Tenor Stan Getz and valve-trombonist
Bob Brookmeyer
made a mutually beneficial team. Although they had not played together all that much in 1954 (
Brookmeyer
had left Getz's band earlier in the year to join the
Gerry Mulligan
Quartet), the strong musical communication between the two horns during this CD reissue is obvious. Eight of the ten selections are from a live concert (with pianist
John Williams
, bassist
Bill Anthony
and drummer
Art Mardigan
) while the final two numbers (on what was originally a pair of LPs) were cut in the studio the following day with the same personnel except that
Frank Isola
was on drums. Highlights of this cool-toned bop music (which, in addition to the solos, has many exciting ensembles) include "Lover Man," "Pernod," "Tasty Pudding" and "It Don't Mean a Thing."