The group name is a play on the leader’s first name and the title of an AMC television series. Violinist Mads Tolling revisits an iconic decade of music with Mads Tolling & The Mads Men, Playing the 60s.

The Mads Men are Tolling, violin, viola and baritone violin; Colin Hogan, piano, Hammond B3 organ, Fender Rhodes and accordion; Sam Bevan, bass; and Eric Garland, drums. Special guests appear on a few tracks. “My Girl” features Kalil Wilson, vocals; and Susanna Porte, cello. “The Look of Love” brings Spencer Day, vocals; Ricardo Peixoto, guitar; Joe Hebert, cello; Dan Feiszli, bass; and Spencer Day, vocals. Vocalist Kenny Washington appears on “What a Wonderful World,” and bassist Stanley Clarke steps in for “Beautiful Savior – Dejlig er Jorden.”

Tolling kicks things off with “A Taste of Honey. The violin hums brightly during the verse, jumping an octave on the second pass. The Herb Alpert recording straddles the line between big band jazz and easy listening. Tolling goes all jazz with this arrangement. After the second intro, he stretches out with some cool, crisp, finger-snapping grooves by The Mads Men. Hogan takes a turn, then Bevan and Garland lick their chops in a sizzling interlude.

Garland, Bevan and Hogan perfectly capture the opening to Henry Mancini’s “The Pink Panther.” Tolling covers the lead. During the middle break, his penchant for improvisation goes full throttle. And his accompanists feel it, too. Bevan scats along during his solo.

The series Mad Men is said to be inspired by the Madison Avenue advertising firms of the 1960s. Music of that period can be heard in each episode. In the liner notes, Tolling explains that it was the decade of the Smiley Face, “which could be found on anything and everything around the world,” as well as the Vietnam war, civil rights activism and riots, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Space Race. “Whether we are 15 or 70 years old, we’re influenced by this period without even being aware,” he writes. “The 60s are, to this day, a magical decade. It brings generations together like no other time in history. If not for the 60s, I’m not sure I’d be playing music today.

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Motown were iconic in popular music. Other songs revisited in this set include “Mission: Impossible,” “Georgia On My Mind” and the medley of “Meet the Flintstones / I Got Rhythm.”

The musicians shine throughout Playing the 60s with Tolling and Bevan splitting most of the arrangements. Garland arranged the “Peter Gunn” cover. The entire set runs at just under 70 minutes and includes a fair balance of radio hits, television and movie themes.

Tolling, a two-time Grammy winner, was born in Denmark and is now a U.S. citizen, based in the San Francisco area. He gained acclaim when touring with Stanley Clarke and recording with the Turtle Island Quartet. In 2016, he was named winner of DownBeat magazine’s Critics Poll for Rising Star Violinist. Though he started playing classical music as a youth, a cassette recording of Miles Davis turned him onto jazz.