Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan by Erling Mandelmann
Background information
Birth name	Gerald Joseph Mulligan
Also known as	Jeru
Born	(1927-04-06)April 6, 1927 Queens Village, Queens, New York, U.S.
Died	January 20, 1996(1996-01-20) (aged 68) Darien, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, cool jazz, third stream
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger
Instruments	Baritone saxophone, clarinet, piano
Years active	1946–1996
Associated acts	Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Paul Desmond, Billy Taylor, Ben Webster, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Astor Piazzolla, Pino Presti, Tullio De Piscopo, Enrico Intra

Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan 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. Mulligan's 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. Several of his compositions, such as "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become jazz standards.

Gerry Mulligan was born in Queens Village, Queens, New York, the son of George and Louise Mulligan. His father was a Wilmington, Delaware native of Irish descent; his mother a Philadelphia native of half Irish and half German descent. Gerry was the last of four sons: George, Phil, Don and Gerry.

George Mulligan's career as an engineer necessitated frequent moves through numerous cities. When Gerry was less than a year old, the family moved to Marion, Ohio, where his father accepted a job with the Marion Power Shovel Company.

With the demands of a large home and four young boys to raise, Mulligan's mother hired an African-American nanny named Lily Rose, who became especially fond of the youngest Mulligan. As he became older, Mulligan began spending time at Rose's house and was especially amused by Rose's player piano, which Mulligan later recalled as having rolls by numerous players, including Fats Waller. Black musicians sometimes came through town, and because many motels would not take them, they often had to stay at homes within the black community. The young Mulligan occasionally met such musicians staying at Rose's home.

The family's moves continued with stops in southern New Jersey (where Mulligan lived with his maternal grandmother), Chicago, Illinois, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Mulligan lived for three years and attended Catholic school. When the school moved into a new building and established music courses, Mulligan decided to play clarinet in the school's nascent orchestra. Mulligan made an attempt at arranging with the Richard Rodgers song "Lover", but the arrangement was seized prior to its first reading by an overzealous nun who was taken aback by the title on the arrangement.