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Thad Jones was an American trumpeter, cornetist, French horn player, composer, and arranger, born on March 28, 1923, in Pontiac, Michigan. He passed away from cancer on August 21, 1986, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Thad was part of a musical family, with an elder brother who was a pianist and a younger brother who was a drummer. His musical career began at the age of sixteen when he performed with the Arcadia Club Band. In 1941, he played in Connie Connell's band and served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. After his service, he worked with the band of Charles Young from around 1946 to 1948 and led his own quintet in Detroit. He also played in the bands of various artists, including Jimmy Taylor, and performed at the Blue Bird Inn in Detroit from 1952 to 1954. Thad joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1954 and performed with them until he left to work briefly as a CBS staff arranger in 1963. He co-led a group from 1965 to 1978, led another band, and taught at the Royal Conservatory. In 1980, he taught a Jazz Seminar in Barcelona, Spain, and rejoined the Basie Orchestra in 1985, which was posthumously referred to as the 'ghost' Basie Orchestra.