Cycling is in full, if often chilly, swing. Fruit trees and wildflowers are blossoming. On today’s 30-mile expedition through the back country heights, I came across this field in bloom and didn’t want to keep it to myself.
“Hello To The Season,”( to quote the title of a piece from Gary McFarland’s Point of Departure with Richie Kamuca, Jimmy Raney, Willie Dennis, Steve Swallow 
and Mel Lewis). I thought that this exquisite 1963 album had long since lapsed into unavailability. But this web site claims to have it as a CD. If that is true, run, don’t walk, to order it while it’s still around. At any moment, it could disappear again.
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
Doug–Thanks so much for letting us know about the availability of this recording on CD. I just ordered it.I bought the LP in college when it first came out. It featured one of my favorite tenormen–Richie Kamuca–not only playing tenor but double reeds! I have been looking for it on CD for years. It is a shame that Gary’s memory has faded over the years. He was a huge contributor to jazz in the 1960s. One of my best musical memories was seeing him live in San Francisco with a sextet that featured Phil Woods & Gabor Szabo.