Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, 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. Several of his compositions including "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.
Birth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis, released in February 1957 by Capitol Records. It compiles eleven tracks recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950.
West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied relatively more on composition and arrangement than on the individually improvised playing of other jazz styles. Although this style dominated, it was not the only form of jazz heard on the American West Coast.
Art Pepper + Eleven – Modern Jazz Classics is a 1960 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper and a small big band performing arrangements by Marty Paich, who also directed the ensemble.
Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio is a 1958 studio album by Stan Getz, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Trio.
The Haig was a jazz club located at 638 South Kenmore Avenue in Hollywood. Along with the Tiffany Club it was one of Los Angeles's premier jazz venues in the 1950s and strongly associated with West Coast jazz.
Presenting the Gerry Mulligan Sextet is an album led by American jazz baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan featuring tracks recorded in 1955 and released on the EmArcy label.
"Bernie's Tune" is a 1952 jazz standard. The music was written by Bernie Miller, with lyrics added later by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was popularised with a recording by the quartet of the American saxophonist and composer Gerry Mulligan, on the 1952 album of the same name, which also featured Chet Baker on trumpet. Despite this association, the piece was actually composed, as aforementioned, by a slightly unsung composer Bernie Miller, who also wrote the tune "Loaded" which was also covered by Chet Baker and saxophonist Stan Getz. The tune was a popular choice for musicians jamming at the time, though information about the composer himself is scarce, all that people really know of him is that he was a piano player from Washington DC. Mulligan speculated that by the time he had discovered any of Bernie's tunes, Bernie was dead. Later on in Mulligan's life, he took the same changes but invented a new melody to fit over the piece, entitling it 'Idle Gossip'.
Chet Baker & Crew is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker which was recorded in Los Angeles in 1956 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.
The Trumpet Artistry of Chet Baker is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1953 and 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label. The album compiles tracks previously released on the 1954 10 inch LP Chet Baker Sextet along with previously unissued recordings.
Chet Baker Quartet featuring Russ Freeman is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker originally recorded in 1953 and released as a 10-inch LP on the Pacific Jazz label. Russ Freeman was the pianist in the quartet and the composer of several of the pieces. The album was reissued on CD in 1998 with 17 bonus tracks originally released on the 10-inch LP Chet Baker Quartet featuring Russ Freeman and 12-inch LPs Pretty/Groovy and The Trumpet Artistry of Chet Baker.
West Coast Live is a live album by trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonist Stan Getz which was recorded in California in 1953 but not released until 1997, on the Pacific Jazz label.
Bernie Miller (1919–1945) was a native of Washington, DC and is best known as the composer of "Bernie's Tune", a 1950s jazz standard that was popularized by the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and brought attention to the West Coast Jazz movement. In 1955, songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller added lyrics to "Bernie's Tune."
California Concerts is a live album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded at the Stockton High School and Hoover High School in California in late 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label. The original LP was the first 12 inch LP to be released on the Pacific Jazz label in 1955. The Gerry Mulligan feature track "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" with Bob Brookmeyer on piano was first released on the compilation LP The Genius of Gerry Mulligan in 1960. Although the tracks were recorded at a high school, recording took place on weekends and in the evening. Chet Baker was originally chosen to be the trumpet player of the session, but was jailed for his ongoing heroin addiction, so trumpeter Jon Eardley took Baker’s place sounding very similar to Baker.
Paris Concert is a live album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in June 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label. In 1966, Pacific Jazz released an album with the same title but with a slightly different track listing and edited versions of previously released tracks. The original recordings were made by Disques Vogue who issued the recordings in France.
Gerry Mulligan Quartet Volume 2 is an album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1953 and originally released as a 10-inch LP on the Pacific Jazz label. In 2001 Pacific Jazz re-released the album on CD with additional alternate takes and 12" masters along with five live tracks.
Gene Norman Presents the Original Gerry Mulligan Tentet and Quartet is a compilation album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1953 and originally released as two 10 inch LPs, one on the Gene Norman Presents label and one on Capitol.
Lee Konitz Plays with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet is a compilation album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan's Quartet with Lee Konitz featuring performances recorded in early-1953. The records on the album were originally released on 10-inch LPs Lee Konitz Plays with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Lee Konitz and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet on Pacific Jazz Records along with previously unreleased tracks and alternate takes.
Carnegie Hall Concert is a live album by saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and trumpeter Chet Baker. The album was recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1974 and released on the CTI label both as a double LP and as two separate volumes. In 1995 the album was re-released as a CD with an additional track.
"Freeway" is a 1952 jazz song composed by Chet Baker and recorded with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The song was released as part of an LP album and an EP single in the U.S. and a 45 single in the UK and France in 1952.
