As noted in this Rifftides post last November, Gerry Mulligan remarked more than once that of all his achievements, the sextet he led from 1955 to 1958 gave him the greatest satisfaction. No wonder. His sidemen in the front line were tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims, valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and trumpeter Jon Eardley. The rhythm section was Bill Crow on bass and Dave Bailey on drums.
If it was generally known that film existed of the sextet, the fact eluded me until about a week ago. As if from out of nowhere, three videos of the Mulligan Sextet popped up on YouTube. They were filmed in Rome in 1956. We see the sextet in front of a sizeable orchestra complete with strings. The orchestra is not identified and does not play; its members are an appreciative audience.
In most appearances, on at least one tune Mulligan played piano in his engagingly rustic style, as he does here in “Ontet.” Click on the following links to see and hear living documents of a remarkable band:
Bernie’s Tune
Ontet
Walkin’ Shoes
After being too long out of circulation, all of the audio recordings of the Mulligan sextet are available in a boxed CD set. To find it, go here. The set is also available here. It is called The Fabulous Gerry Mulligan Sextet. The hyperbole is justified.
Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
The sextet recordings are also available (minus the California tracks) on Lonehill Jazz “Gerry Mulligan – The Original Sextet,” a 2-CD set. I bought it because I already had the California sextet tracks on “California Concerts: Vol 2”, Pacific Jazz/Capitol.
Two or three years ago, Michael Cuscuna told me that Mosaic would be putting out a complete Mulligan Sextet set. Once again, they’ve waited too long.
I bought the first of the Sextet albums in 1957 or’58. To this day, I think this ensemble is the finest Mulligan led.
The format of four horns and rhythm is capable of sounding like a big band, without the muddiness (to my ears) of multiple horns in sections of a bigger ensemble. The Sextet was light on its feet, so it could swing like crazy (Broadway), or it could caress a ballad without seeming ponderous (Sweet and Lovely).
And the occasional polyphonic elements really made this band stand out for me.