Gerry Mulligan (1927-96) had a very interesting and productive life. He started out on clarinet and also spent time playing tenor and alto before settling on the baritone sax. An arranger from an early age, as a teenager Mulligan wrote for his high school band and at 16 for a local radio station. He dropped out of high school as a senior to tour with a band. During his early days he was rated higher as an arranger than he was as an instrumentalist. Mulligan wrote for the big bands of Tommy Tucker, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa (having a hit with “Disc Jockey Jump”) and Claude Thornhill. Mulligan was a major part of the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool Nonet during 1948-50, contributing the majority of the arrangements and playing baritone. After a period of struggle, he ended up in Los Angeles leading a pianoless quartet at the Haig that included trumpeter Chet Baker that became extremely popular during its year. Mulligan was always interested in all eras of jazz up to that point and his interplay with Baker owed a bit to Dixieland although in a more modern setting. Now a national celebrity, Mulligan led another pianoless quartet with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, had a sextet and ended the decade with a quartet that matched him with trumpeter Art Farmer.
A lover of jam sessions, Mulligan went out of his way to play and record with other musicians including Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Witherspoon, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, and fellow baritonist Harry Carney (on a special piece written by Duke Ellington).
Gerry Mulligan led a pianoless big band, the Concert Jazz Band, during 1960-63. Surprisingly, due to being very busy keeping the orchestra going, he did not write much music for his own orchestra. After a slow period, Mulligan became a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet during 1968-73. He put together a big band for which he wrote music (The Age Of Steam), and freelanced in a wide variety of settings during his final 20 years including working with symphony orchestras, leading the Re-Birth of the Cool (which revisited the Miles Davis Nonet repertoire) and heading a quartet that had Bill Mays, Ted Rosenthal or Bill Charlap on piano.
All of this and much more is covered in Steven A. Cerra’s book Gerry Mulligan – Writings On A Jazz Original. Cerra was originally a drummer who worked with Bobby Troup and Anita O’Day among others in the 1960s. Since 2008, he has posted over 3,500 features on his JazzProfiles blog (www.jazzprofiles.blogspot.com). His previous book is A Bill Evans Reader.
Although the 356 page Gerry Mulligan book is not technically a straight biography of the baritonist, it covers most aspects of his life. Articles, essays, interviews, reviews and quotes written by 33 journalists and associates are included, sometimes in full. Most were written during the baritonist’s lifetime. Cerra organized these often-historic pieces in loosely chronological order, contributing introductions, transitions and his own open-minded and even-handed commentary throughout. The seven chapters include one on each of the decades from the 1940s through the 1990s plus a final Recapitulation. There is a certain amount of repetition since many of the articles start out with similar ideas (emphasizing Mulligan’s group with Baker) before revealing their plots and ideas. Among the more significant writers who are represented (all are fully credited) are Michael Bourne, Bill Crow, Leonard Feather, Ira Gitler, Joe Goldberg, Gordon Jack, Bill Kirchner, John McDonough, Alyn Morgan, Ken Poston, Doug Ramsey, George T. Simon, Steve Voce, and Peter Welding although all 33 make strong contributions. Gordon Jack’s articles, which are lesser-known, are a major asset and full of fresh stories and ideas. Among the most interesting articles is an interview with Arlyne Mulligan who was married to the baritonist for much of the 1950s. Her tales about his personal life gives readers a lot of new information and anecdotes that help one to understand his personality during that era.
Also of particularly strong interest are the pieces about Mulligan’s work and life in the 1970s and ‘80s, including some rare interviews with the baritonist himself. While always celebrated for his recordings of the 1950s, a strong case is made that Mulligan’s writing and playing during the often-overlooked second half of his career was at least as significant and innovative as his earlier work.
Anyone with any interest in Gerry Mulligan’s music and life will learn a great deal by acquiring Writings On A Jazz Original. 50% of all the proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Gerry Mulligan Foundation which supports school music programs. This essential book is available from www.amazon.com.
