Condition: Used
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Lee Konitz
Pacific Jazz Records PJLP-2
U.S.
10" album
Record is VG+
Cover has ringwear slight edgewear and bottom left corner has wear
This 1953 album is one of Mulligan & Konitz's rarest - also features the great Chet Baker
With Lee Konitz featuring Gerry Mulligan on Baritone Saxophone, Lee Konitz on Alto Saxophone, and Chet Baker on Trumpet.
THE COVER PHOTO IS BY FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHER WILLIAM CLAXTON!!
Side A
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker - Carson City Stage
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker - Cherry
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker - Makin' Whopee
Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker - Motel S
Side B
Lee Konitz with Gerry Mulligan Quartet - I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
Lee Konitz with Gerry Mulligan Quartet - Sextet
Lee Konitz with Gerry Mulligan Quartet - Lover Man
Lee Konitz with Gerry Mulligan Quartet - Lady Be Good.
Mulligan's first notable recorded work on baritone was with Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool nonet (1948-50) but once again his arrangements ("Godchild," "Darn That Dream" and three of his originals "Jeru," "Rocker" and "Venus de Milo") were more significant than his short solos.
Mulligan spent much of 1949 writing for Elliot Lawrence's orchestra and playing anonymously in the saxophone section.
It was not until 1951 that he began to get a bit of attention for his work on baritone. Mulligan recorded with his own nonet for Prestige, displaying an already recognizable sound.
After he traveled to Los Angeles, he wrote some arrangements for Stan Kenton (including "Youngblood," "Swing House" and "Walking Shoes"), worked at the Lighthouse and then gained a regular Monday night engagement at the Haig.
Around this time Mulligan realized that he enjoyed the extra freedom of soloing without a pianist. He jammed with trumpeter Chet Baker and soon their magical rapport was featured in his piano-less quartet. The group caught on quickly in 1952 and made both Mulligan and Baker into stars.
Gerry Mulligan is considered one of the best baritone saxophonists and was a prominent part of the cool jazz scene. Lee Konitz was an alto sax player who also had deep roots in the cool jazz scene, also performing hard bop and avant-garde jazz. This recording was released the year after trumpeter Chet Baker joined the quartet.
This is jazz at its spontaneous and inventive best. Konitz, freed from Stan Kenton, has all sorts of new ideas about these old standards. And, for many of the cuts, as Lee explores the possibilities, you can hear Mulligan purring far in the background (mono, remember), and, every once in a while, moving to the foreground to make a few statements of his own. These two jazz minds talk to each other, tease each other,support and--in a gentle way--challenge each other.
And, of course, in a few cuts, Baker's sweet trumpet announces itself and joins the two sax players in their explorations. The now-unheralded but extremely deft Carson Smith takes on most of the bass responsibilities, and provides--along with Larry Bunker on drums--a solid stage for Baker, Mulligan, and Konitz to swing on.
Mulligan, Konitz, and Baker, of course, went their separate ways, Konitz and Mulligan to long and brilliant careers, Baker to a briefer, tragic, but still shining career. This, then, was a moment in time, and is now your chance to catch these giants sharing a stage, playing for and with one another, showing admiration and affection for each other's talents and ideas.
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