Gerry Mulligan, during his formative years, played with the legendary Claude Thornhill Orchestra. From that experience he learned all the subtle ways to make a statement - and in the case of Thornhill it wasn't how loud you played, but how well you played softly. A lot of that influence from Thornhill was evident in this album by Elliot Lawrence, whose band straddled that mysterious area known as Progressive Big Band Jazz and Commercial Sweet band. In this setting it's a tribute to the arranging capabilities of Gerry Mulligan and tonight's track, Elegy For Two Clarinets is pure Thornhill from top to bottom.

It took forever, but this 1956 lp did finally see the light of reissue a few years back and is available on CD - whether it's still in print now is another matter.

But at least you have this to go on.