Michael Gibbs

March, 1973… A quartet known for its psychedelic inclinations delivered a fortress of an album: The Dark Side of The Moon was a musical UFO featuring the most advanced technology of the period, a stratospheric record which mirrored society and our errant human ways. Pink Floyd was about to write an essential chapter in rock history and enjoy planetary fame; even today, their album is still one of the greatest sellers of all time.

It's a bold concept; take Pink Floyd's iconic Dark Side of the Moon (Harvest, 1973) and reinterpret it in a big band jazz setting. With upwards of forty million copies sold, every note, every nuance of Floyd's eighth album is so firmly entrenched in the minds of the band's legion devotees that to tamper with the work in any way is to leave oneself open to facile criticism. French-Vietnamese guitarist Nguyên Lê, however, is nothing if not adventurous. Lê has already demonstrated on Purple: Celebrating Jimi Hendrix (ACT Music, 2007) and Songs of Freedom (ACT Music, 2012)—his tribute to classic pop and rock songs of the 1960s and 1970s—that he can breathe new life into old material without being overly reverential.

Terry Gibbs - Hootenanny My Way (1963) {Time Records Japan CDSOL-45383 rel 2017}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 258 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 194 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963, 2017 Time Records / Solid Records | CDSOL-45383
Jazz / Bop / West Coast Jazz / Vibes

A hip hootenanny from vibist Terry Gibbs – hardly the folksy set you might guess from the title, and instead a lively batch of small combo tunes that grooves better than most of Gibbs' work from the 60s! Most tracks are of traditional origin – folk tunes, if you will – but the jazz inflections of the group quickly takes them bast their roots, using the core melodies mostly as a framework for improvisation – featuring great vibes from Gibbs, plus tenor and flute from Al Epstein, guitar from Jimmy Raney, and piano from Alicir McLeod. Terry's vibes are nice and bold, and titles include "Michael", "Joshua", "John Henry", "Greensleeves", "Tom Dooley", and "Sam Hall".