Good Vibes - (Studies in Jazz) by Terry Gibbs (Hardcover)

About the Book

Good Vibes is a rollicking autobiography that tracks jazz from the turbulent post-war years through the rise of bebop, traversing its changes through the eyes of one of its greatest practitioners. Gibbs's hilarious, poignant, and always fascinating anecdotes reveal little-know...

Book Synopsis

Good Vibes is a rollicking autobiography that tracks jazz from the turbulent post-war years through the rise of bebop, traversing its changes through the eyes of one of its greatest practitioners. Gibbs's hilarious, poignant, and always fascinating anecdotes reveal little-known attributes and quirks about legendary personalities such as Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Steve Allen, Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Billie Holiday, and many more. A foreword by Chubby Jackson, a discography, and an index round out this work.

Review Quotes

...a good read!

...focuses on his career highlights, Terry's professional activities and takes the reader through the tumultuous life of a young and exceptional jazz player. The book tracks postwar jazz to the embellishment and creation of bebop as seen from the vantage and ponderance of one [of the most] creative, virtuoso vibraphonist ever to play the instrument.... The book chronicles Terry's musical contributions, plus personal and hilarious anecdotes, quirks, and attributes of many of the jazz and music personalities he has worked with and associated with over his long and brilliant career.

...Gibbs' book provides absorbing reading, whether he's recounting humorous show business experiences, giving his take on racial discrimination or describing his handling of stars' ego "issues"...Gibbs provides good lessons in musical choices and human relations.

A story that ebbs and flows like a good jazz improvisation...a never-a-dull-moment view of the jazz life - Gibbs seems to have known or played with everyone of consequence...Hard to beat.

Anyone who's ever spent time with Gibbs knows that in addition to his enormous skills as a vibist, he is one of jazz's great stortytellers. This immensely entertaining book reads like a marathon conversation touching every aspect of Gibbs' career, from his early infatuation with bebop to the recent release of an album by his '50s and '60s "Dream Band." Be prepared to laugh, to cry, to fully experience the inner world of the bebop life.

As interesting as [Terry's] basic life story is, however, it is the anecdotes about the plethora of notable jazz musicians who were part of his personal and professional life that give this volume a special dimension. Gibbs has a natural flair for telling tales in a way that gives special insight into the character and personality of his associates. He tells these stories with a terrific sense of humor and an unstinting candor, never honey-coating the world of jazz....

For those of us who truly loved the Big Band Era, the sound of Terry Gibbs's Dream Band was pure heaven...I was actually in the audience during those 1959 recordings, and you can hear me yelling. I think I'm entitled to some royalties...as my good friend Ron Clark once said, 'Terry Gibbs is no vibraphoney...He's the real thing.'

Full of humour, insight, pathos and musical revelation...Most readers will find much of value in Gibb's memoir.

Gibbs...is a national treasure, and his book...provides invaluable insight into what it was like to live and play with performers ranging from swingers Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich to boppers like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell.

Gibbs' style as a storyteller is a lot like his style as one of the top vibes players in jazz-spirited, frenetic, quirky and highly entertaining. And after nearly 70 years of performing, with everyone for Tommy Dorsey to Charlie Parker, Gibbs has a lot of stories to tell, many of them memorable, most of them hilarious....Gibbs' lighthearted autobiography... effectively captures his fast-talking, wisecracking, enormously good-natured personality...his story's a good one.

I believe that the legacy of [Gibbs]'s artistic achievement will live on throughout the millennium.

Most entertaining! Never shy with his point of view, [Gibbs] comments on fellow-musicians with a welcome mix of frankness and generosity.

Not only one of the world's greatest vibraphonists, but a wonderful storyteller too. Read on!

One of the greats was Terry Gibbs, who brought something to the show besides his great vibe-playing - great personality and a great sense of humor.

One of the most entertaining pieces of oral history I have read in a long time...Great stuff! A must.

Terry is a living legend in the real sense.

Terry Gibbs is not only one of the greatest jazz vibraphonists of all time, with his warm sound, remarkable technique and fertile imagination, but he is a masterful storyteller. His enthusiastic, informative and often witty stories add to the legacy of jazz history. Terry Gibbs has played with the greats of the past 60 years, and fortunately is still with us to tell us what he remembers, in typically colorful style.

Terry Gibbs is the world's greatest bandleader...he always had a real Jazz band with the greatest players in the world.

Terry Gibbs was smack dab in the middle of the great be-bop revolution...no one is better equipped to tell the stories in this book. He has great wit and a fantastic memory.

Terry Gibbs will go down in history as one of the most influential and dedicated musicians of our time. His Dream Band and small groups were always swinging and classy.

The only band I've ever had in all the shows I've ever done was The Terry Gibbs Sextet...I probably didn't realize it then but Terry had assembled the greatest players in the world. God, they were good. And there standing in front of them was Terry Gibbs. What a whirlwind he was. When I think about that show and those days, I get a terrific sense of pride.

When he talks and when he plays, Terry Gibbs tells us stories, and in these pages he's told his best one yet, his own. It is a fascinating tale that covers many of jazz's greatest years and features a multitude of its greatest players, and it unfolds like a great Gibbs solo, with never a dull moment.

About the Author

Terry Gibbs is a professional vibraphonist and bandleader. Cary Ginell is the owner of Sound Thinking Music Research and a partner of the Origin Jazz Library record label. He has published numerous book and articles.