Two of the distinguishing features of Terry Gibbs’ big band, which lit up the West Coast jazz scene from 1959 to 1962, was how every section was full of top notch jazz musicians who played the Hollywood sound stages by day, and played two nights a week at Hollywood’s Summit for a small pay cheque but big kicks. And the other was the arrangers – here Shorty Rogers, Bill Holman, Al Cohn and Manny Albam – who demonstrate how the arranger could be as much a creative force in jazz as the improviser. Take the old chestnut ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’, a 32-bar ABAC form. Initially, Albam exploits tension and release leading into Gibbs’ 32-bar solo. But what follows is a virtual fantasia on the Maceo-Pinkard tune; the arranger as soloist and you sense the sheer enjoyment of the band making the difficult sound easy. The sheer élan of their phrasing, so effortless and so perfectly articulated, the internal balance and dynamics of each section and the ease of execution makes the written sound improvised. It’s a masterpiece, but if that was not enough it’s topped by Al Cohn’s ‘Nose Cone’ that lifts you out of your seat, throws you around the room and gives your aural senses an exhilarating workout – listen to the sforzando trumpets at the climax, this is big band excitement writ large. Pianist Pat Moran shines on ‘Mainstem’ – again arranged by Albam – with further gems courtesy Bill Holman and Shorty Rogers.

In 1986 Gibbs sold Contemporary Records/Fantasy demo tapes of the band from 1959 and they were released over three CDs as the Terry Gibbs Dream Band. The critical reaction was one of stunned amazement in the USA – several critics saying the whole history of big band jazz had to be rewritten to include this amazing aggregation. They wanted more – surely they couldn’t sustain it over another three CDs? They were even better, and Volume 4, released as Mainstem, was none other than The Exciting Terry Gibbs Big Band.