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Telarc was founded by Jack Renner and Robert Woods, two classically trained musicians and music teachers, in 1977 and was initially focused on Classical music. The label is renowned for its high end audio quality. Telarc subsequently added Jazz recordings with the addition of artists such as Erroll Garner, Dave Burbeck, Ray Brown and Gerry Mulligan to the label’s line-up.
With John Snyder admirably serving in the role of producer on all of them, Gerry Mulligan produced three late-in-his career recordings for Telarc that I’d like to highlight for you mainly because - like fine wine - Jeru’s playing mellowed on all of them to produce some of the most sublime soloing over the course of his 50+ year career.
Ironically, for many Jazz Masters who reach a high level of creativity in the latter years of their playing, there is no record company interested in documenting such maturity.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with Gerry as John Snyder was able to muster the necessary resources to bring Mulligan in the Telarc studios to record Paraiso: Gerry Mulligan with Jane Duboc Vocals - Jazz Brazil [CD-83361] in 1993, Dream A Little Dream of Me, The Gerry Mulligan Quartet [CD-83364] in 1994 and Dragonfly, The Gerry Mulligan Quartet [CD83377] in 1995.In addition to the superb artistry represented on these recordings, Telarc’s timing couldn't have been better as Gerry died in 1996.
“This CD brings the curtain down on Gerry Mulligan's remarkable recording career as a leader which began when he made the first LP under his own name in 1951.”
- Gordon Jack
Gerry wrote the following insert notes to Dragonfly, The Gerry Mulligan Quartet [CD83377] in 1995 after which we’ll represent the review of the recording that Gordon Jack, a Mulligan specialist and a baritone saxophonist himself, wrote for JazzJournal.
“THE PLOT — Take a batch of brand new tunes. (I'm never quite sure what to call a melody that's been worked on and that is in some sort of completed form. If there are words then it is probably a song. Composition implies something more complex. In any case, for our purposes here, we'll call them tunes.)
At this point the tunes are in various stages of completion, and it's time for players' input — keys, tempos, grooves, etc.
THE PLAYERS — Call up several good friends, old and new. who just happen to be among the greatest jazz musicians in the world and send them copies of the tunes.
When Dave Grusin plays my tunes I always learn something new, so for me. it's a luxury to have him on this (or any other) album! The fact that both Dave and Grover Washington were only available on the same day out of the whole year was so obviously a good omen that I felt as if the album was already half finished!
John Scofield and Dave Samuels played with me in a sextet in the seventies. Some of their solo interplay on this recording, especially "Backstage" and "Little Glory" is exquisite, and with the addition of Warren Vache to this group I fulfilled a dream I've had since the '70s. Warren, in my opinion, is the best cornet player anywhere. When Ted Rosenthal joins in, it's as if four people are negotiating the same tight-rope.
Last summer I was commissioned to compose a piece for Art Farmer that was played at Lincoln Center on one of their jazz nights as a tribute to Art. Ted Rosenthal suggested the trumpet player Ryan Kisor to play the piece. Ryan was very enthusiastic and came in loaded for bear and with obvious great respect for Art and for Art's playing.
THE PERFORMANCE — I could see from the way the schedule was evolving. I would need help to have the actual transposed and copied parts ready when we needed them, Mike Mossman and Slide Hampton were my angels in disguise.
I knew I'd be on a tour in Europe with my Quartet, along with Dave Brubeck's Quartet, and there would be little writing time on the road — I was right! I've never been one to get much writing done while traveling, but on this trip we were having entirely too much fun. . .
By the time we got back to New York everything was ready to go for the last series of dates. Slide had his orchestrations all done, and I still had enough time to finish up my charts.
Dean, Ron. and Ted have been with me as the other three-fourths of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet for years and years. In fact we had a dinner party in Oslo. Norway to celebrate Dean's tenth anniversary! A big coincidence is that we were playing the same hall as on Dean's first night ten years ago.”
Franca is my indispensable third ear, all the way through, as always.”
— Gerry Mulligan
GERRY MULLIGAN DRAGONFLY
(1) Dragonfly; Brother Blues; (2) Anthem; (3) Backstage; Little Glory; (4) Art Of Trumpet; (5) Listening To Astor; Ninth Life; (3) Underneath A Pale Moonlight; Oh, Mr. Sauter? Yes, Mr. Finegan? (63.32) Gerry Mulligan (bar) with:
(1) Bobby Milliken, Byron Stripling (fin, t); Jim Pugh, Luis Bonilla) (tb); Dave Taylor (btb); Grover Washington Jnr. (ss, ts); Dave Grusin (p); Dean Johnson (b); Ron Vincent (d). NYC, May 30, 31, 1995
(2) as (1) omit Milliken, Stripling, Pugh, Bonilla, Washington.
(3) Warren Vache (c); Ted Rosenthal (p); Dave Samuels (vib); John Scofield (elg); Dean Johnson (b); Ron Vincent (d). Connecticut, April 12, 13, 1995
(4) as (1) omit Washington; Add Ryan Kisor (t); Dave Samuels (vib); John Scofield (elg) Ted Rosenthal (p) replaces Grusin. Connecticut, April 12., 13, 1995
(5) as (1) omit Milliken, Stripling, Pugh, Bonilla, Washington. (Telarc CD-83377)
“This CD brings the curtain down on Gerry Mulligan's remarkable recording career as a leader which began when he made the first LP under his own name in 1951. A hugely gifted soloist, he was also one of the music's premier arrangers and composers and Dragonfly features ten new originals which had not been recorded before. Some of them are dedicated to musicians Mulligan had long admired such as Astor Piazzola, Eddie Sauter, Bill Finegan and Art Farmer. The latter had been a playing colleague since 1958 when he became a member of what was arguably Gerry's greatest ever quartet. They performed Art Of Trumpet together in 1994 at the Lincoln Centre with an all-star band including Wynton Marsalis, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson and Jerome Richardson. Ryan Kisor manages to get very close to Art's intimate and thoughtful approach here and as so often with Mulligan's writing, the ensemble return after the solos with a quite different melody to the opening chorus.
Grover Washington's soprano is heard in a delicate duet with the composer on Dragonfly, a haunting 16 bar theme with a modulation in the second eight. He also played this piece with Dave Grusin, Dean Johnson and Ron Vincent at a memorial concert in 1996 to celebrate the life of Gerry Mulligan.
Brother Blues (with a surprise key change in bar nine) is a simple but very effective descending line in the twelve bar form which Mulligan didn't often employ. Dave Grusin, who first collaborated with the leader on the 1982 La Menace film score starring Yves Montand, has some fine moments both here and on Ninth Life. Elsewhere all the guests have a chance to shine especially Warren Vache (Backstage and Underneath A Pale Moonlight] Dave Samuels (Oh, Mr Sauter) and John Scofield (Backstage). Both Samuels and Scofield of course were members of Gerry's sextet in the seventies.
The emphasis on subtle interplay with clearly defined inner voices that characterised Gerry Mulligan's work over the years is apparent throughout Dragonfly.
Recommended.”
- Gordon Jack.