CD review: Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios – Songs From My Father 2021: Video, Photos

The history of this project is very dramatic. The album, conceived as a tribute to his son – the father, the famous drummer and band leader of “The Thrasher” Jerry Gibbs – the 96-year-old legendary Terry Gibbs, who played with Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Art Blackie, Dizzy Gillespie etc., who composed more than 300 compositions, who recorded 65 solo albums and was the # 1 vibraphone player from 1950 to 1955 according to DownBeat and Metronome polls, turned into a double tribute with a very sad connotation. However, let’s go in order …

The double album Songs From My Father amazes with its monumentality. Jerry has selected 18 compositions of different years from the huge creative heritage of his father. Known for his signature Thrasher Dream Trio chamber ensembles, Jerry decided to entrust the performance of this music to several Thrasher Dream Trios, composed of the outstanding jazz musicians of our time. There are four of them in the album. Chick Corea and Ron Carter play in one with him, Kenny Baron and Buster Williams in the other, Patrice Rushen and Larry Goldings in the third (the only trio where a Hammond organ sounds instead of piano) and in the fourth – Jeff Keeser and Christian McBride. How do you like the team? In my opinion, just fantastic!

But what does it mean to implement such a project, and even in a covid year ?! Jerry Gibbs traveled half of America in ten months, coordinating the work schedules of the project participants in order to make these recordings. Terry’s old friend Chick Corea was especially inspired by the idea of ​​this tribute. He wrote the composition Tango For Terry specially for the album, which became the final track of the album, and also made arrangements for two more compositions. Jerry and Chick called up almost every week, discussed the progress of the project, and just talked “for life.” And then came the unexpected and black news of the death of Chick Corea. And it so happened that four pieces recorded for this album with his participation turned out to be the last lifetime recordings of this amazing musician …

Shocked by this tragedy, the project participants said goodbye to Corea with dignity. Jerry and his father jointly renamed Terry’s 1961 composition Hey Jim to Hey Chick, and it was jointly performed for the project by all eight of its members (each with a pair of chorus). In addition, Jerry also edited his father’s vibraphone solo from that old recording of the early 60s into this recording. This piece took a special place in the album, remarkable in all respects. If you love jazz, you simply must hear this unique work – and say goodbye to Chick Corea …

Disc 1

1 Kick Those Feet
2 Smoke em Up
3 Bopstacle Course
4 Nutty Notes
5 Take It from Me
6 Sweet Young Song of Love
7 The Fat Man
8 Lonely Days
9 Hey Chick

Disc 2

1 Townhouse 3
2 T & S
3 4 AM
4 Waltz for My Children
5 Hippie Twist
6 Lonely Dreams
7 For Keeps
8 Pretty Blue Eyes
9 Gibberish
10 Tango for Terry

Line-up/Musicians

tks 3,6 disc 1, tks 4,10 disc 2 :
Gerry Gibbs – dr, perc;
Chick Corea – ac.p;
Ron Carter – ac.b;

tks 1,5 disc 1, tks 2,6 disc 2 :
Gerry Gibbs – dr, perc;
Kenny Barron – ac.p;
Buster Williams – ac.b;

tks 2,8 disk 1, tks 1,5,8 disc 2:
Gerry Gibbs – dr, perc;
Patrice Rushen – ac.p;
Larry Goldings – Hammond B3 org;

rest:
Gerry Gibbs – dr;
Geoff Keezer – ac.p;
Christian McBride – ac.b;