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White baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan (1927) was the evangelist of cool jazz
on the West Coast, the land of Stan Kenton and Dave Brubeck.
Having spent his formative years writing arrangements for
Gene Krupa (1946), such as Disc Jockey Jump (may 1946),
Claude Thornhill (1947), such as Elevation (october 1948),
and Miles Davis (1948), such as Venus De Milo (april 1949) and
Jeru (january 1949),
Mulligan scored the compositions of Mulligan Plays Mulligan (august 1951)
for a two-baritone nonet (notably Bweebida Bobbida). He then moved to Los Angeles and formed
a piano-less quartet with trumpeter Chet Baker and drummer Chico Hamilton.
Baker's romantic phrasing was an odd counterpart to Mulligan's abstract
ruminations, but the synthesis pushed the boundaries of jazz music.
The 78 rpm single (record in august 1952) with Bernice Petkere's Lullaby of the Leaves and Bernie Miller's Bernie's Tune (their first release),
the 10" album Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Pacific Jazz, september 1952), with
Nights at the Turntable and Walkin' Shoes,
and Mulligan Quartet (Fantasy, october 1952), with
Line for Lyons
and Bark for Barksdale, crafted
the antithesis between Mulligan (the brain) and Baker (the heart) that would
remain the trademark of West Coast's cool jazz.
His brand of cool jazz was lighter, catchier, and, ultimately, warmer.
Mulligan later returned to the piano-less quartet format for
Utter Chaos (august 1952),
Motel (february 1953),
Turnstile (january 1953),
and the album
What Is There To Say (january 1959), with Art Farmer on trumpet.
Other notable compositions were Westwood Walk and A Ballad, off Tentette (january 1953) including Bud Shank, Chet Baker and Chico Hamilton,
Demanton (september 1955), for a sextet with Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims,
and Song for an Unfinished Woman (october 1972).
In 1960 he formed a Concert Jazz Band, featuring trombonist Bob Brookmeyer,
Bill Holman, tenor saxophonist Al Cohn, George Russell, vibraphonist Gary McFarland, Zoot Sims, trumpeter Clark Terry, drummer Mel Lewis, etc.
He co-composed with Bill Holman a Music for Baritone Saxophone and Orchestra (1964, premiered in january 1966).
He resumed the idea of the Concert Jazz Band for his album The Age Of Steam (july 1971), that contained his Grand Tour , K4 Pacific and Golden Notebooks.
Mulligan died in 1996.
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