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's 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 pianoless 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 Fetival 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 opporunity 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 clasics. 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," "Bernie's Tune," "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, All-Music Guide
Gerry Mulligan Album Covers
Birth Of The Cool Vol. 2
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