lewis and The Jazz Orchestra
Chapter 20. The Musical Mentor
Chapter 21. Twenty Years at the Vanguard / A New Fight
Chapter 22. Hello and Goodbye
Chapter 23. Memories of Mel
Afterword: “Mel’s Example,” by John Riley
Transcriptions and Listening Guides
Mel Lewis Equipment Timeline
Selected Discography
Notes
Bibliography
Index