Bio

Gerry Mulligan was born in 1927 in Queens Village, New York. His father was an engineer, so the family constantly relocated all over the United States when Gerry was a boy. Eventually the family settled in Reading, Pennsylvania when Gerry Mulligan was 14, and that is where he started to play music. He started first on the clarinet, but soon switched to saxophone and was playing gigs with dance bands 100 miles away in Philadelphia. Gerry moved to New York City in 1946, and eventually started to live with Gil Evans on 55th street. During this time he would collaborate with the likes of Gene Krupa, Lee Konitz, and Miles Davis. He was also considered a serious arranger, and often arranged songs for the Gene Krupa Band. Gerry Mulligan's style is laid back and melodic, with a large influence from Lester Young, but a slick and staggering command of bebop, Gerry Mulligan truly found his own niche as an improviser and arranger. Eventually Gerry Mulligan would relocate to the west coast, and make some of his most well known recordings in his piano-less quartet with Chet Baker. He would continue to play and record regularly until his death in 1995. Some of the musicians that he played with in his lifetime are, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, Dave Brubeck, Wallace Roney, Art Farmer, Teddy Wilson, Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, and Johnny Hodges.