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
Too Marvelous for Words
Gerry Mulligan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like glorious, glamorous and that old standby amorous
It's all too wonderful, I'll never find the words
That say enough, tell enough, I mean they just aren't swell enough
You're much too much and just too very, very
To ever be in Webster's Dictionary
And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
You're much, you're too much and just too very, very
To ever be, to ever be in Webster's Dictionary
And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
To tell you that you're marvelous, tell you that you're marvelous
Tell you that you're marvelous, too marvelous for words
In the song "Too Marvelous for Words," the singer is expressing his admiration for someone who is so beyond words that he can't even adequately express how he feels about her. He describes her as "glorious, glamorous and that old standby amorous," indicating that there are many things about her to love, from her beauty to her romantic nature. The singer goes on to say that it's all too wonderful and he'll never find the words to say enough about her.
The singer then goes on to say that this woman is "much too much and just too very, very" to ever be described in a dictionary. He uses this hyperbolic language to emphasize just how amazing this woman is to him. To show her how much she means to him, he borrows a love song from the birds, who are well-known for their beautiful melodies.
Overall, the song is a testament to the fact that there are some people who are so special that no words can properly capture their essence. It's a beautiful tribute to love and the power it can have over us.
Line by Line Meaning
You're just too marvelous, too marvelous for words
You are exceedingly wonderful, to the point where expressing it through words is impossible.
Like glorious, glamorous and that old standby amorous
You exude qualities like grandeur and charm, and even the timeless emotion of love.
It's all too wonderful, I'll never find the words
Everything about you is simply fantastic, to such an extent that no words could ever do you justice.
That say enough, tell enough, I mean they just aren't swell enough
Even if I had all the vocabulary in the world, it would still fall short of capturing how amazing you are.
You're much too much and just too very, very
You are far beyond exceptional, to an almost indescribable degree.
To ever be in Webster's Dictionary
Your greatness exceeds even the bounds of what is typically considered 'definable.'
And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
Because mere human expressions of affection are not enough to convey how remarkable you are, I turn to the music of nature's own songbirds.
To tell you that you're marvelous, too marvelous for words
In short, you are simply marvelous, surpassing what words could ever hope to capture.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, RICHARD A. WHITING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tdeecy
Historically significant. Konitz always went his own way.
@Vintageloulou
Lee Konitz was in his early 20s and playing like this?? great album
@johnb.1020
Damn, Lee really dug that Tristano lick.
@ulfbech6072
This is great creative powerful music that is important for the simple and important example by instrument voices, such as some have done in several ways by certain entities and / or certain details for example: Albinoni Boccherini Zipoli Debussy Milhaud Les Six Stravinsky Ives Miles Evans Coltrane Shorter C Baker Mulligan Konitz Jarritt E Spalding Brilliant Great Ulf Hellerup, Playlists example Music 42 YT
@user-dr5cy3uh6b
良い演奏、実力発揮、マリガンと相性がいいのかな⁉️🎼🎵🎷👏🙌🤩