Search - Shorty Rogers :: Gigi in Jazz

Gigi is a swinger

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 08/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here is a very mellow yet swinging jazz take on a Lerner and Loewe score that most people would not normally associate with jazz. But Shorty and the Giants really pull it off nicely. The first tune, THE NIGHT THEY INVENTED CHAMPAGNE, sets the stage: taken medium-up, it's a very relaxed performance with everyone soloing nicely. IT'S A BORE is an up-tempo swinger with excellent Shorty on flugelhorn and good solos from tenorman Bill Holman and pianist Pete Jolly. I'M GLAD I'M NOT YOUNG ANYMORE is also taken briskly with Shorty on open horn (he's often muted) and wonderful interplay between him and Holman. Larry Bunker is on vibes and plays especially well on SHE'S NOT THINKING OF ME. Best track of all is THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE GIRLS, which swings hard from the git-go and has an excellent arrangement by (I assume) Rogers; these little girls are a hip group: no pig-tailed cutesies here. Everyone plays very well on this date, though special kudos perhaps should go to Bill Holman who is especially outstanding. Gigi in a jazz setting would never have crossed my mind - until this album appeared. In Shorty Rogers's hands it now seems a natural."