Composer/arranger Mike Gibbs and guitarist Bill Frisell have been listening to one another since they met at Berklee in the mid-1970s. (Gibbs was composer- in-residence and the younger Frisell was a freshman.) Frisell would go on to become one of the leading guitar voices of his generation, while Gibbs has built a reputation as an orchestra arranger and conductor for everyone from Joni Mitchell to Whitney Houston. Here,the two old friends reunite in front of Hamburg's well-drilled NDR Big Band (with Jeff Ballard guesting on drums) for an eclectic set of tunes (Frisell, Monk, Gil Evans, Lennon & McCartney). They are clearly designed by Gibbs to draw a response from Frisell, who does not disappoint. cuneiformrecords. com