Home » Jazz Musicians » Terry Gibbs

Terry Gibbs

Terry Gibbs began his career at the age of 12 after winning the Major Bowes Amateur Hour Contest and subsequently began touring professionally. He spent many years as a drummer and percussionist playing gigs until his affinity for bebop motivated him to turn down a scholarship to Julliard as a timpanist and return to the vibes. Six decades of inspirational vibe playing and technique, Gibbs is recognized as one of the best ever to grace the genre of bop.

After World War II, Gibbs toured with Chubby Jackson, Buddy Rich and Woody Herman. He co-led a sextet with Louie Bellson and Charlie Shavers; and in 1950, he formed his own band for Mel Torme's TV show. In 1951, he joined the Benny Goodman Sextet. Subsequently, he toured with his own band where he won acclaim as "# 1 Vibraphonist in the world," in both the down beat and Metronome polls from 1950 to 1955. Gibbs also played a role in breaking down the sex barrier in music, using pianists Terry Pollard, who he often featured in vibe duos, and Alice McLeod, who later married John Coltrane.

Settling in Los Angeles in 1957, he formed his big band known as "The Dream Band." Comprised of Mel Lewis, Joe Maini, Frank Rosolino, Conte Candoli and Richard Kamuca, they were named "Best Band in the World" in the Downbeat '62 Critic's Poll.

Gibbs returned to New York in the early sixties only to move back to LA to take a position as Music Director for the Regis Philbin Show. This gave him the opportunity to compose the music and conduct a sextet. He later served as Music Director/Composer for the ABC TV show, Operation Entertainment and for Steve Allen, building a substantial ASCAP rating. Gibbs also taught Steve Allen to play the vibes.

Gibbs, throughout his illustrious career has enjoyed world acclaim playing with greats such as clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, Max Roach, Art Blakely, Elvin Jones and Tito Puente. Co-leading a quintet, he had an unprecedented nomination in four categories of the Playboy Jazz Poll: Best Vibraphonist, Best Quartet, Best Big Band and Best Band Leader. His association with DeFranco has spanned 18 years and is still an invigorating collaboration today.

With 65 albums to his credit, winner of 3 major jazz polls and creator of 300+ compositions (recorded by Gibbs, Nat Cole, Les Brown, Cannonball Adderly, Count Basie, George Shearing, etc.), Gibbs has left an indelible mark in the world of vibes.

Read more

Tags

17
Album Review

Gerry Gibbs: Songs from My Father

Read "Songs from My Father" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Drummer Gerry Gibbs pays tribute to father Terry Gibbs on the amazing nineteen-track double-CD set Songs from My Father featuring a guest appearance by the ninety-seven-year-old vibraphonist on one track, among other surprises, including the last studio performance by the late jazz icon Chick Corea, who also wrote “Tango for Terry" for this homage and is the only non-Gibbs composition on the album. Son Gerry had plenty of his father's music to choose from when contemplating this project but chose ...

31
Album Review

Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios: Songs from My Father

Read "Songs from My Father" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Songs from My Father. What a marvelous idea!—and not simply for the sentiment. Drummer Gerry Gibbs' father happens to be Hall of Fame vibraphonist (and sometime song writer) Terry Gibbs, who is still on the scene at ninety-seven (and, in fact, making a guest appearance on the first disc of this superlative two-CD set). Eighteen of the elder Gibbs' songs, written between 1949 and 1985 (and one more, “Tango for Terry," by the late Chick Corea) are performed by four ...

4
Album Review

Terry Gibbs: 92 Years Young: Jammin' At The Gibbs House

Read "92 Years Young: Jammin' At The Gibbs House" reviewed by Jack Bowers


"92 Years Young." Sometimes that's an exaggeration. On the other hand, when applied to vibraphonist Terry Gibbs it may well be an understatement. Gibbs was indeed a mere six months shy of his ninety-second birthday when “Jammin' at the Gibbs House" was recorded in his living room in April 2016. Close your eyes, however, and it's the 1940s again, and Gibbs is jammin' with Woody Herman's Second Herd, or the '50s, and he's presiding over his high-powered Dream Band in ...

8
Album Review

Terry Gibbs: 92 Years Young: Jammin' At The Gibbs House

Read "92 Years Young: Jammin' At The Gibbs House" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


For a brief moment, put aside the fact that legendary vibraphonist Terry Gibbs is now ninety-two years old. Just listen to the YouTube video at the bottom of this piece--lyrical, swinging, and vibrant as any jazz out there--and take it in. It's something beautiful, right? Nothing radical or groundbreaking at all, but most certainly jazz of the highest order. Now, go back to Gibbs' age. At ninety-two, he's at a point where most of his peers are either gone from ...

402
Album Review

Terry Gibbs: Terry Gibbs Quartet Featuring Terry Pollard

Read "Terry Gibbs Quartet Featuring Terry Pollard" reviewed by Samuel Chell


This eponymous album, made in 1954 for Mercury's EmArcy label, was Terry Gibbs' first recording under his own name and established him as the “wild man of the vibes" (he still is!). The nine tunes are a combination of Gibbs originals and swing era-classics, with only one ballad (Jimmy Van Heusen's “Imagination") to give the listener a chance to catch his breath before the next onslaught of all-out swing.Gibbs' musical roots are more in the swing era than ...

230
The Jazz Session

Terry Gibbs: Bebop Living Legend

Read "Terry Gibbs: Bebop Living Legend" reviewed by Jason Crane


ASCAP, one of the organizations that safeguards performers' and composers' rights, announced that it will add Terry Gibbs to its Jazz Wall of Fame in a ceremony on June 1 at Lincoln Center. Gibbs is already recognized as an ASCAP Jazz Living Legend for a career that spans the bebop era to the present day. In honor of Gibbs' award, The Jazz Session presents a 2004 interview with Terry Gibbs recorded after the release of his album 52nd & Broadway: ...

154
Album Review

Terry Gibbs: Findin' the Groove

Read "Findin' the Groove" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Terry Gibbs, who has been Findin' the Groove for more than sixty years and continues to home in on it at the post-retirement age of 81 (82 on October 13), shares the front line with master flutist Hubert Laws on his latest album, which, in typical Gibbs fashion, swings relentlessly in a bop-centered groove from first note to last.

The vibes/flute tandem proves remarkably successful, especially when supported by a savvy rhythm section anchored by Terry's son, Gerry, at the ...

Read more articles

Video / DVD

Terry Gibbs and Sal Nistico

Terry Gibbs and Sal Nistico

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In 1963, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs teamed with tenor saxophonist Sal Nistico to record a terrific little-known swinger for New York's Time Records known as Gibbs & Nistico. I say “known as" because the album cover, as you can see below, doesn't distinctly project a title. Produced by Bob Shad, the LP featured Sal Nistico (ts), Terry Gibbs (vib), Nat Pierce (org), Turk Van Lake (g), Charlie Andres (b) and Jake Hanna (d). At the time, Nistico and the rhythm section ...

2

Video / DVD

Terry Gibbs: Take It From Me

Terry Gibbs: Take It From Me

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Last week I posted on Freedom, a terrific album of Kenny Burrell tracks recorded on two different dates in 1963 and '64. To date, it was never released on CD or as a digital download. What's more, Freedom also is out of print as a 180-gram vinyl release. Well, here's another Burrell album that's very tough to find: Take It From Me, an album led by Terry Gibbs on which Burrell appears as a sideman. As far as I can ...

1

Recording

Terry Gibbs: 92 Years Young

Terry Gibbs: 92 Years Young

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

One of the giants of the jazz vibraphone has just released a fabulous new album—92 Years Young: Jammin' at the Gibbs House (Whaling Cit Sound). It's a stone-cold swinging killer. Every single track on here is out-of-control great, proving that true beauty never ages. Gibbs's recording career goes back to 1946, when he waxed 78s with Aaron Sachs' Manor Re-bops, featuring Tiny Kahn on drums. For the next 71 years, Gibbs has played and recorded with virtually everyone of note. ...

158

Interview

Terry Gibbs on Benny Goodman

Terry Gibbs on Benny Goodman

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

"[In 1950, when I was in Benny Goodman's Sextet], Benny used to bug me every time I would start to play my jazz choruses. He would let me play for about eight bars, and if I started swinging, he'd immediately pick up his clarinet and join me in playing. But first he'd put his cigarette down on the edge of my vibes and then start playing with me. “The fist time I saw him do that, I stopped him and ...

141

Technology

The Jazz Session: Terry Gibbs

The Jazz Session: Terry Gibbs

Source: All About Jazz

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. This week, ASCAP, one of the organizations that safeguards performers' and composers' rights, announced that it will add Gibbs to its Jazz Wall of Fame in a ceremony on June 1 at Lincoln Center. Gibbs is already recognized as an ASCAP Jazz Living Legend for a career that spans the bebop era to the present day. In honor of Gibbs' award, The Jazz Session presents a ...

187

Recording

Jazzed Media to release new Terry Gibbs/Hubert Laws CD

Jazzed Media to release new Terry Gibbs/Hubert Laws CD

Source: All About Jazz

Jazzed Media is pleased to announce the upcoming release of jazz vibraphonist Terry Gibbs' latest CD with special guest Hubert Laws. Terry Gibbbs is recognized as one of the greatest jazz vibraphone players since the 1940's. Terry is joined by special guest Hubert Laws on flute. The new Terry Gibbs CD Findin' the Groove will be released by Jazzed Media in the Fall of 2006.

Jazzed Media is an independent jazz label based in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area producing ...

110

Recording

Terry Gibbs' '52nd & Broadway: Songs of the Bebop Era' Will Be Released On July 20

Terry Gibbs' '52nd & Broadway: Songs of the Bebop Era' Will Be Released On July 20

Source: All About Jazz

Terry Gibbs' new CD, 52nd & Broadway: Songs of the Bebop Era, is set to hit stores on July 20. The recording, which also features the talents of Nicholas Payton on trumpet and James Moody on sax, is a new take on twelve tunes that represent the bepop era, one of the most influential eras in the history of jazz. The album is more than a historical tribute. To bring such timeless classics as Lemon Drop, Cherokee, Round Midnight and ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Songs from My Father

Whaling City Sound
2021

buy

92 Years Young:...

Whaling City Sound
2017

buy

GrandMasters of Jazz

OpenArt Productions
2013

buy

Terry Gibbs Quartet...

Fresh Sound Records
2007

buy

Findin' the Groove

Jazzed Media
2006

buy

Feelin' Good: Live...

Mack Avenue Records
2005

buy

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.