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On Thursday, February 21st, the Blue Star Brewery Welcomes the Gerry Gibbs
Thrasher Big Band. Reviews for their recent CD really provide a clear description of the band
and it's music...
By John Gilbert - ejazznews
Gerry Gibbs and his aggregation are true exponents of 'swing' with an
ensemble that is bop inspired with charts that move and groove
emphatically and a vocalist that can SING. This is a definite keeper for
all you connoisseurs of jazz at it's best.
Live at Luna
Gerry Gibbs and the Thrasher Big Band
Whaling City Sound (2006)
By Edward Blanco at All About Jazz
Live at Luna celebrates a swinging two-night live big band performance
in July of 2005 by drummer / bandleader Gerry Gibbs and his Thrasher Big Band. If you're in
any way familiar with or partial to the kind of roar you hear from a Buddy Rich Big Band
or the powerful sounds from the Woody Herman's Thundering Herds, then you'll be more than
pleased with the music from this muscular jazz orchestra that played regularly at the Luna
Fine Music Club in San Antonio, where this album was recoded. Gibbs, whose nickname is
Thrasher, formed this nineteen-piece big band several years ago after growing
frustrated and disenchanted with the jazz scene in San Antonio. He realized his dream
with the aid of friend and trumpeter Adrian Ruiz, who also conducts the band.
Another important and influential person Gibbs drew upon for assistance was his old man, the legendary vibraphonist and former leader of his own big band (Dream Band), Terry Gibbs. It was Terry Gibbs who provided additional big band charts and insisted on the inclusion of vocalist Joan Carroll, an unexpected but brilliant performer. Carroll appears on three songs and seems like a perfect marriage for the band. Two of the best cuts on the album include the singer, who belts out the lyrics to Steve Allen's Playing the Field behind an energizing, rumbling big band sound. Both the singer and the band duplicate this fiery mixture on the old standard You've Changed.
Gerry Gibbs contributes five original compositions, including the loud
and in-your-face opener, The Caribbean Song. Dedicated to altoist Arthur Blythe,
The Night The Blytheman Walked Into The Room features appreciable solos by Andy Langham (piano), Jason Jones (trumpet) and Morgan King (tenor). Gibbs dedicates another one of his originals to McCoy Tyner with When I Dream, a moody and melancholy number with bursts of brilliance from Justin Vasquez (soprano), Eric Hargett (tenor) and the leader on drums. The band goes funky on Some Skunk Funk and mellows out on 11 Years Old, the first song Gibbs ever penned. The session wraps up with the very bluesy And That's Why They Call It The Blues and Song With No Title, containing a meaty solo from Rick Swuem (tenor), accompanied by powerful backdrop drumming by Gibbs.
Kudos to Gerry Gibbs and his Thrasher Big Band for delivering an impressive and
memorable debut. Loud, boisterous and full of brass, this orchestra reminds me of what a powerhouse,
muscular big band is suppose to sound like. Providing jazzy vocals, terrific charts and excellent
musicianship by an unheralded ensemble, Live at Luna is one supercharged big band album.
THE CD
THE SONGS
- Caribbean Song Revisited, The
- Night The Blytheman Walked Into The Room, The Room Went Dark And Nothing Else Matterd,
- When I Dream (Dedicated To McCoy Tyner)
- You've Changed
- Some Skunk Funk
- Maiden Voyage
- 11 Years Old (The First Song I Ever Wrote)
- Playing The FieldNotes
- And That's Why They Call It The Blues
- Song With No Title
THE BAND
- Joan Carroll - vocals
- Rob Hardt - alto, flute, piccolo, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, soprano saxophone
- Justin Vasquez - alto, flute, soprano saxophone, piano, computer
- Eric Hargett - tenor, baritone, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Ricky Swuem - tenor, flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone
- Morgan King - tenor, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone
- David Guidi - flute, tenor saxophone
- Rick Horn, - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Curtis Calderon, - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Jason Jones, - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Al Gomez - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Adrian Ruiz - trumpet, tambourine
- Pat Murray - trumpet
- Freddie Mendoza - trombone
- Gilbert Garza - trombone
- Ron Wilkins - bass trombone, tuba
- Andy Langham - piano, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, synthesizer, mini-Moog
- Hamilton Price - acoustic bass
- Gerry Gibbs - drums
Recorded: 07/26/2005 - 07/27/2005.
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