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Gerry Mulligan
The Gerry Mulligan Quartets in Concert
(Pablo)
Mulligan the baritone—Mulligan who swung ineffably, even as a post-bop performer; who took that deepest-voiced instrument and played it in a hushed tone; Mulligan who was a splendid foil standing aside Monk; who, with Chet Baker, revolutionized jazz into a piano-less, two-butterfly pas-de-deux team of eloquence. That Gerry Mulligan.
The release of Mulligan quartet 1957 and 1962 concert recordings sheds new light on this musician’s gifts and historic place. No piano carried the day; a bass was the safety-net for wise and winsome solos. And here no trumpet, but the valve trombone of Bob Brookmeyer, a more gruff voice to shadow and ultimately elevate Mulligan’s gentilities. This is not the outstanding beauty of Mulligan’s partnering with Baker, but chaste unremarkable rhythms and sometimes mundane compositions set the stage for graceful expositions of jazz. There is a lovely reading of "Laura;" and a perplexing, sometimes cliched "Subterranean Blues" where Brookmeyer tries his hand at piano.
A mixed bag, but for their rarity, and for the facets that are gem-like (found by tracing the horn lines’ evolutions), these concert performances are ultimately treasure-troves.
— Jules Epstein, March 2001
Release Date: 2 February 2001
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last update 15 March 2001