Gerry Mulligan was born 87 years ago today. Mulligan was a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though he is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—he was also a notable arranger, working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. Mulligans pianoless quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the more important cool jazz groups. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Mulligan died in Darien, Connecticut, on January 20, 1996, at the age of 68 following complications from knee surgery. His widow Franca—to whom he had been married since 1976—said he had also been suffering from liver cancer. Upon Mulligans death, his library and numerous personal effects (including a gold-plated Conn baritone saxophone) were given to the Library of Congress. The Gerry Mulligan Collection is open to registered public researchers in the librarys Performing Arts Research Center. The library placed Mulligans saxophone on permanent exhibit in early 2009. Here, is Mulligan in a one-hour film called “Jazz America” from 1981.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 05:14:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015