What is your favorite key? Assuming that it’s not Z-minor, you will find it in the video below. Vibraharpist (vibraphonist, if you prefer) Terry Gibbs explains in his introduction. Gibbs’s companions in the key-change extravaganza are Buddy DeFranco, clarinet; Herb Ellis, guitar; Larry Novak, piano; Milt Hinton, bass; and Butch Miles, drums. It was taped in 1991 at a concert in Japan. It was fitting that this video was posted on youtube today because this would have been DeFranco’s 96th birthday. He was born in 1923 and died in 2014.
Gibbs, a year younger than DeFranco, has cut back on performing, but makes occasional appearances.
Buddy DeFranco, RIP