Return to Index
GERRY MULLIGAN CONCERT JAZZ BAND - Young Blood
Dutch Jazz Archive Series NJA 1902
Don Ferrara, Conte Candoli, Nick Travis (tp), Willie Dennis (tb), Alan Raph (b-tb), Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb), Gene Quill (cl, as), Bob Donovan (as), Jim Reider, Zoot Sims (ts), Gerry Mulligan (bs, p), Gene Allen (bs, b-cl), Buddy Clark (b), Mel Lewis (d)
Recorded Concertgebouw, Amsterdam November 5, 1960
This new CD is a cause for celebration for all those who love this unique band. The thirteen piece Concert Jazz band was formed in 1960 and lasted in this form for only a couple of years..Mulligan wrote few of the arrangements, most were done by Bob Brookmeyer and Bill Holman. The pieces played included ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘Walkin ’Shoes’, ‘Apple Core, themes from the film I Want To Live (including Black Nightgown and Barbara’s Theme) by Johnny Mandel.
Norman Granz bankrolled the band and financed the European tour. There were a number of recordings made by the band on this tour: Paris, West Berlin, Basel and Milan. ‘Young Blood’ the title of the album is the composition that Mulligan wrote for Stan Kenton nearly 10 years earlier and is not on any of the other recordings.from the tour.
The sound of this band is unique. Excelling in counterpoint, it sounds neither big nor small! Kenton used to complain that Mulligan’s writing made the Kenton Band sound pocket sized. He objected to paying for so many musicians only to have a sound that that was not as grandiose as he liked. The soloists here are impressive: Conte Candoli on trumpet, Gene Quill on alto and Mel Lewis on drums. Bob Brookmeyer’s influence pervades the whole band. He had as much influence over the sound of the band as Mulligan: his fluent, fluid valve trombone moves effortlessly as does the band and Mulligan’s improvising with his baritone. Zoot Sims solos on three numbers, although the writer of the notes accompanying the CD points out that Zoot looked on the edge of inebriation and claims that Sims was not as effective as on previous visits to Holland.
Gerry Mulligan solos throughout and his ideas and musical beliefs are at the heart of the music. His involvement with Miles Davis on ‘The Birth of the Cool’ sessions influenced jazz for the following decade, Mulligan’s contribution to that historic album has been underplayed. Davis and Gil Evans get the plaudits, while Mulligan who wrote most, six of the pieces, is not fully acknowledged. The pianoless quartet with Chet Baker in the early fifties had a great influence. The Concert Jazz Band here is largely pianoless, although both Mulligan and Brookmeyer occasionally indulge in pianistics.
The recording is up to the high standard set by the Dutch archive and captures the interesting sonorities well. In a year when archives have yielded some treasures, this album will rate highly.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Dutch Jazz Archive Series NJA 1902
Don Ferrara, Conte Candoli, Nick Travis (tp), Willie Dennis (tb), Alan Raph (b-tb), Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb), Gene Quill (cl, as), Bob Donovan (as), Jim Reider, Zoot Sims (ts), Gerry Mulligan (bs, p), Gene Allen (bs, b-cl), Buddy Clark (b), Mel Lewis (d)
Recorded Concertgebouw, Amsterdam November 5, 1960
This new CD is a cause for celebration for all those who love this unique band. The thirteen piece Concert Jazz band was formed in 1960 and lasted in this form for only a couple of years..Mulligan wrote few of the arrangements, most were done by Bob Brookmeyer and Bill Holman. The pieces played included ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘Walkin ’Shoes’, ‘Apple Core, themes from the film I Want To Live (including Black Nightgown and Barbara’s Theme) by Johnny Mandel.
Norman Granz bankrolled the band and financed the European tour. There were a number of recordings made by the band on this tour: Paris, West Berlin, Basel and Milan. ‘Young Blood’ the title of the album is the composition that Mulligan wrote for Stan Kenton nearly 10 years earlier and is not on any of the other recordings.from the tour.
The sound of this band is unique. Excelling in counterpoint, it sounds neither big nor small! Kenton used to complain that Mulligan’s writing made the Kenton Band sound pocket sized. He objected to paying for so many musicians only to have a sound that that was not as grandiose as he liked. The soloists here are impressive: Conte Candoli on trumpet, Gene Quill on alto and Mel Lewis on drums. Bob Brookmeyer’s influence pervades the whole band. He had as much influence over the sound of the band as Mulligan: his fluent, fluid valve trombone moves effortlessly as does the band and Mulligan’s improvising with his baritone. Zoot Sims solos on three numbers, although the writer of the notes accompanying the CD points out that Zoot looked on the edge of inebriation and claims that Sims was not as effective as on previous visits to Holland.
Gerry Mulligan solos throughout and his ideas and musical beliefs are at the heart of the music. His involvement with Miles Davis on ‘The Birth of the Cool’ sessions influenced jazz for the following decade, Mulligan’s contribution to that historic album has been underplayed. Davis and Gil Evans get the plaudits, while Mulligan who wrote most, six of the pieces, is not fully acknowledged. The pianoless quartet with Chet Baker in the early fifties had a great influence. The Concert Jazz Band here is largely pianoless, although both Mulligan and Brookmeyer occasionally indulge in pianistics.
The recording is up to the high standard set by the Dutch archive and captures the interesting sonorities well. In a year when archives have yielded some treasures, this album will rate highly.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
