MCG is a "concert studio"- a recording studio with audience seating. It's a really nice space in which to play. There did seem to be an audience present- I could hear applause (in my headphones) after a couple solos, but not at the end of tunes, so there must have been some editing.
GA, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree about the comparison to Gordon Goodwin. I don't hear any similarities between the two- to my ears Mintzer's harmonic/melodic/rhythmic content is much more interesting than GG's. GG's music to me sounds like a cartoon soundtrack- entertaining but not particularly substantial. He has some fantastic musicians in his band, but his writing doesn't do much for me. I definitely don't think Mintzer is borrowing from him (again, just my opinion).
This isn't my favorite Mintzer side (although he did write a great arrangement of "For All We Know") but it still is infinitely more interesting to me than anything of GG. Just my opinion.