In the Manhattan jazz den known as Birdland, the seven-man combo was swinging up a storm. Its music had a fine, contrapuntal texture, played with a neatly organized air that is not characteristic of such outfits, and was several degrees warmer than most modern jazz. The leader: Austria's excellent young (26) Concert Pianist Friedrich Gulda, making his first professional appearance as a jazzman.
He sat at the grand piano, his large head listing heavily to port, his horn rims and high forehead giving him a scholarly appearance. Before him stood four blowers on trumpet, trombone and saxophones, men whose personal styles seemed...
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