Gigi Gryce

Believe it or not, the 2006 three-volume Lone Hill Jazz reissue of the complete Donald Byrd/Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab studio recordings marks the first comprehensive appearance of this body of work on CD. Considering how many reissues, re-reissues and re-re-reissues some material has undergone, the fact that it took so long for this magnificent music to be made available to the public in its entirety is somewhat grueling. These recordings were made during the spring and early autumn of 1957. At 24 years old, Donald Byrd was already among the greatest trumpeters alive at that time. Alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce, who wrote the charts for everything heard on this disc aside from "I Remember Clifford," was an exceptionally talented arranger as well as a gifted composer. Unlike the rest of the Byrd/Gryce recordings from 1957, these have extra horns: Benny Powell's trombone, Julius Watkins' French horn, Don Butterfield's tuba, and Sahib Shihab's baritone sax. The rhythm section players were exceptionally solid: pianists Tommy Flanagan, Wade Legge, and Wynton Kelly; bassist Wendell Marshall; and master percussionist Art Taylor. Each track is a masterpiece of immaculately hip precision. Of the three installments in this label's Jazz Lab Project, this first volume is a glowing jewel nestled in the exact center of the lotus. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide