Gerry Mulligan Quotes & Sayings

In fact, I heard Bird first, and had got well into listening to him. You know, it's the kind of accidental thing that awareness of a player is: what's available, what somebody happens to play for you. — Gerry Mulligan

Then, of course, I played alto and tenor, wherever there were jobs. — Gerry Mulligan

You start way down on a low B flat on the tuba and you have a chromatic scale; you can match the colours all the way up, till you get to the top of the trumpet. — Gerry Mulligan

When we've finished the current tour I'm going to go back to Italy and see if I can do some more writing. — Gerry Mulligan

Because if you've got the wit, you can make anything into a melody, ultimately. — Gerry Mulligan

People are approaching electronic levels in music; although not all of it happens to tickle my fancy. — Gerry Mulligan

It's true I've always been attracted to the jazz band in an orchestral way, rather than a band way. — Gerry Mulligan

Life on the road is murder. It's as though life begins and ends when you have your horn in your mouth. — Gerry Mulligan

What I came back to is that jazz is a music to be played and not to be intellectualized on. — Gerry Mulligan

I'm fascinated with the electronic devices that we can mess around with. — Gerry Mulligan

If you've only got one horn playing, I still want the sense of ensemble. — Gerry Mulligan

In a way, I started out to be a baritone player. — Gerry Mulligan

This life of being a transient human being has gotten to a point when it's very hard to bear. — Gerry Mulligan

Miles Davis is one who writes songs when he plays. — Gerry Mulligan

You can make a saxophone into an electric organ; you can do everything with it. — Gerry Mulligan

Actually, it is a fact that I've been doing more writing than playing in recent years. — Gerry Mulligan

Now, the instrumentation in the jazz band and the jazz dance band has gone through many evolutions. For instance, in the 'twenties the tradition was two or three saxophones. — Gerry Mulligan

People talk about innovations and evolutions and that kind of thing; I don't understand about that nonsense. It's like, all instruments are there to use all the time. — Gerry Mulligan

Eliminating the piano means that I've always worked closer with the bass than most players. — Gerry Mulligan

The first reason for starting to do the symphony concerts was to play this new piece of mine. — Gerry Mulligan

When I began listening to saxophones, I was first attracted to Coleman Hawkins. — Gerry Mulligan

So I played alto for quite a while until I saved up the money for the baritone. — Gerry Mulligan

I've always wanted a C trumpet on top, to have that same kind of facility without shouting. — Gerry Mulligan

The baritone can serve functions that the alto and tenor cannot, in orchestral voicing. — Gerry Mulligan

Actually, when I was very young, first starting to play, I think I probably listened more to clarinet players than to saxophones. — Gerry Mulligan

The Russian composers, especially, tricked the symphony orchestra into the kind of dynamic, rhythmic thing. — Gerry Mulligan

New York is still where I live most of the time. — Gerry Mulligan

The recording industry has changed; they're enjoying such incredible success in the pop field. — Gerry Mulligan

I like what I hear other guys doing, but the thing that really attracts me is melodic playing. — Gerry Mulligan

I've appeared on some other people's albums. — Gerry Mulligan

Only the French, I guess, really use tenor and alto to any great extent in the orchestra. — Gerry Mulligan

The other saxophones, except as solo instruments, really don't have much point in the orchestra. — Gerry Mulligan

A very talented player and all around excellent musician. I love hearing his records on radio! — Gerry Mulligan