Gerry Mulligan

The Profile

American baritone saxophonist, arranger, and composer; a leading architect of cool jazz. He wrote and arranged for Miles Davis’s Birth of the Cool sessions, led the famed pianoless quartet with Chet Baker, founded the Concert Jazz Band, and recorded notable collaborations with Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Ben Webster, and Astor Piazzolla.

Instrument: baritone saxophone; key figure in cool jazz; active from the late 1940s until 1996; nickname: “Jeru”; collaborations include Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Ben Webster, and Astor Piazzolla.

A single, glowing review focuses on Summit, the Mulligan–Piazzolla collaboration recorded in Milan in the mid-1970s. It highlights Mulligan’s baritone voice alongside Piazzolla’s bandoneon, an orchestral setting, and Italian musicians. The title track’s crescendo stands out, and the album is hailed as a hymn to life.