Terry Gibbs

American jazz vibraphone player & bandleader, born: October 13, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. Father of Gerry Gibbs. Gibbs got his professional start on drums with the Judy Kayne band. After three years in the U.S. Army he returned to immediate activity in and around New York and to a revitalized jazz scene that vibrated to the new music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and other pioneers of the new era. After a brief term in with the Tommy Dorsey band, he toured Sweden with a group led by Chubby Jackson in December 1947-January 1948, then was featured with the Buddy Rich band until September 1948. When the Rich band folded, Gibbs joined Woody Herman's second Herd and won the international recognition that was so long overdue. During his year with Herman, Terry solidified a reputation for hard-swinging, unrelenting drive on vibes that enabled him to launch his own small groups in the years that followed. Since 1951 he has been one of the top jazz attractions in the U.S. In 1957 Gibbs settled in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Woodland Hills. He immediately laid plans for the realization of a long-held dream: to lead his own big band.