Swingin' with Terry Gibbs is his first recording with a big band and it's a star-studded affair. Among the musicians joining the vibraphonist are trumpeters Ernie Royal and Don Elliott (the latter also doubles on mellophone), trombonist Urbie Green, and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, as well as saxophonists Hal McKusick and Al Cohn, among many others. With compositions and/or arrangements contributed by Cohn, Brookmeyer, Manny Albam, Ernie Wilkins, Al Epstein (who plays baritone sax), and the leader himself, everything falls into place as if this is a working band. It is hard to narrow the 11 tracks to just a few highlights, but Brookmeyer's hot "Just Plain Meyer" (featuring memorable solos by both Cohn and the leader) and Cohn's gorgeous chart of Duke Ellington's overlooked ballad "I Didn't Know About You," showcasing Gibbs' swinging vibes, especially stand out.
Ken Dryden
Source : https://www.allmusic.com/album/swingin-with-terry-gibbs-orchestra-quartet-mw0000873967
Swingin' with the
Terry Gibbs
Orchestra
Tracks
1 Funky Serenade (Albam) 2:47
2 Gubi (Cohn) 3:01
3 Happiness is a Thing Called Joe (Harburg, Arlen) 3:17
4 Just Plain Meyer (Brookmeyer) 2:45
5 Bewitched (Rodgers, Hart) 3:24
6 Let's Wail (Gibbs) 2:51
7 Heads Or Tails (Brookmeyer) 3:10
8 Slittin' Sam (Epstein) 2:51
9 I Didn't Know About You (Ellington, Russell) 3:39
10 Night Cap (Wilkins) 3:00
11 Julie's Bugle (Cohn) 2:23
*
Personnel
Bernie Glow, Al Derisi, Ernie Royal, Nick Travis - tp
Don Elliott - tp & mlph
Bob Brookmeyer - tb
Urbie Green, Tom Mitchell, Chauncey Welsh - tb
Sam Marowitz, Hal McKusick - as
Al Cohn, Frank Socolow - ts
Al Epstein - bs
Terry Gibbs - vb
Terry Pollard - p
Turk Van Lake - g
Herman Wright - b
Jerry Segal or Osie Johnson - dr
Recorded in New York City ; October 1 [# 5, 6, 11], 2 [# 1, 2, 8, 9], and 8 [# 3, 4, 7, 10], 1956