Terry Gibbs Legacy Band: The Terry Gibbs Songbook from Cabaret Scenes
Ninety-eight-year-old Terry Gibbs started writing composing music in 1948 when he joined Buddy Rich’s big band. There are about 200 extant to date. This, he says, will be his last CD, “and I feel like a winner.” Joining Gibbs, who here plays a two-finger piano, is his dream band: Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Harry Allen (tenor sax), Tom Ranier (piano), Mike Gurrola (bass), Gerry Gibbs (drums), and Danny Bacher (vocals).
“Let’s Go to Rio” is frisky. A quick-fingered piano suggests short Carnival steps; the phrasing effortlessly follows suit. It’s casual and coltish. “Stay with Me Tonight” is presented as a samba invitation. The piano showcases precision and finesse, and the music evokes bright colors—fauna, parrots, whipped skirts. This one gradually fades as if the procession’s moving on. In contrast, “I Was Loved” arrives as a sensitive musing, with Bacher’s tenor voice radiating light tails.