To appear in the many places that couldn’t house and/or afford his wondrous big Dream Band, bandleader Terry Gibbs put together a number of quartets over the years. His enthusiasm and the gloriously swinging sounds heard on these two albums —“That Swing Thing!” and “Straight Ahead”— were recorded in Los Angeles in 1962 in a series of in-person performances at Shelly’s Manne-Hole, and in a session at Radio Recorders studios.
You can tell from the opening vibraphone bell that Terry loved to swing, and from his constant exhortations within eye and ear shot that he wanted everybody —including those in his own group— to know it.
The result was an uncluttered string of performances that give Gibbs and pianist Pat Moran ample room to solo. Her piano is an enlivening factor in both groups, and she even tries her hand at the electric organ on a couple of tracks. Both rhythm sections work well together, in a tasteful display of skill and vitality.
Press reviews
"Vibist Terry Gibbs, born in 1924, is the last living musician to have played during the Swing Era, having been with Woody Herman’s world famous Second Herd and teamed up with famed clarinetists Benny Goodman and Buddy DeFranco between stints of his own small and large ensembles. This collection of two lps on one cd find him playing during the Kennedy years with Pat Moran on piano and organ, once in a concert setting at the famous Shelly’s Manne-Hole in LA, and th other in an LA studio on 1962. If you want some fun swing, here’s your chance!
Gibbs and Moran are supported by bassist Bond, Jimmy Bond, and drummer Gary Frommer during the April, 61 gig. The rhythm team sizzles and charges like a stamped on “Let My People Blow” and bop till they drop on an enthusiastic “Stella By Starlight”. Bond shakes, not stirs, his bass as he’s featured on a double timed “Three Blind Mice” and Moran turns the club into a late night saloon on “Blue Wednesday” before Frommer’s guide of drumsticks gives a backbeat to the bluesy “Mannehole March”. The joint was jumpin’!
The ’62 studio session has Max Bennett-John Doling/ b and Mike Romero/dr rounding out the team, with Moran on the organ for a kiztchy pop piece “Hippie Twist” and a splashy “C.C. Blues” that has Bennett slinking along with Gibbs. The leader is rich in his interplay with the pianist on a gorgeous “You Go To My Head” and they sway on a richly chorded “On Green Dolphin Street” with Romero brushing up the sidewalk. Timeless swing for the ages."
George W. Harris (May 28, 2020)
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