Dream Band, Vol. 6: One More Time

by Alex HendersonIn August 2001, Terry Gibbs was digging around in one of the closets of his Los Angeles home when came across about 25 boxes of old reel-to-reel tapes. As it turned out, some of those tapes contained previously unreleased Dream Band recordings of 1959 gigs in Hollywood. So Gibbs contacted Fantasy about the possibility of putting out some of that live material -- which had remained in the vibist/bandleader's private collection for over 40 years -- and the result is Dream Band, Vol. 6: One More Time (a generally excellent CD that Fantasy decided to release on Contemporary). In 1959, Gibbs' Dream Band was exactly that; it boasted the cream of the West Coast crop, and the L.A.-based heavyweights who Gibbs employs on these hard-swinging performances include trumpeter Conte Candoli, pianist Pete Jolly, tenor saxman Bill Perkins, and drummer Mel Lewis. Most of the material is instrumental, although singer Irene Kral has pleasing spots on the standards "Moonlight in Vermont," "Sometimes I'm Happy," and "Lover, Come Back to Me." Thankfully, the sound quality is, by late-'50s/early stereo standards, quite good. So why did recordings of this quality remain in the can for so long? Quite often, musicians will record their live shows, place the tapes in their vaults, and forget about them -- which is obviously what happened with these 1959 recordings. Gibbs had forgotten about them but was pleasantly surprised when he came across the old reel-to-reel tapes in the summer of 2001. Although generally excellent, One More Time falls short of essential; nonetheless, Gibbs' hardcore fans will be thrilled to see these recordings become commercially available after remaining in the can for so long.