Terry Gibbs plays a series of original blues riffs on this sextet session from 1963, which was first issued as a Time LP entitled
Gibbs/Nistico. The focus is primarily on the vibraphonist and tenor saxophonist
Sal Nistico, with
Benny Goodman veteran
Turk Van Lake on guitar and
Nat Pierce (organ), bassist Charlie Andrus and drummer
Jake Hanna on loan from the then-current edition of
Woody Herman's band.
Gibbs and
Nistico deliver consistently strong solos, especially in the uptempo cooker "The Tweaker." The substitution of organ for the usual piano in
Gibbs' rhythm section adds to the bluesy flavor of the date and while the music is enjoyable, none of the songs is particularly memorable. Reissued by Mainstream as
It's Time We Met a few years after the demise of Time, either pressing of this long unavailable album should be considered somewhat difficult to acquire.