Red Norvo Trio - Red Norvo Trio

1991 CD reissue.

The little band heard in these indispensable 1954 recordings was one of several versions of the trio led by the original jazz maven of the vibraharp. Guitarist Jimmy Raney and bassist Red Mitchell, two of the leading lights of the second bop wave, worked with the veteran Norvo (1908-1999) to develop chamber music of incomparable intricacy, intimacy, and swing. With few formal arrangements, the three achieved performance so interdependent that it was hard to believe they hadn’t been carefully charted. A great soloist, Norvo was also a brilliant accompanist and one of the premier masters of time. In every department, he was matched and complemented by Raney and Mitchell.