While not playing the vibes anymore, at 100 Terry Gibbs is one of the last of the musicians from the big band and bebop eras. This 1959 collection of sessions from various Hollywood Clubs has Gibbs with the crème of the Hollywood crop in Lou Levy/p, Mel Lewis/dr and Buddy Clark/d in the rhythm section as wellas Conte Candoli/tp, Carl Fontana-Bob Enevoldsen-tb, Bill Perkins-Bill Holman/ts and Bill Maini- Med Flory/as, and the charts a mix of classic swing era tunes with a rich dose of material from his days with Benny Goodman.
If nothing else, Gibbs knew how to count to four, as he shouts out the pace with exuberance, doing a double time on “After You’ve Gone” and even a triple speed on “Cottontail” with Candoli, Gibbs, Holman and Levy tearing up the changes. There’s a hip dose of bop on “Begin th e Beguine” and an uptempo “The Song Is You” wile a dash of Nelso Riddle is felt on a classy “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” and a luminescent “Moonglow”. Gibbs is suave on “ Prelude To A Kiss” and hits the vibes hard on an exuberant “Flying Home”. Primary colors.