Mulligan started on the piano before learning clarinet and the various saxophones. His initial reputation was as an arranger. In 1944 he wrote charts for Johnny Warrington's radio band and soon was making contributions to the books of Tommy Tucker and George Paxton. He moved to New York in 1946 and joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra as a staff arranger; his most notable chart was "Disc Jockey Jump." The rare times he played with Krupa's band was on alto and the same situation existed when he was with Claude Thornhill in 1948.
Gerry Mulligan's first notable recorded work on baritone was with Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool nonet (1948-50) but once again his arrangements ("Godchild," "Darn That Dream" and three of his originals "Jeru," "Rocker" and "Venus de Milo") were more significant than his short solos. Mulligan spent much of 1949 writing for Elliot Lawrence's orchestra and playing anonymously in the saxophone section. It was not until 1951 that he began to get a bit of attention for his work on baritone. Mulligan recorded with his own nonet for Prestige, displaying an already recognizable sound. After he traveled to Los Angeles, he wrote some arrangements for Stan Kenton (including "Youngblood," "Swing House" and "Walking Shoes"), worked at the Lighthouse and then gained a regular Monday night engagement at the Haig. Around this time Mulligan realized that he enjoyed the extra freedom of soloing without a pianist. He jammed with trumpeter Chet Baker and soon their magical rapport was featured in his piano-less quartet. The group caught on quickly in 1952 and made both Mulligan and Baker into stars.
A drug bust put Mulligan out of action and ended that quartet but, when he was released from jail in 1954, Mulligan began a new musical partnership with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer that was just as successful. Trumpeter Jon Eardley and Zoot Sims on tenor occasionally made the group a sextet and in 1958 trumpeter Art Farmer was featured in Mulligan's Quartet. Being a very flexible player with respect for other stylists, Mulligan went out of his way to record with some of the great musicians he admired. At the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival he traded off with baritonist Harry Carney on "Prima Bara Dubla" while backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and during 1957-60 he recorded separate albums with Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges. Mulligan played on the classic Sound of Jazz television special in 1958 and appeared in the movies I Want to Live and The Subterraneans.
During 1960-64 Mulligan led his Concert Jazz Band which gave him an opportunity to write, play baritone and occasionally double on piano. The orchestra at times included Brookmeyer, Sims, Clark Terry and Mel Lewis. Mulligan was a little less active after the big band broke up but he toured extensively with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1968-72), had a part-time big band in the 1970s (the Age of Steam), doubled on soprano for a period, led a mid-'70s sextet that included vibraphonist Dave Samuels, and in 1986 jammed on a record with Scott Hamilton. In the 1990s he toured the world with his excellent "no-name" quartet and led a "Rebirth of the Cool Band" that performed and recorded remakes of the Miles Davis Nonet classics. Up until the end, Gerry Mulligan was always eager to play. Gerry Mulligan died on January 20th, 1996 in Darien, CT.
Among Mulligan's compositions were "Walkin' Shoes," "Line for Lyons," "Bark for Barksdale," "Nights at the Turntable," "Utter Chaos," "Soft Shoe," "Bernie's Tune," "Blueport," "Song for Strayhorn," "Song for an Unfinished Woman" and "I Never Was a Young Man" (which he often sang). He recorded extensively through the years for such labels as Prestige, Pacific Jazz, Capitol, Vogue, EmArcy, Columbia, Verve, Milestone, United Artists, Philips, Limelight, A&M, CTI, Chiaroscuro, Who's Who, DRG, Concord and GRP. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Everything Happens To Me
Gerry Mulligan Lyrics
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Until I'm almost mad
I must have 'roused the devil's wrath
Cause all my luck is bad
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
I guess I'll go through life
Just catchin' colds and missin' trains
Everything happens to me
I never miss a thing
I've had the measles and the mumps
And every time I play an ace
My partner always trumps
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps
Everything happens to me
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end despair
But know I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've telegraphed and phoned
I send an "Airmail Special" too
Your answer was "Goodbye"
And there was even postage due
I fell in love just once
And then it had to be with you
Everything happens to me
The lyrics of Gerry Mulligan's song Everything Happens To Me speak about the singer's constant misfortunes and bad luck. Starting with black cats crossing his path and continuing with the many mishaps that he experiences in his daily life, from cancelled plans to losing at card games, the singer seems to be cursed with an endless stream of bad luck. Even in matters of love, the one thing that he thought could turn his luck around, he is disappointed by rejection. The lyrics convey a sense of frustration and resignation towards his difficult fate, as he accepts the fact that he will go through life "just catchin' colds and missin' trains".
The song is a commentary on the idea of fate and the belief that some people are just born unlucky. The singer's tone is one of acceptance, yet there is a hint of bitterness and humor in his words. The use of phrases such as "I guess I'll go through life" and "Guess I'm just a fool" show that the singer has given up hope of changing his situation, but at the same time, he is aware of the absurdity of his situation, as he continues to experience one unfortunate event after another.
Line by Line Meaning
Black cats creep across my path
I always seem to have bad luck.
Until I'm almost mad
My bad luck is so consistent, it's driving me crazy.
I must have 'roused the devil's wrath
I must have done something to anger the forces of the universe.
Cause all my luck is bad
My luck is so consistently bad that it's become the norm.
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
Whenever I try to plan something, it always seems to go wrong.
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
Even when I'm doing something innocent, like throwing a party, someone has a problem with it.
I guess I'll go through life
I've come to accept that this is how my life will be.
Just catchin' colds and missin' trains
I'll always be the victim of unfortunate circumstances.
Everything happens to me
No matter what I do, I can't escape my bad luck.
I never miss a thing
My bad luck is so constant that I'm always fully aware of just how bad it is.
I've had the measles and the mumps
I've had every misfortune that life can throw at me.
And every time I play an ace
Even when I have a good hand, something always goes wrong.
My partner always trumps
Even when I should have a clear win, something always gets in the way.
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps
I'm always diving headfirst into situations without considering the consequences.
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
I thought that love might be the answer to my bad luck.
That love would turn the trick to end despair
I thought that being in love would finally free me from my streak of misfortune.
But know I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
Now I realize that my bad luck is something that I can't escape no matter how hard I try.
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've put all my hope and faith into something that will never happen.
I've telegraphed and phoned
I've tried everything to make things better.
I send an "Airmail Special" too
I've tried unconventional methods to change my luck.
Your answer was "Goodbye"
My efforts have all been in vain.
And there was even postage due
Even trying to communicate with others ends up costing me more than it should.
I fell in love just once
I've only been in love once.
And then it had to be with you
And of course, the person I fell in love with was someone who could never bring me good luck.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind