4 1/2 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce's last ensemble was an outstanding sextet called the 'Orchtette' that featured trumpeter Richard Williams, vibraphonist Eddie Costa and pianist Richard Wyands. Active during 1960-61, the band has only been documented up to now on five tracks of of an LP for the Mercury label. This new Uptown CD provides further fascinating examples of the 'Orch-tette' recorded in performance at Birdland and in two studio sessions from which nothing was ever released. Within a year, he had left the jazz world never to be seen again. These recordings not only provide high quality music in the hard-bop genre but also serve as important and revealing additions to Gryce's legacy.

PERSONNEL:

[1-4] GIGI GRYGRYCE SEXTET / 1961 BIRDLAND BROADCAST:
GIGI GRYCE (as)
RICHARD WILLIAMS (tp)
EDDIE COSTA (vib)
RICHARD WYANDS (p)
JULIAN EUELL (b)
MICKEY ROKER (d).

Birland, New York, August 19, 1961.

[5-6] GIGI GRYGRYCE SEXTET 1961/ UNISSUED RECORDING SESSION:
Same personnel as above.
A&R Studio, New York, 1961.

[7-12] GIGI GRYGRYCE QUINTET 1960 UNISSUED RECORDING SESSION:

GIGI GRYCE (as), RICHARD WILLIAMS (tp), RICHARD WYANDS (p).
Bass and drum unknow.
Nola's Penthouse Sound Studios, New York, early 1960.

[13-18] GIGI GRYGRYCE QUINTET / 1957 SIGNAL RECORDS PARTY:

GIGI GRYCE, alto sax
CECIL PAYNE, baritone sax
DUKE JORDAN, piano
WENDELL MARSHALL, bass
ART TAYLOR, drums

Golden Thread Café, Hotel New Yorker, New York, June 24, 1957.

TRACKS:

01. Blues In Bloom
02. A Premonition Of You
03. A Night In Tunisia
04. Down Home
05. Blues In Moon
06. Dancing the Gigi
07. Sonor
08. Down Home
09. Take the A Train
10. Stompin' at the Savoy
11. I'll Walk Alone
12. Caravan
13. All The Thing You Are
14. Annouuncements by Al “Jazzbo” Collins & Hugh Downs
15. Movin'
16. There Will Never Be Another You
17. Man of Moods
18. The Blues Walk