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Early 1950's Gerry Mulligan

Donnie The B | USA | 10/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This totally enjoyable 4 disc set includes 9 cuts from the period just before the quartet with Chet Baker started recording. I was previously unfamiliar with Gerry's 1951 New York small big band (8-10 pieces). The two earliest tunes, from 1950, are an octet with Zoot Sims, Kai Winding, J.J. Johnson, Chubby Jackson and others.

Quite a bit of the album is from one of the bands that symbolized the cool "West Coast Jazz" sound - The Gerry Mulligan Quartet - with Chet Baker on trumpet, Chico Hamilton on drums and either Bobby Whitlock or Carson Smith on bass. It always amazes me to hear Baker play. Somehow the monkey on his back rarely got in the way of his sound. The interplay between these two horn men is delightful to hear. They fed off each other - sparring at times and blending nicely at others.

Disc 3 is the victim of poor liner notes - all it says is recorded in 1953 for the first 14 tunes. The first 7 cuts are from one of Gerry's small big bands (a tentet?). Cuts 8 and 11-13 sound like the pianoless quartet with Chet Baker, while cuts 9, 10 and 14 are the tentet again. The last 4 cuts here are from the quartet with Bobby Brookmeyer in 1954.

Disc 4 is a collection of small group recordings. Liner notes indicate a sextet with Lionel Hampton, Grady Tate, Bucky Pizzarelli and others. But there is an un-credited bassist (Red Mitchell?) on each of these 8 tunes. while Hampton plays on three tunes, if I recall. Liner notes do not indicate dates for this septet/sextet. I would guess 1954-1955.

If you don't have any Gerry Mulligan quartet music, this would be an excellent and cost-effective way to hear a lot of what was recorded in 1952 and 1953, mainly for Pacific Jazz. The sound quality is quite good on this set. Gerry and Chet really played with a wonderful chemistry and their music should be remembered."