Customer Reviews

Storyville

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Gerry Mulligan's recorded output during this period (mid-50's) was uniformally excellent. Buying just about any of his records from this timeframe is a good purchase, and the added bonus of out-takes makes this CD especially worthy.

Of special interest are tracks where Gerry plays some exceptional piano (numbers 6, 9, 11, and 13). These tracks are in true stereo. The other tracks in the collection are also stereo, but the balance of instruments makes it sound like an early 60's "false stereo" package. There's been no sonic restoration done on these tracks, so there's a fair amount of hiss here.

In the final track, "Limelight", Gerry stops playing in the middle of his solo to chew out a member of the audience (off-mic). The band keeps playing, and Gerry starts his solo again after saying what he needs to say. This seemed to address the matter and there is no reference to it after that.

Whether you have the original LP or not, this one makes a nice addition to any collection. It's a fine example of the intricate contrapuntal harmonies that made this quartet legendary, though some sonic restoration during remastering would have been welcome.

I honestly do not understand why Gerry Mulligan is held in such high esteem as a boritone, oops, I mean baritone, sax player, or why he won poll after poll. Pepper Adams and Cecil Payne could outplay Gerry in their sleep during the 50s, and Nick Brignola, Ronnie Cuber and Bruce Johnstone, for starters, would clean Mulligan's clock on a regular basis in the 60s and 70s. He did have a nice, full, non-raspy tone, but I honestly feel that Mulligan's major talents were as composer and arranger.

Here specifically is the problem with Gerry Mulligan's playing on this CD: his solos are utterly predictable. Jazz is supposed to be all about "the element of surprize," but there are no suprizes here, baritone-wise. I have all the records Mulligan made with Chet Baker, Jon Eardley, and the earlier dates with Bob Brookmeyer and all I hear from Gerry are the same stock phrases strung together in a different order in each solo(and they're not even interesting stock phrases to begin with). I feel as though I've heard all of these solos before, although I haven't. Yet, in a way, I have, in different form, on other Mulligan Pacific Jazz and Fantasy releases. They are that predictable!

Highlight of this CD (and one of the seven bonus tracks not available on the original LP) occurs during the last number, "Limelight." On this track, "The Boston Whistler" loudly whistles throughout Gerry's baritone solo. Mulligan puts up with it for a while, but at the 1:22 mark, he's had enough:

"Okay, wise guy! You care to step outside, whistler? I mean, I've been putting up with some noisy audiences, but that's the most INSULTING thing that anybody ever did!" To their credit, the rhythm section accompanies this without missing a beat.

Actually, Mulligan plays with some fire, FINALLY, after this admonishment occurs, and Brookmeyer also comes up with his best solo of the date (he starts to play "On, Wisconsin," for some reason) which up to this point, just seemed to go on and on. So thanks, Boston Whistler! We also heard you on the Fantasy album Dave Brubeck recorded at Storyville a couple of years earlier during that quartet's rendition of "You Go to My Head." But Brubeck didn't threaten to clean your clock!