Gerry Mulligan
The most famous and probably greatest jazz baritonist of all time, Gerry Mulligan was a giant. A flexible soloist who was always ready to jam with anyone from Dixielanders to the most advanced boppers, Mulligan brought a somewhat revolutionary light sound to his potentially awkward and brutal horn and played with the speed and dexterity of an altoist.
Mulligan started on the piano before learning clarinet and the various saxophones. His initial reputation was as an arranger. In 1944 he wrote charts for Johnny Warrington's radio band and soon was making contributions to the books of Tommy Tucker and George Paxton. He moved to New York in 1946 and joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra as a staff arranger; his most notable chart was "Disc Jockey Jump." The rare times he played with Krupa's band was on alto and the same situation existed when he was with Claude Thornhill in 1948.
Gerry Mulligan's first notable recorded work on baritone was with Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool nonet (1948-50) but once again his arrangements ("Godchild," "Darn That Dream" and three of his originals "Jeru," "Rocker" and "Venus de Milo") were more significant than his short solos. Mulligan spent much of 1949 writing for Elliot Lawrence's orchestra and playing anonymously in the saxophone section. It was not until 1951 that he began to get a bit of attention for his work on baritone. Mulligan recorded with his own nonet for Prestige, displaying an already recognizable sound. After he traveled to Los Angeles, he wrote some arrangements for Stan Kenton (including "Youngblood," "Swing House" and "Walking Shoes"), worked at the Lighthouse and then gained a regular Monday night engagement at the Haig. Around this time Mulligan realized that he enjoyed the extra freedom of soloing without a pianist. He jammed with trumpeter Chet Baker and soon their magical rapport was featured in his piano-less quartet. The group caught on quickly in 1952 and made both Mulligan and Baker into stars.
A drug bust put Mulligan out of action and ended that quartet but, when he was released from jail in 1954, Mulligan began a new musical partnership with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer that was just as successful. Trumpeter Jon Eardley and Zoot Sims on tenor occasionally made the group a sextet and in 1958 trumpeter Art Farmer was featured in Mulligan's Quartet. Being a very flexible player with respect for other stylists, Mulligan went out of his way to record with some of the great musicians he admired. At the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival he traded off with baritonist Harry Carney on "Prima Bara Dubla" while backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and during 1957-60 he recorded separate albums with Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges. Mulligan played on the classic Sound of Jazz television special in 1958 and appeared in the movies I Want to Live and The Subterraneans.
During 1960-64 Mulligan led his Concert Jazz Band which gave him an opportunity to write, play baritone and occasionally double on piano. The orchestra at times included Brookmeyer, Sims, Clark Terry and Mel Lewis. Mulligan was a little less active after the big band broke up but he toured extensively with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1968-72), had a part-time big band in the 1970s (the Age of Steam), doubled on soprano for a period, led a mid-'70s sextet that included vibraphonist Dave Samuels, and in 1986 jammed on a record with Scott Hamilton. In the 1990s he toured the world with his excellent "no-name" quartet and led a "Rebirth of the Cool Band" that performed and recorded remakes of the Miles Davis Nonet classics. Up until the end, Gerry Mulligan was always eager to play.
Among Mulligan's compositions were "Walkin' Shoes," "Line for Lyons," "Bark for Barksdale," "Nights at the Turntable," "Utter Chaos," "Soft Shoe," "Blueport," "Song for Strayhorn," "Song for an Unfinished Woman" and "I Never Was a Young Man" (which he often sang). He recorded extensively through the years for such labels as Prestige, Pacific Jazz, Capitol, Vogue, EmArcy, Columbia, Verve, Milestone, United Artists, Philips, Limelight, A&M, CTI, Chiaroscuro, Who's Who, DRG, Concord and GRP.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
The Rare Albums Collection
Jazz - Erschienen bei ENLIGHTENMENT am 14.01.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live & Rare Sessions (Gerry Mulligan)
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei Master Classics Records am 01.02.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Jazz Combo from 'I Want to Live!'
Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Shelly Manne
Jazz - Erschienen bei Stage Door am 01.01.1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Getz Meets Mulligan in Hifi
Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz Quintet
Jazz - Erschienen bei T.B. Jazz Classics am 18.12.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Mulligan Meets Monk (Mono Version)
Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan
Jazz - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Original Sextet
Jazz - Erschienen bei Lone Hill Jazz am 28.06.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Supreme Jazz - Gerry Mulligan
Jazz - Erschienen bei Supreme Jazz am 01.09.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Iconic Jazz: Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan - Blues in Time / Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazzy Princes - OMiP am 14.07.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Music My Love
Jazz - Erschienen bei My Music My Love TM am 07.01.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster
Jazz - Erschienen bei Firefly Entertainment am 14.07.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Collection (Digitally Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Avid Entertainment am 20.11.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Giants '58 (Bonus Track Version)
Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Harry "Sweets" Edison
Jazz - Erschienen bei Starlight Jazz am 08.07.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz After Midnight
Jazz - Erschienen bei Silver Classics Jazz am 16.03.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Jazz Collection: Blues In Time
Gerry Mulligan, Paul Desmond Quartet
Jazz - Erschienen bei Diamond Days am 05.05.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei Firefly Entertainment am 14.07.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gerry Mulligan meets Hamp
Gerry Mulligan, Lionel Hampton
Jazz - Erschienen bei West Wind am 29.10.1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
'Round Midnight
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazz Archives Records am 20.03.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
My Sweet Home (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei That's What Records am 13.05.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo