STYLE
Mulligan was a versatile player,
happy with any idiom, be it dixieland or bop, and at home in any ensemble,
big band or chamber, and able to adapt to most players; it is often
said that his playing was not as forward thinking as his arranging,
but he gave the baritone a higher profile than hitherto. His
arrangements were subtle and relied on understatement with
deft inner voicings and counter melodies, low dynamics and a light
swing; he was the most original arranger of the West
Coast style of jazz. |
1927
Born in New York and raised in Philadelphia,
Mulligan's early career was a writer and arranger. His arrangements
were recorded by Gene Krupa in 1947 and Claude Thornhill in 1948,
through whom Mulligan was to meet Gil
Evans.
1954-1996
Mulligan
continues with his quartet, with Chet Baker
to be replaced by, in turn, Jon Eardley, Bob Brookmeyer and Art
Farmer. After a big band for a spell
in the early 1960s, Mulligan plays with Dave Brubeck between 1968
and 1972, and resurrects the nonet ensemble led by Davis
from 1948-51.
|
|
1948-1951
Gerry Mulligan writes for, and plays with,
the Miles Davis nonet, whose recordings
were to become known as The Birth of the Cool.
1952-53
He achieves
critical acclaim as a performer with his piano-less quartet
with Chet Baker
on trumpet. |