Gerry Mulligan

American jazz musician and composer (1927–1996) · 1927–1996

Appears in 5 videos · 6 passages, 3 of them in depth.

Summary

Dominique Pagani devotes a short music film to Gerry Mulligan. He announced it when presenting his website in 2020, "to vary the genres"1, and made it in 2022 under the title "Free gold for everyone". In it he presents Mulligan on the baritone saxophone, the lowest of the family, playing as a soloist in front of his big band2. He focuses above all on Mulligan's version of My Funny Valentine. He hears in it a low, slow sound in which each note is weighed, both murmured and clear, which he regards as a feat on such a cumbersome instrument3. He returns to this improvisation in other sessions: in a podcast on caves from Plato to modernity4, and later in a session on secularism, where he recalls the podcast he devoted to it5. In a session on worldliness in Clouscard, he compares one of Mulligan's solos to golden autumn foliage. He sees in it a luxury within everyone's reach, which ties in with the theme of privileges for all6.

Summary produced automatically from 6 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.

Who is this?

Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. […]

Read the article on Wikipedia

Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: William P. Gottlieb, Public domain

Series · 8 Jun 2022Free gold for everyone: Mulligan

8:03Plays the baritone saxophone, the lowest, as soloist facing his big band.
10:13My Funny ValentineA low, slow sound, each note weighed, murmured and clear: a feat on such a cumbersome instrument.