The Classic Concert Live

1	I've Heard That Song Before/Talk / Mel Tormé 2:53
2	I Sent for You Yesterday and Here You Come Today/Talk / Mel Tormé 4:55
3	Jeru / Mel Tormé 4:05
4	Duke Ellington Medley: Don't Get Around Much Anymore/Juest Aqueeze ... / Mel Tormé 5:24
5	What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life / Mel Tormé 6:20
6	Walkin' Shoes/Talk / Mel Tormé 3:58
7	'Round Midnight / Mel Tormé 5:56
8	Line for Lyons / Mel Tormé 5:22
9	Talk / Mel Tormé 0:52
10	Wave/Agua de Beber/Talk / Mel Tormé 6:03
11	Blues in the Night / Mel Tormé 11:28
12	The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On) / Mel Tormé 3:05
13	Lady Be Good / Mel Tormé 4:47

Barnes & Noble

Excerpted from a two-hour NPR broadcast of a June 1982 JVC Jazz Festival concert at Carnegie Hall, The Classic Concert Live documents the first meeting of the Gerry Mulligan big band with vocalist Mel Tormé and pianist George Shearing. The three jazz giants are in peak form, interpreting -- with individuality and panache -- repertoire from Ellington, Basie, Monk, Jobim, Arlen, Berlin, and Gershwin, as well as three rearranged Mulligan classics. Apparently, the concert included several strong all-instrumental performances, but the edit frames it as an all-Tormé affair. Whether crooning a torch song ("Round Midnight," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"), belting the blues ("Sent for You Yesterday"), or scatting ("Jeru," "Wave"), Tormé is in superb voice, making the most complex intervals and gnarliest phrasings sound like a veritable stroll in the park. Shearing accompanies with the impeccable self-effacement of a master butler; his solos follow a poetic arc with the inevitable flow of a sonnet. Mulligan allows plenty of room for his mellow baritone sax, a tonal complement to Tormé's velvety instrument; his arrangements and scorings serve the function, pose musical challenges for the players, and communicate to the audience. The concert itself is beautifully paced, climaxing with a kaleidoscopic, tour-de-force treatment of Harold Arlen's "Blues in the Night" on which all streams converge. A consequential addition to the respective discographies of each artist. Ted Panken

All Music Guide

Classic Concert Live finds baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, pianist George Shearing, and vocalist Mel Tormé performing together with a big band in 1982 at Carnegie Hall. The trio first performed in 1977, but this marks the only recorded document of the group. Generally the tone is light and swinging as befits the cool jazz background of Mulligan and "Velvet Fog" reputation of Tormé. Similarly, Shearing is in fine form with his urbane keyboard style adding dramatic punch throughout the night. Whether performing one of Mulligan's classic compositions such as "Line for Lyons" or a standard like "What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life," the trio sounds terrific. Matt Collar