The legendary Terry Gibbs Dream Band, a notable unit that from 1959-62 made a few albums for Mercury and Verve, was well served by the five CDs of previously unreleased material released by Contemporary in the late 1980s. Vol. 2 has charts by
Bill Holman,
Al Cohn,
Manny Albam,
Lennie Niehaus and
Med Flory on six swing-era songs and four later tunes, including Gibbs' "The Fat Man." Of the soloists featured during this live set, which also resulted in part of Vol. 3, vibraphonist Gibbs, trumpeter
Conte Candoli, altoists
Joe Maini and
Charlie Kennedy,
Bill Perkins on tenor and pianist
Lou Levy are most notable. Recommended for fans of swinging big bands.
