One of the last living beboppers, at 99 Terry Gibbs is still active musically, playing a bit of piano and even singing on this album of his tunes with a swinging team of Scott Hamilton-Harry Allen/ts, Tom Ranier/p-ts, Mike Gurrola/b and Gerry Gibbs/dr, with the focus on vocalist Danny Bacher crooning through the Gibbs songbook.
The tunes have warm and upbeat charts, with Bacher cozy on “If I knew Then”, hep on a peppy “Let’s Go To Rio” and somber with Ranier on”Play and Sing”. There’s a fun swing to “Now’s the Time To Groove” with the tenor titans taking concise solos here and throughout. Ranier and Bacher team up well on “I Was Loved” with the singer riding the wave of saxes on “And That’s Why They Call It the Blues”. Alte Kaker delights.