Gerry Mulligan Sextet

Widely acknowledged as the preeminent and arguably most accomplished jazz baritone saxophonist in history, Gerry Mulligan loomed as an imposing presence. An adaptable improviser perpetually open to collective sessions spanning Dixieland traditionalists and forward-thinking bebop practitioners, he infused his inherently cumbersome and forceful instrument with an innovative airy timbre, executing lines at the velocity and nimbleness characteristic of alto players.

Mulligan began on piano before taking up clarinet and all the saxophones. His earliest acclaim came as an arranger. During 1944 he prepared scores for Johnny Warrington’s radio ensemble and soon contributed pieces to the repertoires of Tommy Tucker and George Paxton. Relocating to New York in 1946, he served as staff arranger for Gene Krupa’s Orchestra, where his standout chart was “Disc Jockey Jump.” The infrequent occasions he performed with Krupa’s group found him on alto, a pattern that repeated during his 1948 tenure with Claude Thornhill.

Mulligan’s earliest noteworthy baritone appearances on record occurred with Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool nonet (1948–50), yet once more his charts (“Godchild,” “Darn That Dream,” and three originals: “Jeru,” “Rocker,” and “Venus de Milo”) outweighed his brief solos in impact. He devoted much of 1949 to composing for Elliot Lawrence’s orchestra and sitting incognito in the saxophone section. Recognition for his baritone work arrived only in 1951, when he cut sides with his own nonet for Prestige and unveiled an already distinctive voice. After moving to Los Angeles he supplied charts for Stan Kenton (among them “Youngblood,” “Swing House,” and “Walking Shoes”), performed at the Lighthouse, and secured a weekly Monday slot at the Haig. Around this period Mulligan discovered the added liberty of playing without piano support. He collaborated informally with trumpeter Chet Baker, and their instinctive chemistry soon defined his pianoless quartet. The ensemble rose swiftly in 1952, elevating both Mulligan and Baker to prominence.

A narcotics arrest sidelined Mulligan and dissolved that quartet, but upon his release from jail in 1954 he formed a comparably fruitful alliance with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. Trumpeter Jon Eardley and tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims periodically expanded the unit to a sextet; in 1958 trumpeter Art Farmer joined Mulligan’s Quartet. A highly adaptable musician who esteemed fellow stylists, Mulligan actively sought recordings with admired masters. At the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival he alternated with baritonist Harry Carney on “Prima Bara Dubla,” accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and between 1957 and 1960 he issued separate albums with Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Ben Webster, and Johnny Hodges. He appeared on the landmark Sound of Jazz television broadcast in 1958 and performed in the films I Want to Live and The Subterraneans.

From 1960 to 1964 Mulligan directed his Concert Jazz Band, affording opportunities to compose, play baritone, and double occasionally on piano. The ensemble at various times featured Brookmeyer, Sims, Clark Terry, and Mel Lewis. Following the orchestra’s dissolution Mulligan maintained a lower profile yet toured widely with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1968–72), maintained a part-time big band in the 1970s (the Age of Steam), doubled on soprano for a stretch, led a mid-1970s sextet including vibraphonist Dave Samuels, and in 1986 recorded with Scott Hamilton. Throughout the 1990s he traveled globally with his accomplished “no-name” quartet and fronted a “Rebirth of the Cool Band” that performed and documented updated versions of the Miles Davis Nonet repertoire. Until his final days Gerry Mulligan remained eager to perform.

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 frequently sang). He recorded prolifically across decades for Prestige, Pacific Jazz, Capitol, Vogue, EmArcy, Columbia, Verve, Milestone, United Artists, Philips, Limelight, A&M, CTI, Chiaroscuro, Who’s Who, DRG, Concord, and GRP.