Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band at the Village Vanguard is a live album by jazz saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded at the Village Vanguard in late 1960 which were released on the Verve label.Verve Records Catalog: 8300 series accessed February 26, 2016Discography of the Verve, Clef and Norgran labels accessed February 26, 2016Gerry Mulligan Discography accessed February 29, 2016

Reception

The contemporaneous DownBeat reviewer praised both the audio quality and the music, commenting: "Musically, the disc has everything, including superb ensemble playing and solos of consistently high quality". AllMusic awarded the album 5 stars stating: "Of all the recordings made by Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band in the 1960s, this is the definitive one. ...This music is essential". On All About Jazz Joel Roberts commented: "What sets this ensemble apart isn't so much the compositions (though they're a fine mix of standards and originals) or even the star quality of the soloists (though Mulligan, Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer and others provide some memorable solo moments). The key is the cohesiveness of the band as a unit and the crisp, tight arrangements and orchestrations by Mulligan, Brookmeyer and Al Cohn... Mulligan was no avant gardist, but he knew how to push the limits while working within a straight-ahead context, and he knew how to make a band swing".Roberts, J. All About Jazz Review, November 1, 2002

Track listing "Blueport" (Art Farmer) - 11:07 "Body and Soul" (Johnny Green, Frank Eyton, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour) - 5:45 "Black Nightgown" (Johnny Mandel) - 4:10 "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) - 5:35 "Lady Chatterley's Mother" (Al Cohn) - 6:14 "Let My People Be" (Gerry Mulligan) - 8:00

Personnel Gerry Mulligan - baritone saxophone, piano (track 6) Don Ferrara, Clark Terry, Nick Travis - trumpet Willie Dennis - trombone Alan Raph - bass trombone Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone Bob Donovan - alto saxophone Gene Quill - alto saxophone, clarinet Jim Reider - tenor saxophone Gene Allen - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet Bill Crow - bass Mel Lewis - drums

References