About

- A TAV Essential Listening Album -

The most famous and probably greatest jazz baritonist of all time, Gerry Mulligan was a giant. A flexible soloist who was always ready to jam with anyone from Dixielanders to the most advanced boppers, Mulligan brought a somewhat revolutionary light sound to his potentially awkward and brutal horn and played with the speed and dexterity of an altoist. 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.

Voted number one musician in his instrument by Downbeat Magazine for 42 years in a row, Mulligan was one of the key players of his time and a figurehead who helped shape the sound of jazz to come. From periods in the Birth Of The Cool era Miles Davis lineup as well as forming a piano-less quartet with Chet Baker, Gerry was always on the frontline of what was hip and happening in America's one true art form. This session, recorded at New York‘s Nola Penthouse Studios in 1963 is a little-known masterwork from the incredible Gerry Mulligan catalog. This reissue was remastered using transfers from the original tapes, lifted from the Phillips vault by mastering legend Kevin Gray. With its striking Oliver Hardimon designed cover, Night Lights is the very definition of refined cool jazz. Shimmering with a late-night beauty that perfectly evokes a sophisticated New York City in the early 1960s. — via Label

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Label: Verve Records, UMe
Series: Acoustic Sounds Series
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180gr, Gatefold
Country: Worldwide
Released: 2024 / Original Release: 1963
Genre: Jazz
Style: Cool Jazz

File under: Audiophile Jazz
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