"Too Close for Comfort" features both saxophonists on their swapped instruments on the 1957 Verve album Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi, with Stan Getz taking the first two-chorus solo on baritone saxophone over the 40-bar AABAB form at 152 beats per minute in E-flat major. Getz's baritone playing retains the airy, singing quality that defined his tenor work, his phrases flowing with characteristic grace despite the larger instrument's physical demands. Mulligan follows with two equally substantial choruses on tenor, bringing his characteristically witty melodic sense to the higher horn. Jerry Bock's composition, from the 1956 musical Mr. Wonderful, provides an extended form that gives both soloists ample room to develop their ideas. The medium swing tempo is particularly well suited to the instrument-swap concept, fast enough to swing but not so rapid as to expose any technical limitations on the unfamiliar horns. Lou Levy on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Stan Levey on drums maintain a supportive rhythmic framework throughout. This performance exemplifies the album's central artistic proposition: that the qualities that make Getz and Mulligan great musicians are not dependent on which saxophone they happen to be playing but reside in their fundamental musicianship and creative imagination.
