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
Stardust
Gerry Mulligan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
Gerry Mulligan's "Stardust" is a song about lost love and the memories that remain. The lyrics evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia as the singer reflects on the past and the music that once brought him closer to his loved one. The opening line, "And now the purple dusk of twilight time," sets the scene for the song's melancholy mood. The singer's heart is lonely, and the stars in the sky serve as a constant reminder of his separation from his beloved.
Despite the distance, the singer still holds tight to the memories of their time together. He recalls with bittersweet fondness the early days of their romance, when "each kiss was an inspiration." He dreams of being with his lover again, but knows that those days are gone. His only comfort is in the stardust of the song that reminds him of their love.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
The evening sky, painted with purple shades, symbolizes the time of day and the romantic and sentimental mood the singer is in.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
The colors of sunset create an image of tall grass and a rolling countryside as an extended metaphor for the singer's heart, which is saddened by the presence of twilight.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Amid the backdrop of the evening sky, the stars of heaven make their appearance and remind the singer of how far away yet how close to our hearts the heavens are.
Always reminding me that we're apart
This line acts as a juxtaposition to the previous: while the stars may seem nearby, they are in fact a constant reminder of the singer's separateness from his beloved.
You wander down the lane and far away
The image of someone wandering down a country lane represents a literal wandering away from the artist as well as the figurative wandering that both lovers experience.
Leaving me a song that will not die
Although the person leaving may be physically departing and causing despair for the singer, they've left behind a memory of a beautiful song that can still be felt and experienced.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The love of the past is now transformed into something timeless, like stardust that has been floating around for centuries.
The music of the years gone by.
The music and memories of the past assert themselves and bring melancholic feelings of nostalgia for the artist.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
When thoughts of one's beloved come to mind, it is difficult to imagine a productive life without them.
The lonely nights
Loneliness makes the night a darker, sadder time for the artist.
Dreaming of a song
The pain of loss often brings about dreams of something, in this case, a song, that can spark beautiful memories.
The melody
The sentimental melody conjures up beautiful images and recollections in the artist's mind.
Haunts my reverie
The melody stays with the singer and affects his current thinking and thought processes.
And I am once again with you
The singer is transported back to a time when he was with his beloved, even if just in his mind.
When our love was new
The memories involve thinking back to when the relationship was new and different feelings were in play.
And each kiss an inspiration
The tender kisses remind the artist of how in love he and his partner were.
But that was long ago
This line is an acknowledgement of how much time has passed since those early days, and how much has changed.
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
The night and its stars, plus the memories brought on by the song's melody, serve as a source of hope for the singer, who can hang onto the past through music.
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
The scene of peaceful, rare and perfect stillness is brought to life by the beauty of starry night skies.
You are in my arms
In the artist's memory, he is holding his beloved in the peaceful and serene outdoors.
The nightingale
This bird's song serves as a metaphor for beauty and light, but also as a reminder of what once existed between the artist and his beloved.
Tells his fairy tale
The nightingale's magical sound brings about thoughts of fairytales and storybooks where love and beauty reign supreme.
Of paradise where roses grew
In this fairytale, a paradise exists which the singer has been to before but is now gone; it is represented by the roses that heaped everywhere.
Though I dream in vain
Although the artist often dreams of his lost love, these dreams are futile and serve as an escape from reality more than anything else.
In my heart it will remain
Even if love may never exist again in his life, the cherished memories of the past and the stardust of the melody will always remain with the singer.
My stardust melody
The music is transformed into stardust rich in beauty that the singer will cherish always and forever.
The memory of love's refrain.
Love's refrain is repeated in this line, reminding the listener of the major theme of loving memories that permeates the song.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Buitre D'ANGIÒ
Stardust. Esecuzione emozionante. Gerry-Chet, un'accoppiata Jazz perfetta!!!
Liam Watson
Gee this is better than the Gene Krupa version where Charlie Ventura played the bass sax. A baritone makes more sense for ballads.
Raul Martinez
🥶