Bob Brookmeyer - Gloomy Sunday And Other Bright Moments (2023)

An urbane, sophisticated big-band jazz album that showcases guest arrangers on 1-4, and Brookmeyer's own arrangements on 5-8. Both Brookmeyer and his guests eschew traditionalist charts in favor of a progressive bent that must have been quite forward-looking in 1961. Sauter's arrangement of "Gloomy Sunday" is an angular waltz that wouldn't feel out of place accompanying a jazzy Disney animation. McFarland's contributions, as always, stand out.