Born Gerald Joseph Mulligan on 6 April 1927 in Queens Village, Queens, New York, and also known as Jeru, Gerry Mulligan was an American baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer, and arranger who brought a revolutionary light and airy tone to the baritone saxophone in the era of cool jazz, playing with the speed and dexterity of an altoist. Growing up in Philadelphia and showing strong musical instincts from early youth, Mulligan started on piano before learning clarinet and various saxophones. By age 16, he was submitting arrangements to WCAU radio in Philadelphia, and in 1944 wrote charts for Johnny Warrington's radio band before making contributions to Tommy Tucker and George Paxton. Moving to New York in 1946, he joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra as staff arranger, attracting attention with "Disc Jockey Jump" in 1947. In 1948, he joined Claude Thornhill's arranging staff alongside Gil Evans.
In September 1948, Miles Davis formed a nine-piece band using arrangements by Mulligan, Evans, and John Lewis, consisting of Davis, Mulligan, Mike Zwerin, Lee Konitz, Junior Collins, Bill Barber, John Lewis, Al McKibbon, and Max Roach, playing only a handful of live performances before recording in 1949-1950 what became known as Birth of the Cool, with Mulligan contributing arrangements including "Godchild" and "Darn That Dream" plus his originals "Jeru", "Rocker", and "Venus De Milo". In 1952, Mulligan formed his piano-less quartet with Chet Baker on trumpet, Carson Smith on bass, and Chico Hamilton on drums, which became so successful that Pacific Jazz label was launched just to record the band, making both Mulligan and Baker into stars and becoming a cornerstone for the burgeoning West Coast jazz scene before a drug bust ended the original quartet in 1953.
In 1954 Mulligan began a new musical partnership with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer that proved just as successful. During 1957-1960, he recorded separate albums with Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Ben Webster, and Johnny Hodges. In 1960, Mulligan formed his first Concert Jazz Band featuring a piano-less rhythm section, five reeds, and six brass, recording five albums for Verve Records and touring extensively. He toured with the Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1968 to 1972, led the Age of Steam big band in the 1970s.
Winner for 42 consecutive years (1953-1995) of DownBeat magazine reader's poll for Outstanding Baritone Saxophonist, Mulligan won the 1981 Grammy Award for Walk on the Water and saw Birth of the Cool inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.
