CD1
Terry Gibbs
1. Seven Come Eleven
2. Lonely Dreams
3. Dickie’s Dream
4. Imagination
5. King City Stomp
6. Pretty Face
7. The Continental
8. Bless My Soles
9. Nutty Notes
Terry Gibbs – Vibes
Terry Pollard – Piano
Herman Wright – Bass
Nils-Bertil Dahlander (a.k.a. Bert Dale) – Drums
Mallets-A-Plenty
10. Nothing To it
11. Mean To Me
12. Haunted
13. Er-Bee-I
14. Gibberish
15. I’ll Remember April
16. Soupy’s On
17. Then It Happens
Terry Gibbs – Vibes
Terry Pollard – Piano
Herman Wright – Bass
Jerry Segal – Drums
CD2
Vibes On Velvet
1. Autumn Nocturne
2. Lonesome Streets
3. Adios
4. Leaving Town
5. For You, For Me, Forever More
6. The Moon Was Yellow
7. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
8. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
9. Mood Indigo
11. Lullabye Of Spring
12. Two Sparkling Eyes
Terry Gibbs – Vibes
Hal McKusick – Tenor sax, alto sax, soprano sax
Sam Markowitz – Alto sax
Frankie Socolow – Tenor sax
Raymond Black – Tenor sax
Al Epstein – Baritone sax
Terry Pollard – Piano
Gerald Segal – Drums
Herman Wright – Bass
Turk Van Lake – Guitar
A Jazz Band Ball
13. The Dipsy Doodle
14. Where Or When
15. I’m Getting Sentimental Over You
16. Hollywood Blues
17. Tangerine
18. Just Friends
19. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
20. Memories Of You
21. Broadway
22. Allen’s Alley
Terry Gibbs – Vibes, marimba
Vic Feldman – Vibes, xylophone
Larry Bunker – Vibes, xylophone
Lou Levy – Piano
Max Bennett – Bass
Mel Lewis – Drums
In a foreword to the Terry Gibbs autobiography Good Vibes: A Life In Jazz
by Terry Gibbs and Cary Ginell, the jazz writer Dan Morgenstern says:
“Terry Gibbs is a study in time and motion. His time is impeccable,
no tempo too fast for him and he never fails to swing. And when he
plays he is in constant motion”. Avid Jazz has put together a compilation
that allows the listener to hear Gibbs deliver on the first part of
the quotation, and imagine the second part.
CD1
The two albums that comprise this CD are Terry Gibbs and Mallets-A-Plenty which are quartet sessions that in addition to Gibbs, feature a
fiercely talented but unheralded young pianist from Detroit, Terry Pollard. She had been discovered by Gibbs and collaborated with him from 1953 to 1957
starting when she was only 22. Together they were a daunting combination and displayed an astonishing degree of empathy. Of the 17 tracks on this CD, more
than half of them were compositions by Gibbs which were nothing more than head arrangements on which he and Pollard could exchange their swinging ideas as
exemplified on King City Stomp, Bless My Soles, Nothing To It and Gibberish. Each of these tunes showcased Gibbs’ rapid mallets and
percussive feel, both of which confirmed how close he was to Lionel Hampton in style.
Terry Pollard’s contribution to these two albums cannot be underestimated. Pollard was a hard-swinging, sharp pianist, who could double on vibes when
called on, although she does not do so on any of these tracks. As for her pianist skills, she offers an outstanding high-energy single-note solo on Nutty Notes. In contrast, on the lovely ballad Mean To Me, she gives a soulful sixteen-bar interlude that demonstrates her versatility.
Not to be outdone when it comes to sensitivity, Gibbs shows that he can deliver a discreet and tasteful approach to ballads as he shines on his own
composition Lonely Dreams and the Burke/Van Heusen gem Imagination. These two albums are representative of the Gibbs quartet at its best.
CD2
On this second CD the featured albums are Vibes On Velvet and A Jazz Band Ball and they could not be any more different from each other
than they are. The first is Gibbs in a soft and (marsh) mellow (sic) frame with his vibes playing over a small band using smarmy arrangements. The second
features three standout vibes players in an exploratory mood, trading four-bar exchanges, supported by a lively rhythm section anchored by Mel Lewis on
drums.
Record labels often are not satisfied with the artist they have, and thus try to make that person something they are not. With Vibes On Velvet,
the intention was to expand the audience for Gibbs’ playing, from the jazz fan to the easy-listening audience. With arrangements from Manny Albam, the
offerings were suited to background music and create a homogeneity of mood for a Sunday afternoon by the fire. While Gibbs’ technique and versatility were
readily on display throughout the twelve tracks, he would have hardly raised a sweat during the recording session. Not much can be said about the material
chosen for the recording date apart from the fact that the tunes were mostly well-known compositions and reflective of the time. In fact Boulevard Of Broken Dreams was a pop hit for Tony Bennett in 1950. Frank Sinatra recorded The Moon Was Yellow in 1958 and had a semi-hit
with a rather over the top Latin arrangement by Nelson Riddle. Gibbs’ own compositions Leaving Town, Lullabye Of Spring, and Two Sparkling Eyes are somewhat more successfully rendered because he was more committed to their interpretation.
A Jazz Band Ball
was a successful outing not only because it had three top-notch vibe exponents playing standout charts from Manny Album, but also the rhythm section
(Levy/Bennett/Lewis) would push everyone to be at the top of their game. The programme is composed almost entirely of standards, but with a bop title
thrown in for good measure, and lets the front line challenge each other regardless of whether it is a ballad or a swinger. Leading off with The Dipsy Doodle from the Larry Clinton band-book, the tune opens with two romping choruses each from Gibbs, Bunker and Feldman, then followed by
an exchange of four bars each in the same order. Gene Roland, who for years penned charts for the Stan Kenton Band wrote Hollywood Blues with
Gibbs switching to marimba, followed by Bunker and Feldman on xylophone with a great pop-up solo from Lou Levy on piano. Levy was one of those West Coast
bop pianists who flew under the radar on his own, but was a first–class accompanist who spent many years with both Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald.
Regardless of the track, Gibbs, Bunker and Feldman swing like mad with originality and colour, and make for a more than satisfying excursion.
A reissue that is chock-full of Terry Gibbs in top form, with the added presence of Terry Pollard who was a gifted but under-appreciated pianist.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Avid AMSC 1095
