The Terry Gibbs Quartet - That Swing Thing! / Straight Ahead (2020)

To appear in the many places that couldn’t house and/or afford his wondrous big Dream Band, bandleader Terry Gibbs put together a number of quartets over the years. His enthusiasm and the gloriously swinging sounds heard on these two albums —“That Swing Thing!” and “Straight Ahead”— were recorded in Los Angeles in 1962 in a series of in-person performances at Shelly’s Manne-Hole, and in a session at Radio Recorders studios.

You can tell from the opening vibraphone bell that Terry loved to swing, and from his constant exhortations within eye and ear shot that he wanted everybody —including those in his own group— to know it.

The result was an uncluttered string of performances that give Gibbs and pianist Pat Moran ample room to solo. Her piano is an enlivening factor in both groups, and she even tries her hand at the electric organ on a couple of tracks. Both rhythm sections work well together, in a tasteful display of skill and vitality.