3/19/2021 0 Comments Gerry Mulligan Death
Gerry Mulligan Birthday and Date of Death Gerry Mulligan was born on April 6, 1927 and died on January 20, 1996.Birthday: April 6, 1927 Date of Death: January 20, 1996 Age at Death: 68.Gerry Mulligan - Biography 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.
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. ![]() While Sheldons career spanned music, television and film, he was the first to credit his jazz trumpet playing as fuel for his far-reaching successes in the entertainment world. In the 50s, he was one of the vital participants in the West Coast jazz movement. Performing with the likes of Art Pepper, Curtis Counce, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker whom he called the James Dean of American jazz Sheldon insisted on spicing his playing with the dynamic energies of bebop amid the cooler, more laid-back orientation of the West Coast jazz style. And he often did so side by side in spontaneous jamming with Baker, his close friend and fellow trumpet player. Wed just go riding all over the place, from Santa Barbara to San Diego, any nightclub we could find, and wed play for no money. Throughout his life, Sheldon maintained his playing skills via a regimen of hard work. ![]() The results of that determined work habit were apparent to Southland jazz audiences for decades. Gerry Mulligan Death Full Trumpet SoundIn November 2010, jazz critic Tony Gieske, reviewing a musical celebration of Sheldons 79th birthday, praised his incomparably rich and full trumpet sound. In mid-decade, he co-starred in the CBS sitcom The Cara Williams Show. In the 1966-67 season, he starred in his own CBS sitcom, Run, Buddy Run. His most visible television appearances, however, took place during the 18 years in which he appeared on The Merv Griffin Show. Playing in Mort Lindseys Orchestra, Sheldons participation ranged from trumpet soloing to humorous interludes in which he often assumed the role of Griffins comedic foil. Through him Ive got to work with every bandleader ever known: Basie, Dorsey, Glenn Miller, even Lawrence Welk. Ive gotten to sing with Ethel Merman and do magic with Orson Welles. Both aspects of his musical career his trumpet playing and his unique vocal qualities have created memorable, if strikingly different, moments. It is Sheldons atmospheric trumpet sound that is heard playing Johnny Mandels poignant theme, The Shadow of Your Smile, on the soundtrack of the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton classic film The Sandpiper (1965). His jazz vocalizing provoked Times critic Zan Stewart to describe him as one of the top jazz singers of the day simply splendid. And it is Sheldons amiably quirky voice that brings wit and humor to the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons of the 70s via his rendering of songs such as Conjunction Junction and Im Just a Bill. Studying trumpet as a child, he was playing professionally by the time he was in his teens. His mother, Jen Loven, was a swimming teacher and the owner of a Hollywood swimming school where many film stars and their families learned to swim. In addition to his performances and recordings with Wardell Gray, Herb Geller, Jimmy Giuffre, Gerry Mulligan and Art Pepper, among many others, he performed in the big bands of Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton. Thats how we made our living, so we thought wed be heroes like the guys in the movies, like Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. He also credited the influence of the comics he shared the stage with in performances at places such as the Playboy Clubs.
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