1. Varsity Drag
2. Speak Low
3. Half Nelson
4. Lady Bird
5. Love Me Or Leave Me
6. Swing House

Chet Baker, Larry Bunker, Gerry Mulligan, Carson Smith

May 7, 1953

 LINER NOTES

Mulligan, in fact, has always been at home in every musical setting from traditional to mainstream-modern. His writing, as hard to categorize as his playing, is invariably melodic, texturally rich and consistently inventive.

During the perios of intermittent involvement with the Miles Davis project, Jeru (he was already well known by this nickname) also wrote and played for the orchestras of Elliot Lawrence and Claude Thornhill. In "195"2 he moved to California and in the fall of that year began experimenting with the idea, revolutionary by then-prevailing standards, of a pianoless quartet, its rhythm section simply composed of bass and drums.

The quartet first recorded August "16", "195"2, with Chet Baker, Bob Whitlock and Chico Hamilton. The group concept made an mmediate impact, drew an unqualified rave from Ralph J. Gleason in Down Beat, and went on to make several other sessions . One of these with Carson Smith and Larry Bunker replacing Whitlock and Hamilton, was recorded May 7, "1953" for Gene Norman's label. Love Me or Leave Me and Varsity Drag, taped on that date, are reissued here. Both are representative of the tightly knit combo sound, the lyricism of Baker and Mulligan, and the special kind of improvisational freedom engendered by the absence of a piano.

By this time, though, Mulligan had more ambitious projects in mind. During a stint at the Haig in Los Angeles he began building a library for a ten piece band that enabled him to flex his muscles more fully as composer/arranger. Gene Norman, hearing this band at a rehearsal, was immediately taken with its sound and volunteered to record it. The two sessions that came of this offer a reissued in their entirety here.

Basically the overall sound was very similar to that of the Miles Davis unit, mainly because of the incorporation, unprecedented by modern jazz, of a French horn and tuba. There was a slight difference, in that Mulligan employed a different reed section set-up of alto and two baritones, and on the first session, January 29, "195"3, no piano was used.

Walking Shoes (previously recorded by the Quartet), A Ballad, Westwood Walk and Rocker (one of the tunes Mulligan had written and recorded with the Davis group) have a personnel of West Coast heavyweights of the day: Chet Baker and Pete Candoli, trumpets; Bob Enevoldsen, valva trombone; John Graas, French horn; Ray Siegel, tuba; Bud Shank, alto sax; Don Davidson and Mulligan, baritones; Joe mondragon, bass; and Chico Hamilton, drums.

Note particularly the coloristic brilliance of A Ballad, in which Jeru's writing resembles that of Gil Evan on Moon Dreams (which he recorded with Miles). The gentle, relaxed style and grainy tone of Mulligan's horn are also superbly showcased.

Chet Baker, as Mulligan once pointed out, was not derivative of Miles as early critics declared; in fact, his solo on Walking Shoes has more of a Bix Beiderbecke flavor.

The second Tentette session, recorded two days later, differs from its predecessor in two respects; Larry Bunker replaced Hamilton, and Mulligan doubles on piano in all track except Simbah

Taking a Chance on Love, the only standard tune scored for the session, has a quality that suggests an enlarged version of the quartet - except, of course, during Mulligan's piano solo. His keyboard work has always has a special, generally understated quality; like his saxophone, it verges on bop without using any of the patterns associated with the idiom, and with a slightly different time feeling.

The piano is more prominent inFlash, playing the first chorus and returning to the spotlight after Baker's solo and a brief statement by Bud Shank.

Simbah, opening with Bunker's non-aggressice drum breaks, is another example of the degree to which Mulligan had conceived the Tentette as an orchestral extension of the quartet.

Ontet is a flashback to the Miles date, since it is based on an out-chorus Gerry wrote in his arrangement of George Wallington's Godchild. Bob Enevoldsen, whose valve trombone has always had a distinctive timbre, is heard in a short solo.

The Tentette never became the full-time entity its creator had hoped for: "The band was very easy to write for and I would have liked to pursue the idea further," Mulligan said; but he continued to tour and record with various smaller groups throughout he balance of the "195"0s. During the early 1960s he alternated between his 13 piece "Concert Jazz Band" and a variety of combos.

To my ears, the Mulligan Tentette was one of the most pleasing and artistically successful of his many ventures. It blended the intimacy of the quartet sound with the subtelties of larger scale writing; it was subtle and delicate, and when swining was required, it swung with a deceptively effortless quality only a man of Mulligan's talent could generate.

It is a delight to have these sounds once again accessible, and, perhaps most important of all, available for the first time to a generatiom that may be unfamiliar with the very special, pure jazz values they represent.

Leonard Feather
Encyclopedia of Jazz

TENTETTE

Gerry Mulligan is one of the inventors of the contemporary jazz form, and his early promise experimenting with small forward-looking groups achieves fruition with this extansive exhibit of his art. Gerry is that rare phenomenon - a truly originative talent. Everything he does is unique and he has the unalterable courage to do as he "hears" fit. With it all, there is no restraining self-counsciousness. Quite the contrary, Gerry is irresistibly "full of malarkey!" There's an impishness abou both him and his music that lends great charm. He's a young composer who somehow combines the restless intensity of a serious and sensitive composer with the levity of a leprechaun. And it's all here in the music.

Gerry's early background in the music field is surprisingly orthodox. He even arranged for Tommy Tucker and Elliot Lawrence, but he quickly espoused the modern sounds and "gigged" around New York with the small coterie of musicians that spearheaded the search for new and interesting things to say in jazz. He helped to organize, write for, and play on one of the milestones of modern jazz, the Miles Davis "Move" record date for Capitol.

But here, perhaps for the first time, he has been given carte blanche - freedom to express himself without limitation. Notice, for example, the absence of rhythm piano. (While listening to one of the piano-less numbers, he exclaimed with typical wry wit, "I can't hear the piano!"). For most, the piano is the one immovable ingredient of any ensemble, but with his usual unconventionality, Gerry says, "The piano seems to get in the way. The group swings better without it!" The first time they recorded for me, I thought that the piano player had failed to show up and this was the alibi, but I soon began to see what he means.

Besides his celebrated ability on baritone saxophone, Gerry plays "featured" piano as well. This is a type of piano playing that so completely eludes classification that we are compelled to refer to it as "Mulliganesque.'

The moods and feelings captured here range all the way from something resembling a German Salvation Army Band playing on a Heidelberg street corner - with a beat - to the reckless abandon of a Deep South Revivaliist meeting. But all the way, it's ingenious, challenging, and warm. This is what jazz is coming to. In fact, it's here!

- Gene Norman

MODERN SOUNDS

In two sporty little band concerts, The Shorty Rogers Giants and The Gerry Mulligan Tentette each ante up a half dozen pieces of Middle-Period Modern to make up this 2-in-I pack. Like any pair of aces back-to-back Mulligan and Rogers stand to gain from the coupling.

Part of the gain is the chance to introduce followers of either to the other's work; part is the opportunity for side-by-side comparison. Comparison proves that Shorty and Gerry are neither startlingly similar nor sharply opposed.

One of the things they have in common is a certain lightheartedness in their music. Humor in music can be shallow, but neither of these aces could be counted as an out-and-out joker in that sense because their hearts, while light, are warm and whole. That's the long suit for Rogers and heart is a quality of Mulligan's, too.

Neither man has been without his detractors. A giant economy of movement seems one of the structural principles of the Mulligan works - a minimum of balderdash; yet, for this, he has been labeled over-lean. On the other hand, Rogers' music has been called too calm, but it's usually zippy enough to make up for that, and all the ginger Rogers can muster is found on this date.

As to the dates themselves, each seems to have offered its leader a chance to put into play a pet project, and the results, in both cases, altered the look of jazz a little. Both composers chose to employ the oft-neglected middle-sized group: Rogers took eight, Mulligan took ten. But there is a difference in approach that goes beyond the gap of two: prior to these dates Mulligan had been connected with some of the earliest incidences of chamber voicing; Rogers, on the other hand, was identified with more orthodox band music. Here, the roles are reversed: Rogers has the chamber, Mulligan the dance-derivative sound; the octet is a big combo, the Tentette a little band.

Intensifying any comparison is the contrast in mood. Rogers' young team is raucous: there is shouting; the Mulligan guard is more reserved. The Tentette date is outstanding for its writing, with the solos secondary; the Giants date offers solos and writing of about equal importance.

Shorty's date, when it was first released, hit like a bombshell. Now that the Forward Look in jazz has become respectable the music is no longer controversial, but simply pleasing and solid. The Tentette was a bit blanketed by the hullabaloo over the then new and startling Mulligan quartet, but the record was always quite popular with musicians, who considered it a sleeper, and reportedly it is a favorite of Mulligan's. Since then, its real worth has steadily become more widely known. The Rogers date is easily locatable in relation to what went before and what followed; it was a step in the journey. The Mulligan date is less datable; it stands alone; there is nothing quite like it.

These were key dates for some of the sidemen as well as for the leaders and general jazz thinking. The men are scattered now; eleven of the eighteen have had their own dates, and an even larger proportion will probably figure in music polls for years to come.

Comparison of the two main figures and their music may reveal similarities, but there is little resemblance in physical appearance. Except that both have worn beards off and on, most every aspect is different. Gerry is tall, lean, and fair, constructed something like a soft-shoe dancer. Shorty is short, dark, and stocky, built along the lines of a diminutive blacksmith. And although both men are known for their humorous sides, Shorty is more the urchin type; Gerry is somewhat wry.

Other personal angles reveal parallels, however: both are easterners, with records of much activity in California jazz - Rogers as a steady settler, and Mulligan starting his historic quartet and recording heavily in Hollywood. Both men have a spare nickname, derived from their better-known ones: Shorty's friends sometimes call him Shorts; Gerry is also known as Jeru. And while none would begrudge Jeru salaams for his soloing, nor diminish Shorts' stature as a trumpeter, they both enjoy more prestige from their writing than from their blowing. Yet their playing and writing combined don't give the full picture; each has been a hub for an impressive amount of general jazz activity. Unquestionably, each deserves the rank of Ace for his service to the Hot wing of American music: they have climbed high to fight off jazz's formidable enemy - stagnation - thus clearing the air for future exploration.

Although it's common to come upon lists, made out by thoughtful people, of the "Ten Books" or the "Ten Records" they would take to a desert island, perhaps it is false to assume that anyone is ever really confronted with the problem. But if so, this record -highly portable, compact would seem to have been expressly constructed for a little fudging on the quota, a neat chance to slip in the equivalent of a bonus eleventh. For the stay-at-home, the bonus - beyond just good listening - is the chance to compare Rogers' and Mulligan's compositions with versions by other bands and by their own smaller groups - like PoPo, the tune that Rogers still uses for a set ending, and many of Mulligan's best-loved songs, like Walking Shoes.

The new listener's attention could be called to many little treasures: Art Pepper's Rainbow has become something of a classic' Mulligan's folksy piano is delightful to discover, and there is one of Jimmy Giuffre's Four Relatives Series - Four Mothers, this time.

And any jazz-follower can rest assured these sides will remain meaningful, rewarding, and fashionable for some time to come. This big record is full of surprise caches, opening up like a deluxe Boy Scout Knife to reveal more happy gadgets with every handling. Actually, "scout knife" is too skimpy a symbol; Mulligan and Rogers cast together make a handsome two-edged sword that cuts clean either way you swing it.

Will MacFarland

Walking Shoes - Capitol Jazz Classics

Gerry Mulligan, Red Norvo and Stan Hasselgard: three musicians who created different forms of chamber jazz in the second half of the forties and early fifties, forms which were rooted in the great swing tradition of the thirties but at the same time drew largely upon the possibilities presented by the new bop style and the developments of more sophisticated arranging techniques.

GERRY MULLIGAN is altogether too much of an individualist to fit into any school. After making his first records as a leader in "195"1 with an earlier edition of the tentet, he moved to California where he soon formed the Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker on trumpet which was to earn him world-wide fame. The success of this small group, however, did not lessen Mulligan's interest in working with larger units. At the beginning of "195"3 he led a series of recording sessions with the quartet format either expanded or completely relinquished. These five sessions, which took place in what must have been one hectic week, resulted in the well-known titles by the Quartet plus Lee Konitz (such as I can't believe that you're in love with me, Sextet Broadway) and the eight sides with the Tentette for Capitol Records. These last tracks, still intriguing and much-discussed after so many years, are now together on one album for the first time.

In his note on this liner, Mulligan himself names the main musical sources for these titles: the quartet format and the instrumentation of the Miles Davis band of 1948. It will of course be remembered that Mulligan was one of the originators of that short-lived but famous orchestra, which made the important 'Birth of the Cool' recordings (also available on Capitol Jazz Classics).

The differences between these two underlying conceptions are particularly clear in the four pieces recorded on the first of the Tentette dates. WALKIN' SHOES and WESTWOOD WALK both retain the refreshing simplicity of the original quartet. The ensemble playing behind the soloists, for instance, closely resembles Mulligan's apt accompaniments behind Baker in the quartet and Baker's behind Mulligan. On the other hand, ROCKER and A BALLAD are very similar to the work of the Miles Davis nonet. The first title had actually been recorded by that group in "195"0, but Mulligan later made some changes in the arrangement. He added some backgrounds to the solos, but did not retain the variation on the theme in the last chorus. A BALLAD is very akin to the version of Moon Dreams by the Miles Davis band and clearly shows the influence of Gil Evans on Mulligan's writing.

On three of the numbers from the second Tentette date Mulligan switches to piano, giving the instrument a leading role in the arrangements with the obvious purpose of contrasting the veiled tone colours of the horns with the bright sound of the piano. This is particularly manifest in ONTET, a new version of George Wallington's Godchild, in which the piano keeps up a well-balanced dialogue with the rest of the group. TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE on the other hand, is in the vein of the more successful quartet numbers, whereas FLASH consists of a string of solos climaxed by an example of Mulligan 's most effective ensemble writing. The only piece without piano from this second date is SIMBAH, an elaborate composition with double-time passages and a coda in 3/4. A subtle and at the same time very exciting performance. Almost all the solos on these Tentette recordings are played by Mulligan and Baker, both in excellent form throughout.

SIMON KORTEWEG

SPECIAL NOTE BY GERRY MULLIGAN
The tentet is essentially my original quartet with Chet Baker combined with the ensemble instrumentation of the Miles Davis nonet. I know that everyone seems to think that Chet's style was derived from Miles, but it seemed to me (and still does) that he evolued a fantastic, unique style of his own. I think it is true he was very influenced by Miles later, but that was after he left Los Angeles. When we were first playing at The Haig with the quartet I started the tentet as a rehearsal band to have something to write for. After a time, Gene Norman, a Los Angeles promotor and disk jockey, came to me and said he'd like to record the band. Since no one else had suggested recordingus, I said yes.

The irony, as I found out later, was that Gene had no American Federation of Musicians recording license of his own and planned to offer the date to Capitol if he could record on their license. Bill Miller of Capitol told me later that he had heard about the band from musicians and was planning to come to The Haig to discuss recording when Gene came to him with his proposal. Since Bill felt it would be unethical to pursue the project directly for Capitol we ultimately did the album for Gene. So it goes in the complicated and often insensitive precincts of business. I have the feeling if we had been recording for Bill Miller we might havesome more albums to show for our work.

Musically I think the ensemble worked perfectly with the quartet concept and the band was very easy to write for. I would like to have pursued it further at that time, but c'est la vie.

GERRY MULLIGAN
May 1971