JazzProfiles: The Four Freshmen: A Vocal Quartet with Quarter Tones [From The Archives]

Thursday, June 16, 2022

The Four Freshmen: A Vocal Quartet with Quarter Tones [From The Archives]

I received so many requests to bring this feature up again, so here goes.

What's especially fun about this essay is that it "unlocks" the secret of how The Four Freshmen created their unique sound.

In retrospect, it’s amazing to consider having ever taken The Four Freshmen for granted.

Yet for many years, that’s exactly what I did.

I mean, as a Jazz vocal group, they were still right up there with The Pied Pipers, The Hi-Lo’s, and Mel Torme’s Mel-tones, but I was spoiled back in the days when The Four Freshman made their first, recorded appearances in the early 1950s.

Good vocal Jazz was everywhere, so one had a tendency in those days to expect marvelous music from a newly arrived group on the scene.

But somehow, The Four Freshmen demanded a closer listening and I kept going back and back and doing just that – listening more closely to the point when it finally dawned on me that something very special was going on in their music.

But what?

Why were The Four Freshmen above-the-line; why did I eventually come to view them as virtually being in a class by themselves?

The reasons for their uniqueness is in The Four Freshmen’s use of quarter tones and the manner in which they “voice” their chords as explained in the following excerpt from the insert notes to The Complete Capitol Four Freshmen Fifties Session, a nine-disc set issued by Michael Cuscuna and his team at Mosaic Records [MD9-203].

At least I had enough of a discriminating sense to jump on a copy of this set when it first appeared. It was issued in a limited edition of 3,500 and my copy is numbered “0079.”

The Mosaic set notes were prepared by Ross Barbour, one of the Freshmen’s founding members. In them, Ross not only describes what gave the group its distinctive sound, but also how the group got its start with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, an association that would continue for almost three decades, and ultimately came to be recorded by Capitol Records.

Ross’s annotations and remembrances are followed with an article by William H. Smith that also touches on the roots of the group and the reasons why The Four Freshmen successfully carry on to this day.

“Bob Flanigan and Don and Ross Barbour are cousins. Our mothers were sisters. My brother Don and I are from Columbus, Indiana. Bob Flanigan is from Greencastle, Indiana.

When we were just grade-schoolers, we would go to our mothers' family reunions and at noon the Fodreas would all stand and sing the Doxology before we ate. (Praise God from whom all blessings flow, etc.) In mother's family, there were 10 girls and two boys. They all sang in quartets, choirs and choruses. They sang harmony so right it made the rafters ring. It took our breath away.

The way they sang those notes made a different sound from playing those notes on a keyboard. I never understood why they were so different until I read an article in an old Barbershopper's newsletter. The harmonizer of September 1954, Paul Vandervoort of Hey wood, Illinois, wrote the article, and he got his information from The Outline of Knowledge Encyclopedia, and an article entitled "Sound Physics."

It seems that in about 1700, the musical scale was quite complicated. An octave had 20 or more notes in it. Between F and G, for instance, there was F sharp, G double flat and G flat. That was called the "perfect diatonic scale."

Johann Sebastian Bach came along and changed all this. He formed what is known as the "tempered scale" by choosing 12 of the 20-plus notes, and having his piano tuned that way. It was a lot simpler, but the beautiful quarter tones were left out. People's ears could still hear them and harmony singers knew how to use them to make what are called overtones, but they were just not on a keyboard anymore.

Bob, Don and I were hearing those overtones or harmonics as kids, and we became addicted to them. We couldn't get enough. I sang in quartets in high school and in college, and I sang with the Four Freshmen for 29 years. I never got enough. I have been a Freshmen fan since I retired undefeated in 1977, and I still need to hear overtones.

In our early Four Freshmen days, we rehearsed without instruments. If a chord we sang couldn't stand up and say its name (I'm a D-ninth or I'm an F-seventh), we would change it until it did.

We used bass and guitar for our background, but they never played the exact notes we were singing. Our harmony could happen almost unfettered by the demand of a keyboard — demand that would channel us back into Bach's 12 half-steps per octave.

If my note was a major seventh, I could sing it on top of the note — sing it sharp, you might say, so it and the tonic note became a little less than a half-step apart. That's what makes it buzz in your ear.

If we wanted a dominant seventh to ring, we'd sing it on the bottom of the pitch — especially if the voice leading was going down through that dominant seventh.

A major third should be sung brightly on top of the pitch, and a minor third should hang on the bottom.

We were singing those notes not because they were written and the piano said the pitch was "there." We sang them because they harmonized. They made overtones in our ears.

And we didn't discover some great breakthrough in harmony. Good barbershop singers do it all the time; in fact singers have been doing it since at least the year 1700.

It may be that we were the first modern vocal group the world noticed who put the emphasis on harmony and overtones, but we won't be the last. Other groups are bound to succeed in doing it because there is something in people's ears that needs harmony. That thing can make your hair stand up when a chord rings. It can make you shout right out loud!

That article about "Sound Physics" goes on to say that Handel, the great composer, "could not stand to hear music played in the tempered scale." He had an organ built that would play all the notes in the perfect diatonic scale. Boy! That would be a bear to play!

In 1947, Hal Kratzsch was 22, Bob 21, Don 20 and I was 18. We were all freshmen at Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis. We'd all sung in vocal groups before and singing harmony parts came naturally to us.

Bob had been a member of a Greencastle vocal group that had a radio show in Indianapolis for a while. He went into the service out of high school, and played trombone through his army time in

Germany

, except when the dance band needed a bass player. He learned to play bass on the job. After the service he enrolled in A.J.C. in 1947.

Don played guitar through high school and a couple of years in Arabia with the Air Force. I had graduated from high school in the spring of 1947. Don and I came to college together that fall.

Hal, who was from Warsaw, Indiana, played trumpet in high school and in the Navy in the South Pacific. He came from the service to Indiana University for a year before transferring to A.J.C.

Hal and I met in theory class. He had the idea of putting together a quartet. At that time, we thought a modern vocal group needed a girl to sing lead, so Hal, Don and I rehearsed with a girl named Marilyn for almost a month, before we found out that Marilyn's mom wouldn't let her go sing with three guys in late-night places.

When we got Bob in the group, our sound really started to take shape. Bob's lead voice has influenced generations... strong and clear.

Hal knew from instinct how to sing the bottom part, and he did it his way. He seldom sang the tonic, and often sang the ninth or passing tones through the chords. His pitch was so secure, we could stand our chords up on his note.

Don had such a wide range. We needed his upper register in his second part, and he came through with it so well and so strong. I was a natural baritone or third voice. It was more natural for me to sing harmonies than to sing melodies. It was up to us to fill in — to color — that large area between Bob and Hal.

With voices like these we could make rainbows of color chords, so we did. In the beginning we chose our own notes — made up our own individual parts, but we didn't do it straight through a song. On Poinciana, we would agree to sing "oh" in unison. Then "poin" was a chord to solve. After we had that one, then we went for "ci" and the notes had to flow from "poin" to "ci", then on to "ana." Okay, let's try it from the top. Are there any chords we can make stronger? Let's try making two chords out of "ci" — when I do this, you do that. Maybe a whole hour goes by and you haven't tried all the ideas. But you should keep trying because the next idea may just make all of you jump and shout.

We were trying to sound like Stan Kenton's vocal group, The Pastels. There were five of them and four of us, but that didn't stop us. Mel Torme had a five-part group with Artie Shaw's band called The Mel Tones. We tried to copy them, too. The way it turned out, we invented a sound by trying to get a five-part sound with four voices. (Other elements to our sound came about serendipitously. At a show in El Paso on December 8, 1951, Don broke a high E string on his guitar, and he didn't have a spare. Well, the show had go on, so Don replaced it with a third string and tuned it an octave lower. From that day on, Don's guitar didn't sound like other guitars. It was great for our sound. The lower string added a density to the range where we sang.)

We went on the road Sept. 20, 1948, working lounges (most of them dingy dives) around the Midwest for a year and a half, honing our music and our stage presentation.

In February 1950, we were working the Pla Bowl Lounge in Calumet City, Illinois. We'd work until 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. and then we would go to jam sessions. The 19th was a Sunday night — the end of our week. Mondays were off. We went to the High Note in Chicago for a session that began about 4:00 a.m. Monday. The place was full of the right people — Marian McPartland, Roy Kral and Jackie Cain, Jeri Southern, and one of our favorites, Mary Ann McCall. She was on stage singing with the Max Miller Trio. It was a song we knew so we got up there, too, and sang "dooooo" with her. It must have sounded pretty good because at the end of the song, Mary Ann said on the microphone, "Hey, Woody, we're ready to go." A guy at the bar stood up and said something back to her. We caught our breath. It was Woody Herman!

In the next few minutes, he and Mary Ann explained how Woody was going to put together a new band in a few months; he would call it "The Band That Plays the Music You Want to Dance To," or some such title. He wanted us four to play in the band, and sing as a quartet a half dozen tunes a night.

We loved the Herman Herds and the way Mary Ann sang. Oh! It seemed that life couldn't get any better. Just one month later, Stan Kenton had us reaching for the moon (our own record contract) and believing it was possible.

Stan heard us in the Esquire Lounge in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday, March 21. He was on tour with the Innovations Orchestra and some disc jockey friends brought Stan to hear us after his show. He must have understood that we didn't usually tremble and sound short of breath when we sang. He knew we were overwhelmed by his presence. It could be that our worshipping his every move triggered some of his devotion to our quartet.

He could tell we didn't know what we were doing. I heard him say in an interview one time that we were doing things by ear that were way beyond our musical education, but we were making sounds he liked to hear.

That night he planned for us to go to New York and meet him and Pete Rugolo. He would see that we made some good audition tapes for Capitol's executives to hear. He would talk those executives into signing us to our own contract, and we would begin making records. Stan made it happen just that way.

He'd later say, "You guys have gotta succeed, you can't fail. You're part of my ego!" Let me pause here in the story to explain that Stan had his managers handle our career. They found us work, and helped us choose uniforms. We received mail at Stan's 941 N. LaCienega address for two or three years, and we couldn't get him to take a penny for it. He didn't even want us to give him Christmas presents. The prestige he added to this quartet by just saying, "Stan Kenton likes the Four Freshmen," was priceless. The helpful care he gave us year after year kept good things coming our way. I have said it before and it always sounds like I am bragging, but Stan treated us like we were his own kids. We were part of his ego.

On April 10, we left Green Bay on the 7:10 train to Chicago. We caught the 2:40 p.m. train to New York and tried to sleep that night, but we were too keyed up. None of us slept. Our dreams were coming true before our very eyes.

My diary says: "Tried to sing in the dining caboose, almost got thrown in the caboose, Yippee Ky-0-Ky-A."

We arrived in New York at 10:30 a.m. on April 11, full of youthful steam. We slept for an hour and a half at the Dixie Hotel before we went to Pete Rugolo's dressing room at the Paramount Theater. He was conducting the orchestra for Billy Eckstine.

We waited in the dressing room while Pete did the show. We could hear the show from there. Does life get better than this? When Pete came back, we sang a couple of tunes for him. Pete was pleased but surprised we sang for him since that's what we were to do the next day in the studio. Later that night, we went to Bop City to hear Lionel Hampton and the George Shearing group with Denzil Best.

The next evening (Wednesday April 12), we ate at the Automat and went to Pete's dressing room again, where we met up with Stan Kenton and his manager, Bob Allison, who gave us $65. This was travel money and we thought, at the time, it was from Capitol records. Now we know that Capitol didn't pay groups to go to New York to record audition tapes. That money must have come from Stan himself, just to make sure that the cost of the trip didn't leave us broke.

We were in good hands, and we were on our way!”

Four Freshman: A Vocal Group at the Top of Its Class

By WILLIAM H. SMITH August 20, 2008

The Wall Street Journal

“Widely known for basketball, the Indy 500, and a plethora of covered bridges, Indiana also proudly claims The Four Freshmen as its own. The legendary vocal/instrumental group will celebrate its 60th anniversary at a reunion, sponsored by The Four Freshmen Society, of band members past and present -- there have been 23 lineups to date -- at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre, Aug. 21 to 23. Commemorative concerts continue to air across the country during PBS fund-raising drives, and a highlight of 2008 will be the Freshmen's Oct. 25 performance before Russian fans at the prestigious Great Hall of the Moscow Performing Arts Center.

Although not the first successful vocal group, The Four Freshmen was, without question, the most innovative. Inspired by Artie Shaw's Mel-Tones with Mel Torme, as well as by The Pastels, a five-voice group with Stan Kenton, the Freshmen soon developed their own unique style of harmony -- singing a five-part sound with four voices and playing instruments as well. Every vocal group that followed -- except for those that sang with no or minimal chord structure -- was influenced by the Freshmen, including The Lettermen, Manhattan Transfer, Take Six, the Beatles and the Beach Boys. (At The Four Freshmen's Jan. 14 performance at Palm Desert, Calif.'s McCallum Theatre, I sat in the audience next to the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson -- one of the Freshmen's most enthusiastic fans, who listened to their records as a teenager and wanted to emulate their unique sound in his arrangements.)

The close harmony of this unique quartet had its genesis at Butler University's Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, when Hal Kratzch, along with Don Barbour and his brother Ross, formed "Hal's Harmonizers." In an interview at his home in Simi Valley, Calif., Ross Barbour recalled that "we tried a few lead singers, but it was only after our cousin Bob Flanigan, with his strong high voice, joined the group that we started getting that Freshmen sound." The four went on the road in 1948 as The Toppers, but the name was soon changed to The Four Freshmen. (Both Ross Barbour and Bob Flanigan, the only survivors of that quartet, received honorary doctorates at Butler this May.)

Stan Kenton heard the Freshmen in March 1950 at the Esquire Lounge in Dayton, Ohio, and gave them their first big break by introducing the group to his own recording label, Capitol Records. The Freshmen had developed their trademark sound by structuring chords much like the trombone section of Kenton's own band, and Mr. Barbour maintains that the success of one of their biggest-selling albums, "Four Freshmen and Five Trombones," can in a large way be attributed to Pete Rugolo, the arranger the quartet and Kenton shared.

The Four Freshmen's signature tune is "It's a Blue World Without You," released in 1952, a song that continues to send chills up and down the spines of audiences as soon as the first a capella chords resound. But the Freshmen gained their first national exposure when they appeared on CBS's "Steve Allen Show" on Christmas Day in 1950, and their popularity lasted not only through the decade that later gave birth to rock 'n' roll but into the mid-1960s -- the era of Bob Dylan and the Beatles -- and beyond. Despite this generational change, the Freshmen continued playing universities around the country and, according to Mr. Barbour, "the multitude of college kids remained loyal fans."

Over their 60 years of performing throughout the

U.S.

and abroad, the Freshmen have recorded some 45 albums and 70 singles, and have received numerous honors, including six Grammy Awards. Down Beat magazine awarded the quartet the Best Jazz Vocal group honor in 1953 and again, 57 years later, in 2000, an example of the quartet's timeless appeal. The present lineup placed No. 1 in this same category in the 2007 JazzTimes Readers Poll.

"The Four Freshmen have endured for the simple reason that they are top in their class," said Charles Osgood, anchor of "CBS Sunday Morning," when a profile of the group aired in August 1994. Steven Cornelius of the Toledo Blade put it this way in April 2005: "There is no Dorian Gray youth potion at work, just a healthy retirement system." When a member leaves, he is replaced with an equally talented musician.

The present lineup of this multifaceted, ultra-talented quartet of vocalists and instrumentalists now comprises Vince Johnson, baritone, playing bass and guitar; Bob Ferreira, bass voice, playing drums; Brian Eichenberger, lead voice, playing guitar and bass; and Curtis Calderon, singing second part, and playing trumpet and flugelhorn. Although the other three Freshmen joke about it, Mr. Johnson accompanies his bass with some of the best whistling since Bing Crosby.

Bob Flanigan -- introducing the current quartet on their recent DVD, "The Four Freshmen Live From Las Vegas" -- vows that "this group is the best Four Freshmen of all time." On the DVD, Mr. Flanigan, reflecting on his 44 years with the Freshmen, remembers all the "Bad roads . . . Bad food . . . Good and Bad Hotels . . . and millions of air-miles in DC3s to 747s."

Long live The Four Freshmen. May they never graduate!

Mr. Smith writes about jazz and the big-band era for the Journal

For tour dates and venues, go to www.fourfreshmen.com.”

1 comment:

AnonymousJuly 24, 2023 at 7:36 PM
I enjoyed your profile very much! I knew a little about them- that they influenced Brian Wilson/Beachboys etc., and played their own instruments, and were jazzy, but that was about it! You filled in the gaps for me- Thank you!
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Table of Contents Introduction pp. 6-10 Prologue - Seeds in the Swing Era from Modern Jazz by Alun Morgan and Raymond Horricks pp. 11-20 Chapter 1. The Miles Davis 1948/1949 Group from Modern Jazz by Alun Morgan and Raymond Horricks, pp. 21-29 Chapter 2. The Los Angeles Jazz Scene of the 1950’s The Gerry Mulligan Quartet by Robert Gordon, pp. 30-38 Chapter 3. The West Coast Sound by Robert Gordon, pp. 39-48 Chapter 4. Two Tenor Conversation with Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca by John Tynan, pp. 49-53 Chapter 5. Bill Perkins - The Gordon Jack Interview, pp. 54-58 Chapter 6. Richie Kamuca - The Gordon Jack Interview, pp. 59-62 Chapter 7. Bob Cooper - Quietly, Always There by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 63-68 Chapter 8. William “Buddy” Collette, 1921-2010 by Peter Jacobson and the Central Avenue Sounds Editorial Committee, pp. 69-73 Chapter 9. The Forgotten Ones - Buddy Collette - by Gordon Jack, pp. 74-77 Chapter 10. Harold Land [1928-2001]: The Hard Bop Legacy - Steven A. Cerra and John Tynan, pp. 78-82 Chapter 11. Jack Montrose by Gordon Jack, pp. 83-89 Chapter 12. Chet Baker - “The Jazz Musician Interview” by Jerome Reece, pp. 90-99 Chapter 13. Remembering Wardell Gray [1921-1955] - Part 1 - The Ira Gitler Notes, pp. 100-104 Chapter 14. Remembering Wardell Gray [1921-1955] - Part 2 - The Michael James Essay, pp. 105-111 Chapter 15. Remembering Wardell Gray [1921-1955] - Part 3 - The Herbie Butterfield Essay, pp. 112-117 Chapter 16, Remembering Wardell Gray [1921-1955] - Part 4 - The Alun Morgan Essay, pp. 118-122 Chapter 17. Funny Frank [Rosolino] by John Tynan, pp. 123-125 Chapter 18. Lou Levy - John Tynan, pp. 126-129 Chapter 19. Lou Levy - An Interview with Steve Voce, pp. 130-137 Chapter 20. Jimmy Rowles: Sprinkling Jazz by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 138-144 Chapter 21. Jimmy Rowles: The Len Lyons Interview, pp. 145-150 Chapter 22. Pete Jolly - Some Variations by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 151-163 Chapter 23. Willis and John Haley - Bill Holman Talks About Zoot Sims, pp. 164-176 Chapter 24. Bill Holman: Recollections of Fellow Musicians from The Early Years with Bill Dobbins, pp. 177-187 Chapter 25. Bob Gordon -Baritone Blues by Gordon Jack, pp. 188-193 Chapter 26. The Great Herb Geller by Gene Lees, pp. 194-203 Chapter 27. Herb Geller and Interview with Gordon Jack, pp. 204-212 Chapter28. Teddy Edwards: A Tenor Saxophonist of Importance by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 213-215 Chapter 29. The Advent of Victor Feldman by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 216-226 Chapter 30. Victor Feldman and Frank Rosolino: The “Lost Recordings” by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 227-231 Chapter 31. Nascent Lennie Niehaus by Max Harrison, pp. 232-239 Chapter 32, Bud Shank - Burning Brighter by Fran Kelley, pp. 240-242 Chapter 33. Bud Shank Parts 1 and 2 by Doug Ramsey and Gordon Jack, pp. 243-261 Chapter 34. Milt Bernhart by Gordon Jack, pp. 262-265 Chapter 35. Bob Brookmeyer: An Interview with Bill Coss, pp. 266-270 Chapter 36. Extracts From An Interview with Bob Brookmeyer by Wayne Enstice and Paul Rubin, pp. 271-278 Chapter 37. Bob Enevoldsen with Gordon Jack, pp. 279-283 Chapter 38. Marty Paich and A Band Within A Band” by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 284-293 Chapter 39. Cal Tjader - The 1957 Downbeat Interview by John Tynan, pp. 294-297 Chapter 40. Cal Tjader, Paul Horn and the 1958 Monterey Jazz Festival, pp. 298-302 Chapter 41. Cal Tjader: “A Certain, Smooth Elegance” [La Onda Va Bien] by Steven. A Cerra, pp. 303-309 Chapter 42. “The Latinization of Cal Tjader - Or … what’s a nice Swedish boy like you doing in a bag like this?” by Harvey Siders, pp. 310-316 Chapter 43. College Goes to Jazz - John Graas and the Westlake College Quintet, pp. 317-321 Chapter 44. “Don Fagerquist - The Forgotten Ones” Series by Gordon Jack, pp. 322-325 Chapter 45. Bass Players: Scott LaFaro and Gary Peacock by Martin Williams, pp. 326-333 Chapter 46. California Hard 1 - Clifford Brown, Herb Geller, Hampton Hawes and Dexter Gordon by Robert Gordon, pp. 334-343 Chapter 47. California Hard II - The Curtis Counce Group, Chet Baker Quintet, Pepper Adams - Mel Lewis Quintet and Others by Robert Gordon, pp. 344-354

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Table of Contents Introduction: The Jazz West Coast Style of Music by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 6-9 Prologue - West Coast Sounds by John Dutton, pp. 10-16 Chapter 1. Central Avenue Sounds by Bob Gordon, 17-32 Chapter 2. Shorty Rogers and His Giants - by Bob Gordon, 33-44 Chapter 3. Shorty Rogers and the Development of the West Coast Style of Jazz by John Graas, pp. 45-48 Chapter 4. Shorty Rogers - The Gentle Giant by Howard Lucraft, pp. 49-53 Chapter 5. Shorty Rogers The Steve Voce Interview, pp. 54-58 Chapter 6. Shelly Manne - The Lighthouse and Shorty Rogers - Steven A. Cerra, pp. 59-73 Chapter 7. The Lighthouse Café as an Incubator for West Coast Jazz by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 74-77 Chapter 8. Jim Giuffre Musician by Nat Hentoff - Jim Giuffre Composer As Told to Downbeat [John Tynan], pp. 78-81 Chapter 9. The Passionate Conviction: An Interview with Jimmy Giuffre by Lorin Stephens, pp. 82-90. Chapter 10. Jimmy Giuffre in the Jazz Literature : Jordi Pujol, Will McFarland and Francis Davis, pp. 91-101 Chapter 11. Jimmy Giuffre - The Pastoral Man by Ed Michel, pp. 102-112 Chapter 12. Peter Welding - Booklet Notes to The Complete Pacific Jazz and Capitol Recordings of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Tentette with Chet Baker [Mosaic MR 5-102], pp. 113-118 Chapter 13. Gerry Mulligan: The Gordon Jack Interview, pp. 119-125 Chapter 14. The West Coast School Of White Musicians And Its Soloists - from "Modern Jazz" by Morgan and Horricks, pp. 126-134 Chapter 15. The Composers of the West Coast School - from "Modern Jazz" by Morgan and Horricks, pp. 135-142 Chapter 16. Shelly Redux – More Thoughts From and About The Manne by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 143-153 Chapter 17. Shelly Manne & His Men at The Blackhawk: A Review of the Jazz Literature by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 154-169 Chapter 18. Shelly Manne and His Men Play Peter Gunn by Lester Koenig, pp. 170-172 Chapter 19. Hank Mancini - Jazz Musician by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 173-175 Chapter 20. Stan Getz - East of the Sun: The West Coast Sessions - The Ted Gioia Notes, pp. 176-181 Chapter 21. STAN AND GERRY - Occasional Collaborators" by Gordon Jack, pp. 182-185 Chapter 22. Shelly Manne: “Portrait of a Jazz Success” by John Tynan, pp.186-193 Chapter 23. Art Pepper - "The Whiteness of the Wail" by Gary Giddins, pp. 194-197 Chapter 24. Art Pepper-Marty Paich Inc. by Alun Morgan, pp. 198-203 Chapter 25. Art Pepper Plus Eleven by Marty Paich, pp. 204-207 Chapter 26. "Straight Life - The Story of Art Pepper" by Gary Giddins, pp. 208-212 Chapter 27. Art Pepper by Larry Kart, pp. 213-217 Chapter 28. Stan Levey - The Alun Morgan Interview, pp.218-222 Chapter 29. Stan Levey: From Left to Right - The JazzProfiles Interview by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 223-231 Chapter 30. Stan Levey - The Gordon Jack Interview, pp. 232-236 Chapter 31. Mel Lewis in the Jazz Literature - Steven A. Cerra, Ed.. pp. 237-247 Chapter 32. Mel Lewis – Life in Los Angeles - Chris Smith, pp. 248-253 Chapter 33. Mel Lewis, Terry Gibbs and The Dream Band by Terry Gibbs and Chris Smith, pp. 254-258 Chapter 34. Larry Bunker - Portrait of a Jazz Drummer and Studio Musician - The Gordon Jack Interview, pp. 259-263 Chapter 35. Larry Bunker - Modern Drummer Interview with David Levine and the Steve Voce Obituary for the Independent, pp. 264-269 Chapter 36. Whatever Happened to Larry Bunker? by Mal Sands, pp. 270-277 Chapter 37. JazzLife - Hollywood and Los Angeles by William Claxton, pp. 278-284 Chapter 38. Dave Pell by Gordon Jack, pp. 285-288 Chapter 39. Dave Pell - The Complete Trend and Kapp Recordings 1953-1956 by Steven A. Cerra and Jordi Pujol, pp. 289-296 Chapter 40. The Case for Dave Pell - The Octets and Beyond by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 297-302 Chapter 41. Chico Hamilton Quintet - The Robert Gordon/Mosaic Records Notes, pp. 303-307 Chapter 42. The Chico Hamilton Quintet by Gordon Jack, pp. 308-312 Chapter 43. Terry Gibbs' Big Band - "Vamp 'Till Ready" by John Tynan, pp. 313-318 Chapter 44. Part 1 - The Terry Gibbs Dream Band from “Terry Gibbs Good Vibes - A Life in Jazz,” pp. 319-326 Chapter 45. Part 2 -The Terry Gibbs Dream Band from “Terry Gibbs Good Vibes - A Life in Jazz,” pp. 327-334 Chapter 46. Part 3 -The Terry Gibbs Dream Band from “Terry Gibbs Good Vibes - A Life in Jazz,” pp. 335-344 Epilogue: Jazz on the West Coast - “Preface” by Robert Gordon, pp. 345-347

This is now available as both an eBook and paperback exclusively through Amazon.com.

Should you like to purchase a copy, here’s the Table of Contents for - A Dave Brubeck Reader, Volume 1 - 1948 to 1972 which is now available as a paperback and an eBook exclusively on Amazon.com. Once the cost of publication has been met, I am donating half of my royalties to the local school district for use toward the purchase of musical instruments for individual students. Introduction, pp. 7-9 Prologue - Dave Brubeck: A Life in American Music by Doug Ramsey, pp. 10-35 Chapter 1 - “Time to Begin” by Fred M. Hall, pp. 36-43 Chapter 2. The Dave Brubeck Octet by Dave Brubeck and Dr. Frank Tirro, pp. 44-51 Chapter 3. The Dave Brubeck Octet: A Formula and A Dilemma by Raymond Horricks, pp. 52-57 Chapter 4. The Dave Brubeck Octet by Philip Clark, pp. 58-70 Chapter 5. Cal Tjader and The Dave Brubeck Octet and Trio by S. Duncan Reid, pp. 71-78 Chapter 6. The Complete Storyville Broadcasts - Jason Yale, pp. 79-83 Chapter 7. The Formative Years of the Dave Brubeck Quartet by Philip Elwood, pp. 84-94 Chapter 8. Brubeck at Oberlin, A Review of the Jazz Literature by Steven A. Cerra, pp. 95-104. Chapter 9. 1954 Jazz at College of the Pacific and Jazz Goes to College - Wayne Morrill, Katie Neubauer and George Avakian, pp. 105-114 Chapter 10. The Early Years at Columbia Records and Brubeck Time by Stephen Crist, pp. 115-120 Chapter 11. Dave Brubeck Answers His Critics - Don Freeman DB 8.10.1955, pp. 121-123 Chapter 12. Ralph J. Gleason - “Dave Brubeck: What Makes Him Tick,” DB 7.25.1957, pp. 124-130 Chapter 13. Ralph J. Gleason - Dave Brubeck: 'They Said I Was Too Far Out' DB 8. 8. 1957, pp. 131-137 Chapter 14. Ralph J. Gleason - Dave Brubeck: First Things First, DB 9.5.1957, pp. 138-145 Chapter 15. The Quartet from These Jazzmen of Our Times by Raymond Horricks, pp. 146-152 Chapter 16. Jazz Impressions of the U.S.A. and Dave Digs Disney by Philip Clark, pp. 153-159 Chapter 17. Jazz Impressions of Dave Brubeck by Steven A. Cerra and Howard Mandel, 160-166 Chapter 18. Digging Dave Brubeck and Time Out - Alan Goldscher, pp. 167-182 Chapter 19. Metrical Experimentation from "Dave Brubeck's Time Out" by Stephen Crist, pp. 183-189 Chapter 20. Dave Brubeck’s Time Out: Why It’s So Great - Kile Smith, pp. 190-192 Chapter 21. Dave Brubeck - Beyond Take Five - John Edward Hasse, pp. 193-196 Chapter 22. Dave Brubeck and Stan Kenton: Alike and Unalike by Harry Frost, pp. 197-200 Chapter 23. Pops - Dave and Iola Brubeck - The Real Ambassadors by Steven A. Cerra and Ricky Riccardi, pp. 201-210 Chapter 24. The Real Ambassadors by Penny M. von Eschen, pp. 211-218 Chapter 25. The Real Ambassadors by Keith Hatschek, pp. 219-225 Chapter 26. Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Glasser - Gary Giddins, pp. 226-228 Chapter 27. Beyond Time Out - The Undiscovered Dave Brubeck by Steven A. Cerra, 229-237 Chapter 28. Dave Brubeck, Composer, by Leonard Feather, pp. 238-244 Chapter 29. A Quartet of Five (Dave Brubeck) by Gary Giddins, pp. 245-249 Chapter 30. Dave Brubeck: The Man on the Buffalo Nickel - Gene Lees, pp. 250-268 Chapter 31. Compadres with Brubeck and Mulligan - Jerome Klinkowitz, pp. 269-278 Chapter 32. “A Quarter Century Young: The Dave Brubeck Quartet,” Arnold J. Smith, DB March 25,1976, pp. 279-288 Epilogue - Dave Brubeck: The Smithsonian Oral History Program NEA Jazz Masters Interviews, pp. 289-352 Bibliography, pp. 353-360 Discography, pp. 361-364

Our Thanks to Alan Parr for this review on Amazon.UK.

The very title makes it clear that this is not a biography in the conventional sense. However, in many ways it works better than a normal biography. The author has identified six phases of Gerry Mulligan's career and illustrated each with several suitable pieces of writing - not his own, but drawn from a vast array of sources - including both contemporary and retrospective pieces such as comprehensive sleeve notes, magazine articles, and interviews. I realised that there are considerable advantages to this approach. A conventional biographer will form a picture of his subject and this view will tend to shape everything he writes. The use of pieces from several dozen writers helps us get a much more rounded picture of the subject - and it is clear that Gerry Mulligan did indeed have several sides to his personality. True there are a number of episodes and anecdotes which get repeated several times but I did not find this obtrusive; rather, seeing the same story from different sources helped me form a more balanced picture. Biography or not Steve Cerra has arranged the materials to enlighten us about each stage of Gerry's career. It all works beautifully, with important recordings illustrated with the original sleeve notes and contemporary reviews, and for each self-contained section it is natural to return to listen once more to the recordings themselves. This isn't one of those books where you say 'I couldn't put it down' and I suspect the author would be rather disappointed if anyone did. I'm pleased to say it took me six weeks to read. I've enjoyed Mulligan's music for more than sixty years - we called our first cat Mulligan - but I learned a great deal. It's not just the book list that is extensive; the author's knowledge of Mulligan's music and across the jazz scene as a whole is encyclopedic. I enjoyed the book immensely and was happy to take my time to enjoy each section and its associated music. I unreservedly recommend A Gerry Mulligan Reader.

Many thanks to Jeffrey Sultanof for these reviews.

“I salute Steven Cerra, drummer and writer, who has self-published two extraordinary volumes on Gerry Mulligan and Bill Evans. Cerra, who continues publishing a blog called Jazz Profiles, also writes a column right here for Substack. His Substack column reprints articles that in many cases are hard to find. That’s what he has done with his readers. He has gathered liner notes and often hard-to-find articles and interviews of said artists. Reading them for the first time or re-reading them after many years is fun and enlightening, and puts them into active circulation. Previously, you would have to go to specialist libraries or private collections to find them. Having them easily accessible is a boon to historians like myself for obvious reasons - the information is at my fingertips (literally) and it is easier to find sources of quotes for accurate footnoting. These are also the sorts of books that you can’t put down once you start reading. I urge you to check them out. [They are available exclusively on Amazon both as paperbacks and eBooks. Just type in Steven A. Cerra in the Books section on Amazon’s site to search for them.] Kindle prices are $9.99 each - a bargain!!!”

Ricardo Pinheiro's Latest - TONE STORIES - Coming from Fresh Sound on April 19th

Ricardo Pinheiro completed a Degree in Music at Berklee College of Music, Boston; Degree in Psychology Sciences at the Universidade de Lisboa; and a PhD in Musicology (Ethnomusicology) at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He studied with Mick Goodrick, George Garzone, Ed Tomassi, Ken Pullig, Wayne Krantz, Ken Cervenka, Chris Washburne and Salwa Castelo-Branco. He played/recorded with Peter Erskine, David Liebman, Chris Cheek, Mário Laginha, Eric Ineke, Perico Sambeat, Stephan Astbury, João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Remix Ensemble, Matt Renzi, Jon Irabagon, John Gunther, Mike Del Ferro, André Charlier, Benoît Sourisse, among many others. He teaches at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, and is the Director of its Masters in Music Program. He played and participated in conferences and meetings in Austria, Greece, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Germany, U.S.A., Denmark, Italy, South Africa, among other countries, and published articles in journals such as Acta Musicologica of the International Musicological Society, the Jazz Research Journal, or the International Review for The Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. https://www.ricardopinheiro.com/bio

My thanks to Dr. James Williams for this 5 Star Amazon Review

A Gerry Mulligan Reader - Our Thanks to Kevin Goss

When I heard that Steven was writing this book, I couldn't wait to receive it because I have enjoyed his jazz writing for some time, and I have been a Mulligan disciple for over 40 years. The first surprise when it arrived is the size of this book. I was expecting it to be the standard paperback size, but this book is large. Given that the print size is standard, that was when I realized how comprehensive the book was going to be. Cerra covers Mulligan's music from his beginnings as a teenager to his final output while also paying attention to the legacy Jeru left behind. Using a combination of full articles, excerpts, and personal observations it's clear that this is a labour of love. I highly recommend this book for any fan of Gerry Mulligan, but also for any fan of jazz. Mulligan is in the pantheon of great jazz innovators and his legacy is given the justice it deserve's in Cerra's tome. Read this book and buy Gerry's music. You'll regret neither.

Our thanks to Jim Harrod at Jazz Research

At last, a resource of critical writings gathered in one place covering the career of one of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century. The large format, 8.5 x 11 inches, enables a decent font size to read this collection that includes liner notes from many Mulligan CD releases where the text was often so small that a magnifying glass was needed. Cerra’s choice includes many hard-to-find items like a chapter from the now out-of-print and pricey Ruddick biography of Chet Baker discussing the formation of the Gerry Mulligan quartet.

Many thanks to Bill Crow for the following -

Steven Cerra sent me a copy of his new book, “Gerry Mulligan, Writings on a Jazz Original,” a fine collection of writings about Gerry, including some of mine, plus some interviews. Steven writes: “The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a sequential and thematic account of the life and music of Gerry Mulligan (April 5, 1927-January 20,1996.) I’ve been enjoying reading it. Steven Included an anecdote from one of my books: …Gerry continued to work with his quartet: Brookmeyer, Mel Lewis and me. We appeared on Mike Wallace’s television show during the time that Wallace was in the process of building a reputation as an investigative reporter. Wallace’s TV interviews were popular partly because of his prosecutorial style. At the rehearsal, Wallace was courteous and low-key. He asked questions that had been prepared by his staff, and Gerry answered frankly about his career, his experiences with drugs and the law, and other aspects of his life. On the air, Wallace’s tone became more contentious, and instead of asking the questions he had asked at rehearsal, he said accusingly, “I understand you were involved with drugs, and did some time because of it!” This left Gerry with little more to say than “yes.” Though Wallace was using the information Gerry had given him at the rehearsal, he gave his audience the impression that he was confronting Gerry with the results of his own private investigations. Gerry managed to field Wallace’s questions with his usual aplomb, but he found himself at a loss when Wallace asked him, “I notice there are no black musicians in your group. Is this accidental, or by design?” Actually, it was the first time in years that, by happenstance, there were no black musicians in Gerry’s quartet, but any short answer to that question would have sounded lame. As Gerry considered how best to respond, Bob Brookmeyer glared at Wallace, jerked a thumb at Mel Lewis, and said frostily, “We’ve got a Jewish drummer. Will that help?” Wallace dropped the subject.

Our thanks to Pierre Giroux writing in the Jan. 2024 Ed. of The New York City Jazz Record

“Gerry Mulligan: Writings on a Jazz Original, by jazz historian Steven Cerra, delves into the life and work of the groundbreaking baritone saxophonist, composer, arranger and bandleader. The book is a reader, and its seven discrete chapters cover specific periods in the musician’s musical life, each chapter presenting selections from essays, articles, interviews and liner notes by various hands and providing insights into Mulligan’s unique style, contributions and impact on the jazz genre. Throughout a nearly 50-year career (this month marks the baritone saxophonist’s 28-year deathaversary), Mulligan was at the inflection point of many changes in jazz. In 1944, at the age of 17, he started out in big bands and his musical career from then until the early ’70s represents his most productive and innovative period. This fact is reflected in the compelling written material sourced by Cerra, which comprises the book’s first three chapters and represents over two-thirds of the book’s pages. Among the many highlights, we learn of the impact he made arranging and composing for the big bands of Gene Krupa, Claude Thornhill and Elliot Lawrence in the mid to late ’40s, his captivating contributions to the Miles Davis Nonet Birth of the Cool sessions (1949) and the formation of the groundbreaking pianoless quartet with trumpeter Chet Baker in the early ‘50s, which foreshadowed the West Coast jazz movement. For the balance of the ’50s all the way into the early ’70s, Mulligan burnished his reputation with various iterations of the quartet, which included trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and trumpeter Art Farmer. He also led an influential sextet that included Brookmeyer, saxophonist Zoot Sims and trumpeter Jon Eardley, led his own twelve-piece Concert Jazz Band from 1960-64 and joined Dave Brubeck’s group from 1968-72. This is not meant to be an exhaustive recounting of Mulligan’s activities but rather to demonstrate the richness of his endeavors. Readers will additionally gain valuable insights into Mulligan’s musical influences, collaborations and partnerships, which affected the evolution of his distinctive sound. Contributors to the book include George T. Simon, Ira Gitler, Michael Cuscuna, Jack Gordon, Nat Hentoff and Leonard Feather, among others. Mulligan died on January 20, 1996, at what would be considered a still youthful 68. Cerra has provided a comprehensive and insightful exploration of his contribution to jazz, offering a profound exploration of Gerry Mulligan’s musical legacy as well as his enduring impact.”

Our Thanks to Gordon Jack.

Here’s another unabashed plug, this time by Gordon Jack, who is a frequent contributor to JazzJournal where this review is currently appearing. What is omitted from his summary for ethical reasons is the fact that Gordon Jack has contributed a number of his fine essays on Gerry to the Mulligan Reader. The book is available as both an eBook and a paperback exclusively on Amazon.com. With the holidays coming up, why not consider purchasing a copy for the Jazz fan in your family? Gerry Mulligan: Writings On A Jazz Original by Gordon Jack “Steven Cerra studied drums with Victor Feldman and Larry Bunker before going on the road with Bobby Troup, Anita O’Day and Juliet Prowse during the sixties. He eventually left the music scene in 1970 to pursue work in other fields. His interest in Gerry Mulligan began when he first heard the Mulligan sextet’s famous 1954 San Diego concert which featured Jon Eardley, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Red Mitchell and Larry Bunker. That album began a life-long interest in Mulligan’s music. This is the third book published this year devoted to one of the most innovative performers of the post-war jazz scene. The Gerry Mulligan 1950s Quartets by Alyn Shipton is a forensically detailed look at one of one of the genre’s most unique small groups. Being Gerry Mulligan: My Life In Music comes from a collection of audio tapes he left behind which have been lovingly reconstructed as an autobiography by Ken Poston. Back in 1986 Raymond Horricks wrote a brief appreciation which he expanded in 2003 to include a discography of commercial and bootleg material (Gerry Mulligan’s Ark). Jerome Klinkowitz’s 1991 Listen: Gerry Mulligan is a useful reference but Jeru’s Journey by Sanford Josephson published in 2015 is a disappointing attempt at a biography revealing little that is new. Just like the Miles Davis Reader and the Duke Ellington Reader, Writings On A Jazz Original offers something a little different. The fifty-two articles, interviews and liner-notes by major jazz writers here reveal a fascinating anthology of his activities over the years: George T. Simon (Insert notes to Elliot Lawrence Plays Gerry Mulligan), Peter Welding (Insert Notes to Birth of the Cool), Peter Welding (Insert Notes to The Complete Pacific Jazz and Capitol Recordings of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Tentette with Chet Baker), Steven Cerra (Gerry Mulligan and Stan Kenton), Alun Morgan (Insert Notes to The Fabulous Gerry Mulligan Sextet), Nat Hentoff (Gerry Mulligan-The White Mainstreamer), Leonard Feather (Before and After), Bill Crow (From Birdland to Broadway), Bill Kirchner (Booklet Notes to The Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Band Sessions), Michael Cuscuna (Booklet Notes to The Age of Steam), Gene Lees (Meet Me at Jim & Andy’s), Ira Gitler (Swing to Bop) and Mathew Ruddick (The Life And Times of Chet Baker). There are three Downbeat Blindfold Tests that Mulligan undertook including one with Harry Carney. Cerra also includes interviews with Gerry’s two wives Arlyne Brown Mulligan and Franca Rota Mulligan. Writings On A Jazz Original is a most welcome addition to the extensive literature already devoted to one of the giants of the music. When the definitive Gerry Mulligan biography is finally written, Steven Cerra’s book will be an essential source. Gerry Mulligan: Writings On A Jazz Original By Steven A Cerra. Self Published. 355 pp. Gordon Jack

My thanks to Michael Steinman at Jazz Lives

“GERRY MULLIGAN: WRITINGS ON A JAZZ ORIGINAL,” by STEVEN A. CERRA (Amazon, 2023) www.jazzlives.wordpress.com Posted on November 9, 2023 | 4 comments “Forgive the culinary metaphor, but some books are snacks, some are satisfying dinners. Steve Cerra's new book on Gerry Mulligan is a delightfully overwhelming banquet. When I first received a copy, I found it engrossing but I also thought, "I might need a few weeks to do this book justice." So this admiring review comes with the caveat that I, the admiring reviewer, have read here and there in the book. But I think it is such a valuable compilation that it should get heralded right now. To me, Mulligan is in the odd position of being simultaneously celebrated and viewed at a curious distance. He had a nearly fifty-year career as a jazz luminary, a deep influence as a singular player of a sometimes-underestimated instrument, the baritone saxophone. For some, he would have been slightly behind Ellington's majestic Harry Carney; for others, he would have outstripped Carney as an innovator and creative thinker. Mulligan appeared to "move with the times," but in reality he stubbornly chose to be himself, no matter what the context: his piano-less quartet, his Concert Jazz Band, the "Birth of the Cool" group; his later recordings that each seem to be jubilant explorations of new landscapes. To understand him, one has only to make a quick mental list of the people he played with and chose to work with: Bill Crow, Miles Davis, Brew Moore, Charlie Parker, Bob Brookmeyer, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Jimmie Rowles, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Jack Teagarden, Tony Fruscella, Bill Charlap, Zoot Sims, Johnny Hodges, Teddy Wilson, Thelonious Monk, Art Farmer, Ben Webster, Phil Woods, Elliot Lawrence, Joe Sullivan, Gene Krupa, Annie Ross, Billie Holiday, Clark Terry, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Lee Konitz, Chubby Jackson, Charles Mingus, Mel Torme, Shorty Rogers, Zoot Sims, Lionel Hampton, Cleo Laine . . . and that is not including his arrangements for Lawrence, Krupa, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, and his own groups. He has been categorized as part of the "cool jazz" or "West Coast jazz" school, but those schools are merely names journalists give to groups of musicians when they need a quick and often inaccurate classifier. Cerra's book is not the only one on Mulligan: Sanford Josephson's biography, JERU'S JOURNEY: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF GERRY MULLIGAN, appeared in 2015, and two oral histories appeared earlier. But Cerra's book, an appealing collection, does not duplicate the previous works. It is a Reader, or a collection of articles, interviews, and liner notes to recordings. As such, it is not only a shifting multi-layered portrait of Mulligan, person and artist, it is also a cross-section of journalistic and essayistic jazz history. Consider, if you will, a book of reviews of Ulysses: a reader would learn not only about the subject, Joyce's work, but how it was regarded, decade after decade. Thus, Cerra's large-format book (with illustrations) is fifty-plus perspectives on the artist, his groups, his colleagues, and his reputation as the times shift. Cerra himself doesn't demand center stage, but his writing is clear and unfussy, a pleasure. Let us assume, even if it's heresy, that the imagined reader isn't terribly fascinated by Jeru in all his many selves. The book is still an arresting collection of stories (I was reading it last night, or this morning, at 2 AM). I didn't know that George Duvivier had been invited by Duke to join the band at the same time Duke found Jimmie Blanton, and why Duvivier said no; I hadn't known how Al Cohn had lost one eye; his tumultuous relationship with Chet Baker, his working relationships with Miles Davis, Gil Evans, and much more. For those who thrive on darkness, there's heroin, cancer, imprisonment, broken hearts as well. I won't describe the book more, because I don't want to take away the serendipitous joys of finding a new story, a new insight, musicians seen from multiple perspectives. At first, I was disconcerted that the book lacked an index (possibly a financial decision) but rambling through its pages, I have welcomed the opportunity to find surprises without arrows pointing to them. One of the most charming aspects of Mulligan is that he understood, and loved, the whole history of the music. Had there been a jazz festival with Leon Roppolo and Ornette Coleman on sequential stages, Gerry would have sat in with both of them and made everyone feel at home with his presence. And, in turn, he was loved and respected by Coleman Hawkins and Rex Stewart, among other "elders." This leads me to the filmed evidence (December 1957) of the magic moment when I first saw and heard him live. You'll recognize the sublimely glittering crew, and please marvel once again at how Jeru not only gets comfortable but lifts the music: After Jimmy Rushing walks to one side, there's the Basie rhythm section (without Walter Page, who was ill): Basie, piano; Eddie Jones, double bass; Freddie Green, guitar; Jo Jones, drums. Then Ben Webster, tenor saxophone; Bennie Morton, trombone; Joe Wilder, trumpet -- then Gerry, soaring, lyrical and down-to-earth; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Roy Eldridge, trumpet; Emmett Berry, trumpet; Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone; Dickie Wells, trombone; Joe Newman, trumpet; Basie and the ensemble, cheered on by Billie Holiday. Of course there are thousands of hours of Gerry on record and film to savor. But this book will add to the enjoyment, and I salute its diligent author-editor. It's available as a large-format paperback or ebook here, and Cerra says in his acknowledgments that after publishing costs have been met, half the proceeds will go to the Gerry Mulligan Foundation "to support school music programs and acquiring instruments for students," commendable indeed. Make room on your shelves.”

With gratitude to Gary Giddins

Some Early Reviews

WELL DONE STEVE! Just received your handsome Reader. Although I'm familiar with it from your emails over the years, I intend to start re-reading now it's in book form. It's been a long struggle, but your book provides essential information to the ongoing Mulligan research which hopefully will one day result in a full-blown biography. Steve WONDERFUL. I have only read the introduction thus far, but I wanted to tell you, that I can see that this book is just what I was expecting, and I believe that it will fill a huge void in understanding - and appreciating - Gerry Mulligan. Whilst I have enjoyed (to a degree) all the books previously published about Gerry, I do not believe that any of them, bar perhaps Alyn Shipton's recent publication, have come anywhere near addressing Mulligan's real significance in jazz history. I think you have achieved something special in pulling this together. I thank you. I hope you make a fortune - both for the Foundation and for yourself. (I have already persuaded a good friend to purchase this book and will try with others I know). Congratulations, and above all thanks. I now look forward to months of careful reading (probably with Mulligan playing in the background....) Hi Steve, Well, I've read enough of your book to allow me to think that I can comment intelligently on it. First off, it's great! I love your idea of telling the story by way of excerpts from the writing of various authors. I do think that it gives a more well-rounded picture of Jeru than any single author could offer.I was familiar with many of the pieces, of course, but reading them again--the excerpts surrounded by other essays/articles that focus on the same period--helps me, at least, get a firmer idea of the author's point of view on that subject. And there were/are various excerpts in your book that I hadn't seen before. I was especially happy to find the piece by Matthew Ruddick from his book on Chet Baker. I think it's the best summation of the beginnings & contributions of the original Quartet that I've ever read. I'll have to get Ruddick's book. I do love the book and appreciate the time and effort that you've put into it. It's a worthy addition to the jazz canon, and I'd unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone. And, print format or not, I'm really enjoying reading it.