As a baritone saxophonist, I find it nearly impossible to escape Gerry Mulligan’s influence on the instrument as a solo voice. Over the last few years, I have been a part of several celebrations on his music, and it’s always a daunting task to fill the shoes of a master. Over the last few years, I have been asked to fill the role of Gerry Mulligan in a variety of settings.
Here are five recordings, in no particular order, that have influenced me as a baritone saxophonist.
- Dream A Little Dream (1994) This recording is the first recording that I was really into from Gerry Mulligan’s discography. I lifted almost every solo as a tenor saxophonist, and I’m now revisiting it as a baritone saxophonist. Here’s a transcription of They Say It’s Wonderful from this recording.
2. Dragonfly (1995) I really came to Gerry Mulligan’s music backwards. Dream A Little Dream, and Dragonfly were my first listening experiences. The chamber writing on Dragonfly is incredible, and the choice to cast Grover Washington Jr. on soprano as a foil to Mulligan’s baritone with a brass ensemble as the canvas results in beautiful melodic music.
3. Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band at the Village Vanguard (1960) When I was at Mohawk College, Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes were artists in residence one year, and they performed in a masterclass (where I played tenor saxophone), as well as a duo piano concert. I performed in a masterclass, where I played Body and Soul with them, and Bill Charlap used the intro of Gerry Mulligan’s arrangement. I asked him at the time what chords he used, and he didn’t remember in the moment, but the next day, he brought me the chords charted out, and told me the influence of the big band recording. It’s a recording that makes it into my listening rotation every year.
4. Summit (1974) This is the latest recording in my Gerry Mulligan listening, so it may suffer from recency bias, but it’s a recording with beautiful writing, and improvisation. I was fortunate to have toured this recording, with Norteño, a local tango-neuvo group in the summer of 2025. The interplay between the string quartet, rhythm section, bandoneon, and baritone saxophone is a truly unique sound. This recording/tour has wanted to make me explore the string quartet with baritone saxophone sound more and more.
5. Live At Storyville/Recorded In Boston At Storyville (1956) This recording swings hard. I love listening to Mulligan and Brookmeyer in the chordless quartet, and the way their lines weave around each other. I also was very fortunate to spend some time with Bob Brookmeyer while I was in college, and I always enjoy listening to him.
There are so many recordings that I didn’t mention – the recordings with Ben Webster, or Johnny Hodges, or Paul Desmond, which also stand the test of time, and are also in my listening rotation, but these are the recordings that have influenced me the most.
What Gerry Mulligan recordings have influenced you?
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