Steve Gut - Mr. C.T. (2016)

Steve Gut is a talented trumpeter and flugelhornist who has primarily been active in Europe during his career. This CD consists of recordings made over a period of years with different groups, including powerful post-bop numbers like "On the Road," featuring Gut on trumpet with the RTB Big Band, and a masterful striding duet on "Blue Moon" with pianist Renato Chicco. He also shares the spotlight with fellow trumpeter/flugelhornist Dusko Goykcovich on the latter's driving hard bop composition "New York City." Clark Terry's presence as a guest on several tracks will likely be the predominate reason this release catches the eye (and upon listening, the ear) of most jazz fans; Terry trades solos with Gut on the easygoing swinger "Some Memories," and he plays both flugelhorn and muted trumpet on the brisk foot-tapping blues "Stemi." Gut honors Terry by dedicating two originals in his honor: the up-tempo cooker "Mr. C.T." and the enjoyable "Blues to Clark," a duet with bassist Michael Blam that is sadly faded prematurely. The only disappointing track is Gut's other duet with Chicco on "Autumn Leaves," which was likely included for historical purposes; this track has rather poor sound because it was an amateur recording done on low-grade equipment, unlike the rest of this recommended CD.