Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band: Gerry Mulligan at the Village Vanguard

What sets this ensemble apart isn't so much the compositions (though they're a fine mix of standards and originals) or even the star quality of the soloists (though Mulligan, Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer and others provide some memorable solo moments). The key is the cohesiveness of the band as a unit and the crisp, tight arrangements and orchestrations by Mulligan, Brookmeyer and Al Cohn. The bouncy, vibrant tone and sheer big band power on up-tempo numbers like Johnny Mandel's "Black Nightgown" and Cohn's "Lady Chatterly's Mother" evoke, perhaps oddly, the great Basie bands. Mulligan even takes an impressive turn at the piano to lead the group through the Basie-esque "Let My People Be". And familar ballads, like "Body and Soul" and "Come Rain or Come Shine", are given fresh treatments that evoke moods of tenderness and romance without being syrupy. Mulligan was no avant gardist, but he knew how to push the limits while working within a straight-ahead context, and he knew how to make a band swing.

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