Gerry Mulligan The Genius Of Gerry Mulligan
LP, 1960, Compilation

This album attempts to examine the recorded history of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet by offering a number of previously unavailable selections from the Pacific Jazz tape library together with several performances from the Pacific Jazz catalogue. The Material covers a period prior to the first history-making quartet up to the very recentquartet efforts including the collaboration with singer Annie Ross.

When the first Mulligan quartet recordings of "Bernie's Tune" and "Lullaby of the Leaves" (recorded Auigust 16th, 1952) were released Gerry had this to say about the new quartet: "So many people have asked questions about the omission of the piano in my new quartet. I will attemp to answer them as completely as I can.

"The piano is an orchestrs and as such, naturally offers many wonderful possibilities, both as a solo instrument and and also in conjunction with an ensemble. However, its use with the rhythm section, where its function is to "feed" the chords of the progrssion to the soloist, has placed the piano in a rather uncreative and somewhat mechanical role. By eliminating this role from the piano in my group, I actually open whole new fields of exploration and possibilities when I do choose to use one.

"As for myself, I just don't consider the piano an indespensable part of the rhythm section. I think it is more habit than logic that it is accepted standard practice to use the piano thusly."

The quartet's recording history had its beginning on the afternoon of June 10th, 1952 in Phillip Turestsky's tiny Laurel Canyon bungalow in the Hollywood Hills. Gerry had been playing the Monday nigh gig at The Haig (a small club on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles - since torn down and converted into a parking lot), with a rotating group of musicians that included at one time or another, Ernie Royal, trumpet; Jimmy Rowles, or Fred Otis, piano; Joe Comfort, Red Mitchell or Joe Mondragon, bass; and Alvin Stoller or Chico Hamilton, drums.

On the afternoon of June 10th, 1952, Gerry asked Kimmy Rowles, Red Mitchell and Chico Hamilton to meet up at Turesky's house where I had access to his Ampex tape recorder and one RCA 44-B microphone. For some reason, Rowles failed to arrive so we recorded anyway - without the piano. The opening selection was "Get Happy" by Alren and Koehler, was the result of that first meeting. A week later, at the Monday night session at The Haig, Mulligan and Chet Baker met. Soon after that meeting Gerry decided to attempt to record with Jimmy Rowles again. So together with Chet and Joe Mondragon, we met at the Universal Recording Studio inn Hoolywood on the evening of July 9th, 1952. Out of this session came Kern and Harbach's "She Didn't Say Yes." This is the only quartet recording without drums and with piano. In mid-july of 1952, The Haig booked the Red Norvo Trio for an engagement of indefinite length. The trio, at that time, consisted of Red Mitchell on bass and Tal Farlow on guitar. Inasmuch as the trio did not use a piano, and since Gerry had insisted he would rather play the Monday night sessions without the piano, owner John Bennett decided to put the piano in storage. It was this decision that brought Chet Baker, Chico Hamilton and a young bass player from Long Beach by the name of Bob Whitlock, to form the first Mulligan piano-less quartet.

After five Monday nights, Gerry felt the quartet was ready to record. On the afternoon of August 16th, 1952, at teh Turesky bungalow again, we recorded the memorable "Bernie's Tune" and "Lullaby Of The Leaves." That record, released as a single in the fall of 1952, put Pacific Jazz (later to become World Pacific) in business. The quartet rapidly became a West Coast sensation, Soon after the release of the single record, the quartet was booked into The Blackhawk in San Fransisco. Bob Whitlock was unable to make the trip there, so Gerry replaced him with Carson Smith, a promising young bass player. The new quartet was caught in the act by Ralph J, Gleason of the San Fransisco Chronicle and west Coast editor of Down Beat who said at the time, "The Gerry Mulligan Quartet is certainly the freshest and most interesting sound to come out of jazz in a long time.

After The Blackhwak engagement, the quartet was booked into The Haig for four weeks. This booking stretched into over six months and during that time the Mulligan Quartet received national attention through a Time Magazine story.

The inevitable changes and growing pains saw Chico Hamilton leave to join Lena Horne. Chico was offered quite a bit more money to travel with Lena. It was a difficult decision to make, but being the father of two children, he was obliged to go where he could earn more, Because The Haig was small (capacity about 85), the qurtet could not make much more than union scale out of the operation. Larry Bunker, a very versatile musician (vibes, piano and drums) replaced Chico early in 1953. The quartet stayed on that spring and summer playing to capacity crowds. On weekends more people could be found outside waiting in line to get in than were actually inside. In April, the quartet assembled in what was then Hollywood's finest recording studio, Radio Recorders, and recorded De Lange's and Van Heusen's Darn That Dream," a performance that has a particularly memorable Chet Baker solo and a capppella singing by Gerry, Larry Bunker and Carson Smith.

On the evening of May 20th, 1953, I brought a portable Ampex into the kitchen of The Haig and with two RCA 44-B microphones recorded the evening's performance. An exceptional performance of gerry's own composition, "Five Brothers" was the result. The intimacy of the club, with its unpretentious atmosphere, created a bond between the quartet and the audience that can be felt in this "in-person" performance.

In june of that year, gerry and Lee Konitz were reunited. they both palyed with the 1947 edition of the Claude Thornhill band and later, in 1949, recorded with Miles Davis for Capitol; performances that are considered milestones in the evolution of jazz. Lee was in Los Angeles at the time playing with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. On the 10th of June (on a Sunday afternoon), Gerry, Lee, Chet, Bunker and Joe Mondragon met in Phil Turesky's living room to record Jimmy McHugh's I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me."

Some time after that session, Gerry ran afoul of the narcotics law and spent six months at the Sheriff's Honor Farm. While Gerry was there, Chet Baker formed his own quartet, with Russ Freeman on piano, that had immediate success. This was to end the very fruitful musical relationship between gerry and Chet - to be revived only once more on record in December of 1957 ("Reunion," ST-47).

Upon Gerry's release he no longer felt at home in California. He had recently married Arlene Brown (songwriter Lew Brown's daughter), and they decided to move to New York City, where he has made his home ever since.

The following year brought Gerry in contact with the very powerful musical personality of Bob Brookmeyer, a young composer/arranger who had previously played valve trombone with Stan Getz. This fruitful meeting brought a new vigor to the quartet. Red Mitchell , bass, and Frank Isola, drums, rounded out the newly formed quartet. In the summer of that year, Gerry was invited to France for the 1954 Paris Jazz Festival at Pleyel Hall. Gerry's original composition, "Gold Rush," was recorded at the concert and closes Side One. The response of the French audience indicates the tremendous reception the quartet received. It was the first modern jazz group to be thus receivedby a very critical French audience and paved the way for the other modern jazz groups that were to follow.

December, 1954, found the Gerry Mulligan Quartet returning to California after a series of twenty-one concerts in as many cities from Boston to Los Angeles. The Mulligan Quartet was featured along with the Dave Brubeck quartet and the Duke Ellington Orchestra on this very well received concert tour.

The opening selection on Side Two, "Blues For Tiny", a composition by Red Mitchell, was recorded at Stockton High School, Stockton, California, on December 3rd, 1954 in a concert that reunited Chico Hamilton with the quartet. Jon Eardley, a trumpet player from Boston, replaced Bob Brookmeyer when gerry reorganized for this concert tour. Eleven days later, on December 14th, the quartet, augmented by Brookmeyer, who was then in Los Angeles playing with Zoot Sims at The haig, presented a concert at the hoover High School auditorium in San Diego, California. This performance features Larry Bunker on drums, Bob Brookmeyer on piano and Red Mitchell on bass. gerry plays a soulful tribute to Burke and Van heusen's "Polka Dots And Moonbeams."

The year 1955 saw the Mulligan Quartet grow into a sextet with the addition of Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims - playing to capacity crowds in the nation's top jazz clubs and concert halls. Gerry went back to the quartet formation the following along with Brookmeyer, Dave Bailey on drums and Bill Crow on bass. It was this quartet that made a resounding hit at the Newport Jazz Festival that year. Gerry's original blues, "Blue At The Roots," was recorded on December 6th, 1956 at George Wein's Storyville, the famous Boston jazz club. Gerry has a fondness for piano, as do most arranger-composers, and has developed a very personal style as this spontaneous performance indicates.

Almost a year to the day, after another successful European tour with Bob Brookmeyer, several major TV appearances and anotheer Newport Jazz Festival , Gerry, with vocalist Annie Ross (assuming the role of the fourth member of the quartet) , produced the compelling performance that closes this album, Lane and Loesser's "The Lady's In Love With You." This was recorded on December 17th, 1957 at the Coastal Studios in New York City, with Henry Grimes on bass and Dave Bailey on drums.

As Mulligan continues to evolve into a jazz musician of increasingly broader horizons, his audience continues to grow with him. Gerry can be seen more often on TV, and ahs made several very sucessful film appearances. Additionaly, he is receiving offers to play in all parts of the world. Gerry Mulligan has grown into the outstanding jazz personality of his era.

Richard Bock