Cheap Jazz Casual - Gerry Mulligan (Video) (Gerry Mulligan) Price

"I'm not very concerned with what jazz does as a whole," Gerry Mulligan tells host Ralph J. Gleason during his Jazz Casual interview. "I'm only concerned with where I'm going." That much is readily apparent simply by checking out the unique lineup of Mulligan's group: baritone sax (played by the leader, certainly one of that instrument's best, and best-known, exponents), trombone (Bob Brookmeyer, an accomplished leader and arranger in his own right), drums, and bass (Wyatt Ruther and Gus Johnson, respectively). The piano-free environment leaves lots of open space, but to their credit none of the musicians seems overly anxious to fill it, resulting in some cool (as in Birth of the Cool, the groundbreaking Miles Davis recording in which Mulligan participated) performances built around what Mulligan calls "very sketchy" arrangements of two of his and one of Brookmeyer's tunes. (Ironically, Mulligan himself does a little Thelonious Monk-inspired ivory tickling on the fourth number, the standard "Darn That Dream.") Typically, as on Mulligan's "Four for Three," the horn players will play the head more or less together. Then one will play some spare counterpoint while the other solos and the rhythm section swings gently but solidly behind them. Add to that the conversation between Mulligan and Gleason--a discussion that eschews all frivolity in favor of strictly musical matters--and you've got yet another worthy entry in the Jazz Casual series. --Sam Graham

ACTORS:	Gerry Mulligan
CATEGORY:	Video
THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE:	01 January, 1962
MANUFACTURER:	Wea/Rhino
MPAA RATING:	NR (Not Rated)
FEATURES:	Black & White, NTSC
TYPE:	Music Video - Jazz
MEDIA:	VHS Tape
# OF MEDIA:	1
UPC:	603497002337