Tuesday, April 26

The Man With The Baritone

The Gerry Mulligan Quartet
It's hard to love the baritone saxophone - that ungainly twisted beast - but Gerry Mulligan, you got it going on, baby. 

Your piano-less quartet with Chet Baker on trumpet, the brilliant Chico Hamilton on drums and Bob Whitlock on bass is essential listening.

I am loving your California sound as I drive south through Thunder Bay on this cool spring afternoon.
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5 comments:

  1. Gary Anderson27 April 2011 at 05:44

    Brilliant arranger, too. He did all the arrangements for the Quartet. Some of those contrapuntal crunches are heartbreaking.

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  2. Henry Brock27 April 2011 at 08:46

    That's true Gary!

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  3. Gary Anderson28 April 2011 at 00:33

    I must say that I'm a true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool tenor fan, but ol' Gerr makes a compelling case for the baritone. Thanks for reminding me.

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  4. Henry Brock28 April 2011 at 09:03

    I've been listening to 'Mulligan Meets Monk' lately. A fantastic album. Monk is always great and Mulligan rises to the challenge of playing with such an idiosyncratic pianist.

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  5. Gary Anderson28 April 2011 at 20:07

    Yeah, for a real technician like Mulligan, playing with Monk would probably have been a challenge--albeit an enlightening one. That reminds me of the scene from "Straight No Chaser" where Monk asks Gerry about his "motherf--ker pants." Very funny.

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